#mogai peer review

[ipso-faculty]

Proposing some intersex gender modality & transition terms

So there are a whole bunch of different ways that intersex people can be/identify as trans. I've been thinking about what names would be useful for articulating these differences and in this post I'll list what I've got so far. 🧑‍🔬

I'm hoping to get feedback on these, so if you have feedback let me know! 💛 I expect to edit this post, to incorporate feedback and further ideas.

CW: mention of IGM and forced HRT

Types of transitions

Distransition: a medical transition forced upon an intersex person, such as through IGM or forced HRT. Dis- to indicate the negative aspect of the transition being coercive, as well as to connote disability since this process is so frequently traumatic and/or disability-causing. In disability studies language it's a form of debility (disability caused through systemic violence).

Mistransition: a distransition (forced transition) that is not in alignment with a person's gender identity. Mis- to indicate the incorrectness of the alignment as well as to maintain a negative connotation because this is a coercive transition.

Entransition: a consensual transition done by an intersex person. Contrast to distransition. En- acts as an opposite to dis- and also to me indicates a level of intent (e.g. envision, enact, enliven). It also serves to indicate that transition is different for intersex bodies than for perisex bodies.

Retransition: an entransition done by an intersex person who previously had been distransitioned. I.e. when an intersex person does a second transition to undo, alter, or improve a forced transition. Re- to indicate a second transition, but also that it's a revision of the first one. EDIT #1: This term is not intersex exclusive, and may also be used by perisex trans people who have transitioned multiple times. EDIT #2: For an intersex-exclusive version, I suggest "re-entransition", combining re- and en-.

Retrotransition: a retransition that is done to undo the effects of forced transition. So an intersex person who, after being forced into a binary gender, then transitions their body towards a best approximation of what their body's natural state would have been without forced transition. Retro- for backwards to indicate undoing that is worth differentiating from detransitioning.

Laterotransition: a retransition done by an intersex person to a gender that is neither the gender externally imposed by a distransition nor what their body's "natural state" would be. For example, an AFAB AIS person who was coercively transitioned female, who then later transitioned male. Latero- as contrast to retro- (latero- is to the side, antero- is forward) as well as to indicate the turn away from the path set forth externally by parents/doctors.

Anterotransition: a retransition done by an intersex person that continues the direction set forth by previous forced transition. So additional transitioning done by somebody whose gender is in alignment with what was externally imposed. While this will probably be somebody's AGAB, it doesn't have to be - some times intersex people are forcibly transitioned to a different gender than their AGAB.

All of these transitions would have an analogous gender modality. So an entransgender person is somebody who has/is undergoing/intends to entransition. And a retrotransgender person likewise has/is undergoing/intends to retrotransition.

I see distransition and mistransition as potentially useful for intersex people talking about trauma and structural intersexism. I think entransition might be useful for talking about how being intersex and transitioning is frequently different than for perisex people, especially if it is a retransition. And perhaps distransition and anterotransition may be of use to exparium folks.

Personally: I was distransitioned as an adolescent and have recently started a process of medically retrotransitioning.

Feedback welcome! A list of revisions will go at the bottom of this post. Will make flags for terms once I feel satisfied with them.

Edits

2024-01-16: I've been informed by @chipbutbetter that retrans is already used by some perisex folks with complicated transition patterns, so I have edited to say this term should not be intersex exclusive. Thanks! 🏳️‍⚧️

2024-01-16: thought about an intersex-specific version of retransition and landed on "re-entransition". A little awkward but combines both retransition and entransition! Flexible on whether to include a hyphen (reentransition).

[pastelroswell]

Hi, Roswell here! I had no idea that this flag was being spread to represent that shit but it doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen a lot of anti-queer and anti-mogai sentiments that staple us to MAPs as some sort of smear tactic (or just spite). I’m personally a repeat CSA and COCSA survivor which greatly affected me in my adolescence and still haunts me now, so this pisses me off to no end, but I’m really appreciative of this post talking about the history and meaning of the flag and especially thankful for the redbubble plug, I want to add more flags and make custom designs to the shop if any interest is expressed.

