πŸŽ‰ Happy #IntersexAwarenessDay!

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

🧡 Here are eight facts to know πŸ‘‡
❓ The definition

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

πŸ‘Ά The traits are sometimes visible at birth, but might not appear until puberty – or not at all.
πŸ”’ The numbers

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

πŸ‘¨β€πŸ¦° This is almost the same as those who are born with red hair

πŸ’‘ However, many don't realise they are intersex until later in life.
πŸ₯ Surgery

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

πŸ‡²πŸ‡Ή 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.

πŸ§‘β€πŸΌ Some parents opt for genital surgery if their child is born intersex.

πŸ‘Ά However, this procedure can sometimes lead to infertility.
πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ #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.

πŸ§‘β€βš–οΈ Many countries requires intersex people to go down the same medical route as trans people if they want to legally change their gender.
⛔️ Discrimination

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

πŸ’Ό This can leave intersex people without protection at work, in healthcare and in sports.
πŸ… Sports

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

πŸ‡―πŸ‡΅ 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 πŸ‘‡

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More from @Openly

25 Oct
πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ @DCComics is making #LGBT+ history - again!

πŸ’­ It has introduced the first transgender Amazon in the latest issue of their Wonder Woman series, Nubia & The Amazons.

πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ The character is a Black trans woman named Bia πŸ‘‡.
πŸ–ŒοΈ Writers @Steph_I_Will and @definitelyvita confirmed Bia’s identity in a series of tweets.

πŸ—£ β€œShe isn’t set dressing, she isn’t a box to tick, she is a fully-fledged character that is important to her community,” wrote @Steph_I_Will.

πŸ¦Έβ€β™‚οΈThe news comes shortly after Jon Kent, @DCComics' newest Superman and son of the original Man of Steel, came out as bisexual.

🌈 Earlier this year, Tim Drake aka Robin also came out as bi in Batman: Urban Legends.
twitter.com/i/events/14478…
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6 Aug
πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈToday, hundreds of people are meeting outside 10 Downing Street in London for the #TransRightsProtest.

πŸͺ§ They want to raise awareness of issues faced by transgender and non-binary people in Britain, including access to healthcare. ImageImageImageImage
πŸ—£οΈ "As a non-binary person, I want the right to be legally recognised" says @OwenJHurcum, the world's first non-binary Mayor in Bangor, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿.
πŸ—£οΈ "Being able to be someone's representation and to fight for more representation is so important, without that, it's so isolating. It's so destructive."

Read our interview with @OwenJHurcum πŸ‘‡bit.ly/3fB0eLA
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3 Aug
πŸƒ The world's fastest women are racing for gold at #Tokyo2020 today.

β›” But some athletes including Olympian Caster Semenya have been banned from competing in certain races because they are intersex or have high levels of testosterone.

Here's what you need to know 🧡
🧬 Intersex people are born with atypical chromosomes or sex features.

πŸ”΅ This means some women can also have male sex characteristics - including internal testes producing testosterone.

🏷 This is often known as hyperandrogenism. openlynews.com/i/?id=d766bd54…
πŸ“‰ In 2011, the IAAF - now @worldathletics - ruled that female athletes with hyperandrogenism have to lower their testosterone levels to "ensure fair competition for all women".

πŸ’Š But when @Caster800m began taking medication to do this, she said it made her feel ill.
Read 9 tweets
2 Aug
Laurel Hubbard πŸ‹οΈβ€β™€οΈ and Quinn ⚽ are the first openly trans athletes to compete in the @Olympics.

πŸ€” But why did it take until #Tokyo2020 to get to this point?

🧡Here's what you should know about trans representation in sport. πŸ‘‡
πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ Heinrich Ratjen was an early case of gender controversy at the Games.

πŸƒβ€β™€οΈ Ratjen competed as a woman in the 1936 #Olympics before being questioned about their gender.

⚧ After being arrested for fraud, they began living as a man - though many now think they were intersex.
β­• After this case, many female athletes were interrogated about their identity.

πŸ›‚ In the 1940s, β€˜femininity certificates' were introduced by international sports administrators.

πŸ”΄ From the 1966 European Championships, women had to go through mandatory genital checks.
Read 10 tweets
5 Jun
#OnThisDay 40 years ago the first cases of AIDS were reported in the US πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ, marking the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

This is the story of how HIV spread around the world - and how it affected the LGBT+ πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ community 🧡.

#AIDSat40
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We now know that HIV was present in the US from at least the mid-70s.
Read 15 tweets
14 May
From Shakespearean England πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ to RuPaul's global empire 🌍, the art of drag spans centuries.

Let's dig into the history books for a brief herstory of drag. The library is open and don't forget – reading is fundamental πŸ“–

Thread 🧡
So where does drag come from?

From ancient Greek dramas to Shakespearean England, women were often banished from the stage, even when the play had female characters 🎭

The solution? You guessed it – the men had to dress up as women
In fact, the term 'drag' comes from the theatre as well.

Coined in 19th-century England, it came from the long skirts male actors wore when cross-dressing. The dresses, you see, dragged on the floor... πŸ‘—
Read 19 tweets

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