We live in a society where we have been conditioned to believe that we only exist in the binary of male or female. However, the existence of intersex persons has since proven that to be untrue. An Intersex person is someone who is born with sex characteristics that are not typically male or typically female.

According to experts, 1 in 2000 children is intersex. And according to the 2019 general census, there are 1524 intersex persons in Kenya. In the past intersex persons have been referred to as hermaphrodite, an outdated and derogative term which means a person with both fully male and fully female something that is nearly impossible biologically.

There are different ways in which intersex traits manifest: Hormones, genitals, chromosomes, reproductive system and gonads(ovaries and testicles). Some intersex persons have genitals or internal sex organs that do not fit the male or female boxes. For instance, a person with both testicular tissues and ovarian (Ovotestes).

Some intersex individuals may have a combination of chromosomes that are different like XXY, and not XX or XY which are usually associated with female and male respectively. In some cases they might have one chromosome, XO or have have some cells with XX and some cells with XY.

When it comes to genitals, a person may have genitals that are associated with being assigned male at birth(AMAB), such as a penis, a scrotum, but at the same time have an internal reproductive anatomy that is associated with being assigned female at birth(AFAB), like; a uterus, oviduct or have high hormone levels associated with being AFAB such as oestrogen.

Being intersex is a naturally occuring variation and not a medical condition and therefore conducting medical interventions on intersex bodies such as hormone therapy, constructive or normalisation surgeries is medically unnecessary. Also, subjecting intersex persons to other forms of normalisation such as religion and cultural is discriminative and a violation of their rights.

In as much as intersex is an inborn thing, not all intersex persons will know that they are actually intersex at birth. Only intersex children with ambigous genitals can be identified as intersex at birth while others will realise at puberty or way later in life when conducting fertility tests, and some might even live their entire lives without ever knowing that they are intersex thus, the different intersex variations. There are over 47 variations of intersex.

Intersex persons have genders and while most choose to identify themselves with intersex as their gender, some may choose to identify as male or female, especially if their gender does not allign to the one they were assigned at birth, to affirm the direction with which their bodies are gravitating to.

Activism by and for intersex people has led to some progress especially in averting harmful narratives associated with being intersex and eradicting medically unnecessary procedures conducted on intersex children. Many people now believe that intersex children should be allowed to grow and make informed decisions when it comes to corrective surgeries.

Intersex individuals battle with a lot of issues such as trying to fit in a society that does not accommodate their unique needs, stigmatization, discrimination, human rights violations, self acceptance, violence, just to mention a few.

Our call to everyone is that we should regard advocating for intersex rights as our collective responsibilty and strive to provide a safe environment for easy intergration of intersex persons in our society.

Article by Intersex Kenya Education and Advocacy (IKEA)