Also, to clarify, I’ve never thought that attraction to the same gender is a requirement for queerness, I honestly just forgot to include other identities that were accidentally excluded by these stripes and I should’ve just chosen not to attempt to represent every single group I could think of on one flag. I got so caught up with the aesthetic appeal that I overlooked some now obvious problems. I’m queer myself (gender and orientation), and I do encourage use of the new flag over the old one (as cool as it looks) although the original was made with no ill will toward any queer group. I’m kind of embarrassed of the old one nowadays, I was only 17 or 18 when I made it and I had experience making terms and flags at that point but I also focused too much on aesthetics and didn’t take the necessary time to do peer review or personal doublechecking for accuracy and for the desired representation. I still make terms and flags now, but not on this blog. I care a lot about what I do and about other creators in the community.

Love, Ros

After previous discourse on this blog about this flag and a brief discussion on Instagram earlier tonight, I realized that it is necessary to spread some real information about the origin of this queer pride flag.

There is a misconception being spread that the 9 stripe queer pride flag pictured above is actually a "MAP pride flag" and that is simply not a fact. I believe that the reason for this misconception being spread is the serious rise in queerphobia and queer exclusionism that I've personally witnessed within the past two years.

I believe that spreading these lies is an intentional attempt to rob the queer community of one of our symbols of pride and unity. I believe that this is also a recycling of a classic homophobic tatic: the religious right has long pushed the narrative that queer people are predators, and attempting to paint the queer pride flag as a "MAP" flag is more of the same hatred and propaganda--sadly coming from within our own communities.

Now, onto the description of the image presentation:

1) Black text one a white square background that says "The earliest known appearance of this queer pride flag online is from 2015." To the right of the text is a 9 stripe queer pride flag.

2) "This 9 stripe pride flag was created by deviantart user pastelmemer (pastelroswell on tumblr). The first known version looked like this:" Below is a photo of an early version of the 9 stripe queer pride flag with vertical stripes and a letter Q in black in the center.

3) "It appears that a version with horizontal stripes and without the letter Q in the center was created around the same time. The version with horizontal stripes gained popularity." An image of the flag is to the right.

4) "The colors were chosen to represent different identities within the queer community. The pinks and blues near each other represent same gender attraction, orange and green represents nonbinary people, and black and white represents aromantic, asexual, and agender people."

5) "Some people within the queer community found the use of pink and blue to represent same gender relationships problematic and exclusionary of multisexual and non same gender attracted queer people. So tumblr user ask-pride-color-schemes created alternative versions, replacing one blue and one pink stripe with lavender stripes, the same shade of lavender as in the genderqueer pride flag."

6) Images of the edited queer pride flags, with lavender stripes. "Credit ask-pride-color-schemes."

7) "PastelRoswell/pastelmemer sells merch using this modified flag with lavender stripes in kits redbubble shop! Support queer content creators! Support queer small business owners!" Image: a screenshot of pastelmemers redbubble shop, showing merch with the queer flag.

8) "Whichever version of the queer pride flag you prefer, support and respect queer artists! Learn the history of our pride flags! Reject the erasure of queer history! Reject exclusionism and gatekeeping. Nonbinary, asexual, and aromantic people are a part of our queer communities!"

[ipso-faculty]

Compiling some terms/posts useful for people questioning if intersex

Note: If a definition in is in quotes, the source material it is quoted from is linked to by the relevant term.

Highly relevant terms

Extersex - "[A] term for those who do not know whether they are dyadic or intersex. It could be because one feels as though they might be some form of intersex, but are unable to medically confirm it, or cannot confirm what intersex variation it is. It may also be for those who have a variation that may be considered intersex, but are uncertain if they want to identify as intersex." - @themogaidragon

Inter-Questioning - "a term for anyone who is questioning if they’re intersex, for any reason. (Whether it’s due to one’s physical body, familial experiences that imply one is, or possibly simply a mental feeling that one is intersex.)" - @eldorr

Quoisex - "[An] umbrella term for anyone who doesn't quite understand their sex or doesn't want to define their sex." - LGBTQIA+ Wiki Note: I understand this as more general than extersex, and would include people questioning if altersex. See the wiki entry for subtypes (quoigonadal, quoichest, etc)

Altersex - "An umbrella term to describe having or wanting primary or secondary sex traits/characteristics that do not align with the binary sex model that a significant portion of society has adopted. It is primarily used by those who are not intersex and are trans+ and wish to or transition specifically to have a body that does not fit the aforementioned sex model." -@intersex-questions Note: Being altersex does not make somebody intersex. I include it because many people questioning their intersex status realize this is what they're looking for.

