Why Do Trans Activists Claim to Be Intersex?

This is a question I get asked a lot and, to be honest, it’s one of the hardest to answer. Firstly, being asked to second guess someone else’s motivation is problematic. I can only guess what they’re thinking based on their behaviour, I can’t know. Secondly, I don’t think it has a simple answer, like most things in life. Still, it bears discussion, so I’m going to try to explore the phenomenon.

Before we begin, a quick history lesson.

Trans people claiming to have some sort of DSD/intersex status is not a new phenomenon. I’m going to illustrate his with the story of Agnes Torres, probably one of the most well documented cases ever.

In 1962, 20-year-old Agnes was referred to University of California Medical Center at Los Angeles because of “progressive feminization” since the age of 12. Agnes is described in science papers as presenting with “feminine body contours and hair pattern and large, well-developed breasts coexisting with the normal external genitalia of a male.” Medical history indicated that Agnes had been a typically presenting, healthy male at birth and had remained so pre-puberty. Then, during puberty, a “progressive deepening of the voice, phallic enlargement, development of a feminine pubic hair pattern and progressive breast enlargement” had occurred. Agnes also expressed a desire to have been a woman since childhood and to have had an interest in “girls’ toys”.

Agnes’ case baffled doctors. Numerous tests were carried out. None provided any conclusive answers for her appearance.  She was found to have an excess of oestrogen, which explained the feminised development, but doctors could not explain why this had happened. She was eventually diagnosed with a rare form of ‘male pseudohermaphroditism with feminizing testis’, an outdated term used back then for Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS).

Agnes wanted sex reassignment surgery (SRS) to align her genitalia with the rest of her appearance. Doctors agreed, due to Agnes’ hyper-feminised appearance and traits (Agnes spoke at length in psychological interviews about studying how women behaved and taking instruction form her boyfriend, Bill, on how to pass as a woman), that Agnes was “entitled” to a vagina and so SRS was performed.

Agnes stayed in touch with the doctors who had treated her and written about the case. She dropped a bombshell though when, 5 years later, she revealed she had been self-medicating with oestrogen tablets, stolen from their mother, since the age of 12. This was the cause of Agnes’ feminisation, not a mysterious intersex condition.

It would seem Agnes was uncomfortable with her own sexuality and gender non-conforming behaviour. It’s impossible to think that 12-year-old Agnes really understood the consequences of taking female hormones. In fact, doctors described Agnes’ belief that she may become a woman as sort of magical thinking. It may be that she believed the medication would help that process. She certainly seemed to have had no thought of the need for surgical alteration until later in life.

Much has been written about the case since, exploring the reasons that Agnes may have chosen to lie to doctors, but also why they were so taken in. The main theory seems to be that doctors and Agnes felt she needed some “true claim” to womanhood to be eligible for SRS and to explain her feminine appearance and behaviour. Constructing an intersex narrative positioned Agnes as the victim of a mistake by nature that could be fixed by man. This clearly appealed to the doctors who could make a name for themselves by being the ones treating her and reporting on the case. Agnes herself said later in life she had co-operated with whatever the doctors said in the hope that this would mean surgery was performed as quickly as possible.

It’s interesting to note that many of Agnes’ comments have since been criticised as being homophobic and transphobic. She referred to trans and homosexual people as “abnormal” and explicitly did not want to be classed with “them”. Agnes is not the only recorded case where a belief in being born intersex among transsexuals has been found to be caused by internalised transphobia. This is a common theme. As a side note, arguably, the portrayal of intersex in this case is also interphobic in viewing it as a mistake that needs to be fixed.

I’ve often considered this may be a reason for the claims of intersex status by many of the trans activists I have spoken to. In fact, it is a motivation that has been acknowledged by trans activists. It seems many feel that being intersex legitimises their access to procedures such as SRS and hormone treatments or their claims of feeling an incongruence with their sex. This is not a popular view in intersex activism circles, who tend to be against unnecessary medical interventions, particularly for children. It is, however, something intersex orgs have tackled before in the shape of “intersex brains” theory (I will blog about this one day, but in the meantime, you can hear some of my thoughts about it here).

This argument, that being intersex will make access to medical procedures easier, isn’t without other contradictory problems though. In the UK, anecdotal evidence suggests that access to cosmetic procedures for adults can be easier to access with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, rather than a diagnosis of a DSD. It would perhaps then be better to suggest that some claims are due to a perceived ease of access to medical procedures, rather than this being reality.

