Belgian model Hanne Gaby Odiele yesterday revealed to the world that she is intersex, which is characterized by sex characteristics such as genitals or chromosomes that don’t fit the typical definitions of male or female. According to the United Nations, “Up to 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits, a figure roughly equivalent to the number of redheads.”
As part of her announcement, Odiele is teaming up with InterACT, a non-profit that advocates for intersex youth. One of the main issues Odiele wishes to address is the decision to perform surgery on intersex children in an effort to make their genitalia appear entirely male or female.
Odiele told U.S.A. Today she was born with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), which is characterized in women by XY chromosomes more typically found in men. As part of the syndrome, she had internal, undescended testes, and her parents were told if she did not have her testicles remove she might develop cancer and would not develop as a normal, female girl.
At age ten, she underwent surgery to have the testicles remove, an event she didn’t know how to process. “I knew at one point after the surgery I could not have kids, I was not having my period. I knew something was wrong with me,” said Odiele. She also underwent vaginal reconstructive surgery at age 18.
Looking back, she now views both surgeries as unnecessary. “It’s not that big of a deal being intersex. If they were just honest from the beginning… It became a trauma because of what they did,” explained Odiele.
Speaking on the practice of using surgery to normalize intersex individuals, Susan Stred, professor of pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University, advocates for no surgery until the individual is at an age of consent. “You wouldn’t do a nose job on a 7-year-old,” she said.
On her Instagram account, Odiele posted two videos with messages for young people who are intersex, as well as their parents and doctors who might be asked to treat them.
For more info visit interactadvocates.org.
Image above is via Odiele’s Instagram.