Anisohormonal - "Aniso (unequal/uneven) + hormonal (relating to hormones). An individual who has an imbalance of hormones for any number of reasons. Such individuals may or may not also be intersex." - @sproutflags Note: includes non-intersex variations such as diabetes.

Subtypes of intersex people

Note: In my experience most people questioning if they're intersex have a hormonal intersex variation like PCOS, so I'm skewing towards this accordingly.

Dysgonadal - "[having] dysfunctional gonads. This includes agonadal (no gonads) and hypogonadal. Also known as gonadal agenesis/dysgenesis, dyssex and nullogonadal/asexed (null sex or avaginal/aphallia)." - @arco-pluris Note: contrasted with eugonadal - "people with functional gonads (reproductive cells). Includes hypergonadal (hyperfunctional gonads)"

Interhormonal - "Someone who is intersex and anisohormonal and/or feels that being intersex has impacted their identity as anisohormonal in some way and/or that their identity as anisohormonal has impacted their identity as intersex in some way." - @sproutflags

Intermeer - "a term used to describe all intersex variations that are caused by an overproduction of horomones (testosterone, estrogen, or both.)" - LGBTQIA+ Wiki Variations include: AES, FMPP, PCOS. Part of The Autre System for categorizing intersex variations.

Intermindre - "a term used to describe all intersex variations that are caused by a lack of horomones (testosterone, estrogen, or both.)" Note: The wiki lists AIS and EIS as examples although they are not due to a lack of hormones, but rather a lack of sensitivity to them. Part of The Autre System for categorizing intersex variations. See the wiki for more subtypes. Thank you to anon asker who pointed out the AIS/EIS issue.

Mesosex - "[A] person who has an intersex variation, but one which does not conform to perisex (non-intersex) ideas of what intersex is. For example, people who have intersex traits that are considered "mild", or who have variations such as PCOS Hyperandrogenism and Poland Syndrome." - @ipso-faculty

More intersex terminology

Intersex Terminology Masterpost by @intersexfairy

Edits: - 2023-12-13: corrected AIS mischaracterized as lack of hormones, ty to anon for correction - 2023-12-13: added interdynamic - 2023-12-20: added inter-questioning, thank you @fazbears-horror-attraction for sharing it! - 2023-12-21: removed interdynamic. Apparently "secondary sex" means something entirely different in omegaverse. Ty to anon for correction.

[ipso-faculty]

Proposing/requesting some new intersex terminology

In my talking and thinking about intersex and intersex studies, I've found a desire to put names some of the concepts and groups of people that are out there. Here's what I've come up with, and would like feedback. 💛

Alternate language for medical/identity models

Intermedicalist: referring to a person or ideas which support the pathologization of intersex. Alternate language for what Costello (2016) refers to as the medical/disorder model of intersex. Intended as a parallel with transmedicalist.

Interliberationist: an intersex person who supports intersex liberation, in contrast to intermedicalism. Alternate language for what Costello (2016) refers to the identity framework of intersex; the view of intersex as a social identity, and intersex people in need of liberation from pathologization and presumptions about sex/gender norms.

Language for how intersex people relate to gender

Extergender. An intersex person who is not intergender, i.e. their gender does not feel affected by being intersex.

Language for how intersex people do or do not relate to queerness

Interqueer: an intersex person who sees their intersexness as being queer 🌈

Ipsoqueer: an intersex person whose queerness comes solely from being intersex; they are heterosexual, cis/ipsogender, etc. A subtype of interqueer.

Ulterqueer: an intersex person who understands their intersexness as queer and is also queer in other ways (sexual orientation, gender identity, etc). A subtype of interqueer.

Interseparate: an intersex person who rejects the idea that being intersex makes them queer. Opposite of interqueer.

Interconforming an intersex person who disidentifies with queerness on all axes (they are hetero, cis/ipsogender, etc). A subtype of interseparate.

Internormative: an intersex person who rejects that being intersex makes them queer, but they are queer in other ways. A subtype of interseparate. Chosen as parallel to homonormativity and transnormativity.