Another hypothesis for why trans people may claim to be intersex is “individuals may also be attracted to the novelty and perceived freakishness of being “intersex.” In some cases, this may take the form of, or be akin to, a sexual paraphilia”. This may not be as far fetched as it seems. Certainly, there are boards on trans peer support sites, such as Susan’s Place, which discuss the fetishization of “hermaphrodites”. Even in literature written by respected academics, such as this from Anne Fausto-Sterling (the woman behind the 1.7% stat) it’s clear to see the idea of intersex people being reduced to a fantasy and fetishized.

“Perhaps we will come to view such children as especially blessed or lucky. It is not so far-fetched to think that some can become the most desirable of all possible mates, able to pleasure their partners in a variety of ways.”

I must confess, in terms of most disturbing quotes ever, Fausto-Sterling is a strong contender there. Worrying views about children as sexual objects aside, I notice no thought is given to the intersex person themselves receiving any pleasure from sexual intercourse. They are merely positioned as the one who exists to please others.

In terms of modern, online intersex appropriation, it’s easy to see why this prevails. There are many links to the anime community in some trans circles. Hentai, the pornographic branch of anime, has a whole genre named ‘Futanari’. Futanari is the Japanese word for hermaphroditism, although it can also be used more broadly to mean androgyny. In hentai, however, it specifically describes characters with both primary sex characteristics, nowadays referring almost exclusively to characters who have an overall feminine body, but both female and male genitalia.

As I have written before, it is not actually possible for a person to have both sets of genitalia. In fact, as in the Yaniv case, it is often factors like this that make it obvious that the claim of being intersex is fictitious.  Many trans activists will make other such implausible claims, such as contradictory, multiple diagnoses, the existence of both sets of genitalia and/or gonads and even in extreme cases tales of self-impregnation.

In the case of Yaniv, there is one other factor that’s worth considering.

Trans activist Tracie O’Keefe wrote an article in 2010 encouraging trans people to identify as intersex as a way to “mess with the system”. O’Keefe makes it clear that the aim is to use intersex as a political label and a tool to confuse authorities by suggesting that binary classifications of male and female don’t work. This certainly seems to be the aim of the fabled sex spectrum. O’Keefe posits that this will make it easier for trans activists to push for legislative changes that give them access to the things they demand, such as changes in documentation along with the destruction of any evidence of former identities. Although not an administrative matter, it’s clear to see this at work in the Yaniv case, where spurious claims about “intersex genitalia” are accepted almost without question.

I’m going to wrap this up soon, but I think we also need to acknowledge why this is such an issue for the intersex/DSD community. Firstly, intersex discussion groups can quickly become dominated by trans activists claiming intersex status and wanting validation for this. This over-representation means that often it is these stories that make it into the mainstream media, with some trans activists becoming actual spokespeople for the intersex community, despite not having the experience or even an interest in the issues facing those with DSDs. This leads to the spreading of misinformation which unfortunately, due to its proliferation, can end up influencing intersex protocols. As it can be easy for trans activists to claim an invasion of privacy when asked to prove their credentials to speak on behalf of intersex people, it is difficult to challenge these claims. This, in turn, promotes the unhelpful and inaccurate ideas held by the pretending individual, or poseur, while intersex people who dare to contradict the narrative become further marginalised.

Whatever the many and varied reasons trans activists lay claim to intersex status, be it an inability to accept themselves for who they are, for perceived status or access to medical interventions, fetishistic curiosity, or just to create political confusion for the advancement of their agenda, it is not a claim that helps either group, nor is it a new phenomenon. Trans people need to be able to accept themselves and understand who they are without this conflation. Encouraging the mistaken belief that they are somehow intersex does nothing to help with this, all it does is shutdown discussions and muddy the waters. Intersex people deserve accurate information about their differences, not only to be available to them but also to fight social stigmas surrounding DSDs. And finally, both groups deserve their own voices and to talk about their own needs and reality without being political pawns in someone else’s game or sexual fantasy.

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23 Comments

    1. Thank you! I was a bit unsure about posting this, as I know some people might not like it but I feel I should at least have a go at answering the question.

  1. We shouldn’t rule out the possibility that a significant part of this ‘culture’ are completely aware of what they are doing and that they intend to trample on others rights. In fact they may be intending to remove those rights entirely.

    1. To be fair, in terms of rights, intersex people really don’t have many to be taken away. Although there is the point that they want to represent “Intersex rights” by pretending they’re about trans rights, such as third gender markers etc.

