Thread by @Openly

🎉 Happy #IntersexAwarenessDay!

🌍 Intersex people have always existed, but today they often face a mixture of ignorance and discrimination.

🧵 Here are eight facts to know 👇

❓ The definition

☂️ #Intersex is an umbrella term for people with sex characteristics – chromosome patterns, genitals, gonads – outside the binary of male and female bodies.

👶 The traits are sometimes visible at birth, but might not appear until puberty – or not at all.

🔢 The numbers

🌎 Around 1.7% of the global population is thought to be born with an intersex condition.

👨‍🦰 This is almost the same as those who are born with red hair

💡 However, many don't realise they are intersex until later in life.

🏥 Surgery

😷 Intersex children who go through unnecessary genital procedures to appear more male or female often deal with physical & mental health consequences.

🇲🇹 Malta was the 1st country to ban the practice in 2015, followed by Portugal & Germany.

🚼 Fertility

🤰 Many intersex people have mostly typical reproductive anatomy – but some do not.

🧑‍🍼 Some parents opt for genital surgery if their child is born intersex.

👶 However, this procedure can sometimes lead to infertility.

🏳️‍🌈 #LGBT+ community

🚻 Being intersex relates to biological characteristics, not sexuality or gender identity.

🌈 However, they are often included in the LGBTQI acronym since they can face similar challenges – especially around sex and gender norms.

🚹 Gender norms

❌ Many are comfortable with their gender assigned at birth, but some discover it doesn't match who they are.

🧑‍⚖️ Many countries requires intersex people to go down the same medical route as trans people if they want to legally change their gender.

⛔️ Discrimination

⚖️ Anti-discrimination laws for gender identity and sexuality are becoming more common - but protections based on sex characteristics are often lacking.

💼 This can leave intersex people without protection at work, in healthcare and in sports.

🏅 Sports

🎽 Intersex people often face discrimination due to questions over whether they have unfair advantages.

🇯🇵 During the Tokyo Olympics, we examined how runner Caster Semenya was banned from certain races at #Tokyo2020.
twitter.com/i/events/14225…

How should @Openly report more on #intersex issues?

Let us know below 👇