In terms of feedback: these are all concepts I want names for, but other than intermedicalist & interliberationist I feel pretty tentative/uncertain about what I've come up with. If you have ideas for improvements please let me know! 🤗

I'm a little worried that ipsoqueer and ulterqueer would lead to confusion with ipsogender and ultergender but also couldn't think of anything better!

EDITS: - 2023-11-27: changed "interstraight" to "interseparate", TY to anon who suggested the change. 🏳️‍⚧️

[ipso-faculty]

Umbrella term for being intersex and your gender isn't your AGAB?

So right now, we have an established term, ipsogender, for an intersex person whose gender is the same as their gender assigned at birth.

To my knowledge, there is not an umbrella term for an intersex person whose gender is not the same as their AGAB. Right now we have the established term, ultergender, for an intersex person whose gender isn't their AGAB and doesn't identify as trans, and the category of trans-intersex for those that do.

EDIT: I have been informed by @interarchive that ultergender was coined to be an opposite of ipsogender, and is not actually exclusive of trans people. So the umbrella term is actually ultergender! 💜

I am crossing off the rest of the text of this post to make clear the poll is no longer needed for this purpose. Ty <3

In the world of anatomy, the opposite of ipsi- (same) is contra- (against), which is what to me would be the obvious choice. Unfortunately, the term contragender is already taken. 😭

Here are some options I'm considering, and want feedback on. Sorry Tumblr only lets you vote for up one thing so let me know in the replies if you like multiple, dislike any, etc.

Countergender has a previous coining but from what I can tell it didn't take off? If people are using this way please let me know, right now. It also seems to have limited use in sociology as shorthand for counter-stereotypic gender things. 🤔

Let me know what you think of the options! I'd especially like to hear from ultergender people and trans-intersex people whose gender isn't their AGAB. 💛

[mxgrayson-abandoned]

Me: monosexism and allosexism are things :)

Exclusionists: YOU FUCKIN MOGAI FREAK QUIT TRYING TO BE OPPRESSED TO BE COOL

Academic, peer reviewed sources which typically take years to put together and get published: talk about monosexism, use the word monosexism, talk about allosexism (note that the word isn’t widely in use, but the concept has been discussed. Which doesn’t make it illegitimate. Imagine if someone said Bridge Called My Back wasn’t specifically about intersectionality just because it was written before the term was coined/popularized), and point out how the queer community often directly contributes to the abuse that makes mspec, ace, and trans/nb folks mental health rates so low.

Exclusionist tumblr has adopted this trend of trying to treat lesser known terms and identities as newfangled–and therefore “mogai”–on purpose. It is an attempt to deny us our place in the community and to deny us our history.

Queer has been widely reclaimed for decades.

Genderqueer has existed since the early 90s. And so have the terms polygendered and polysexual.

Bigender has been in usage since the late 90s, at least.

Genderfuck has been in usage since the 70s.

Asexuality has existed as an identity since the early 70s.

One of the earliest usages of the word androgyne as a specific identity comes from 1895.

Neutrois was created in 1995.

Non-gendered has been in usage since at least 2000.

Intergender was coined in the 90s. At the time, intergender was NOT an intersex specific gender identity, but was for anyone “between” man and woman.

Do your own reseach and don’t believe the nonsense being pushed by discourse blogs.

Links to START out with. Yes, a lot of them are Wikipedia. Scroll down. Follow the citations and read the source material.

Don’t be afraid to just start googling. “Term + year created” or “history of term” are good ways to start.

List of nonbinary identities.

https://nonbinary.wiki/wiki/List_of_nonbinary_identities

History of nonbinary identities:

https://nonbinary.miraheze.org/wiki/History_of_nonbinary_gender

Timeline of asexual history:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_asexual_history

Asexuality in 1973:

http://lesbianherstorian.com/post/175482819467/activists-at-barnard-college-providing-labels

A page from a zine in 1995, selling pride and identity buttons, including those for polysexual and polygendered people:

http://genderqueerpositivity.tumblr.com/post/173390751113/this-is-a-page-from-the-zine-gendertrash-from-hell

Some history of intersex inclusion in the LGBTQ community:

http://genderqueerpositivity.tumblr.com/post/181864402408/i-was-literally-just-researching-the-historical

Genderqueer history:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderqueer#History

Early intergender history:

http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/intergen.html