  2. Claire,
    You’re well missed on Twitter, but I’m glad you’re still staying in the public sphere with this. Great article.
    Something you didn’t mention that is similar to the “futanari” thing is the furry community, with regards to this subject.
    The themes of literal fetishization of intersex conditions in the form of hermaphrodites (“herms”) is only one such example that has been prevalent there, long preceding the current transgenderism phenomenon. In fact, given the crossover between communities, it’s not surprising to often hear activists vocally promoting rhetoric and political platforms that sound like they came directly from sexual online roleplaying sessions from furries two decades ago. Something to look into.

  3. You’re well missed on Twitter, but I’m glad you’re still staying in the public sphere with this. Great article.
    Something you didn’t mention that is similar to the “futanari” thing is the furry community, with regards to this subject.
    The themes of literal fetishization of intersex conditions in the form of hermaphrodites (“herms”) is only one such example that has been prevalent there, long preceding the current transgenderism phenomenon. In fact, given the crossover between communities, it’s not surprising to often hear activists vocally promoting rhetoric and political platforms that sound like they came directly from sexual online roleplaying sessions from furries two decades ago. Something to look into.

  4. Claire,

    You’re well missed on Twitter, but I’m glad you’re still staying in the public sphere with this. Great article.
    Something you didn’t mention that is similar to the “futanari” thing is the furry community, with regards to this subject.
    The themes of literal fetishization of intersex conditions in the form of hermaphrodites (“herms”) is only one such example that has been prevalent there, long preceding the current transgenderism phenomenon. In fact, given the crossover between communities, it’s not surprising to often hear activists vocally promoting rhetoric and political platforms that sound like they came directly from sexual online roleplaying sessions from furries two decades ago. Something to look into.

    1. I remember seeing a really good article a while back looking at the links between Hentai and transgenderism. Pretty sure it was tweeted by Blanchard, although not necessarily written by him. Can you remember it?

  5. Claire, I’m wondering what you think about laws, legal classifications, and rights/non-discrimination in relation to intersex people. The Yoygakarta Principles expanded version brings in the category of ‘sex characteristics’ and this would cover intersex people but also seems to reduce the question of ‘sex’ as a binary related to reproductive roles and the whole question of patriarchy and women’s liberation movement to one of bodily features.

    Could you point me to anything useful that intersex people have written on this topic, that isn’t a conflation with trans issues? Do you think that the rights of/ non-discrimination against intersex people should be addressed in laws that might deal with non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (if gender identity/expression is brought back to being simply non-conformity to sex stereotypes, and the notion that it can change a person’s sex classification is eliminated)?

    I’m asking because I want to be in solidarity with intersex people, as a lesbian and feminist and also disability rights activist, I don’t think we can just say ‘it’s a minority of people and they don’t matter’. And the question comes up in relation to how we define female and male, and who should be taken into consideration in non-discrimination legislation.

    If there’s anything better discussed by email I think my email may show to you here, or we can figure out how to do that.

    1. Hi, these are great questions. Historically, intersex activists actually did see themselves more in line with disability activism, which makes more sense to me, but it soon became politicised and that’s where the LGBT+ aspect really comes in. I’ll probably write something about this in more detail for the blog and post a link to that here to answer you in more depth if that’s okay.

      As for the Yogyakarta Principles, I don’t like them for the reasons you say. There are lots of human rights issues that specifically only effect female people. Not being able to name and recognise that isn’t going to fix it. That being said, my view isn’t shared by all of the intersex community. Many support the Darlington Statement, which uses the Yogyakarta Principles as a base to argue for bodily autonomy rights. I don’t actually think this is necessary though. Understanding that intersex characteristics belong to the sex they are and don’t need adapting to live up to limited expectations of how male and female should look (I’m purely talking DSDs, not “female penises” proposed by trans activists) would seem to me the more obvious and honest solution.

      If you want to read an opinion that’s different to mine on this, Morgan Carpenter of the IHRA was a co-creator of the Darlington Statement and has written a lot about it. I don’t see eye to eye with him on much these days, but he is an interesting writer.

  6. I am thinking that the reason why the Tran activist are trying to claim to be Intersex is because of Medical/Biological justification and they want that medical/biological legitimacy that Intersex/DSD people like myself have. They try to claim to be Intersex/DSD but refuse to go through the Medical testing that’s required. It’s why i have seen a crop of Trans activist and gender queers try to claim to be intersex/DSD without knowing fully what it means to be Intersex/DSD and all the symptoms that comes along with that type of Intersex/DSD condition.

  7. Another excellent article. After Yanivs’ shit show again yesterday on YouTube, ( another claim to have both sets of genitals , menstruate and be intersex ) I came back and read again . The aim to confuse and cause chaos is clear, and is it a coincidence O’Keefe wrote the article in 2010, and Yaniv first came to prominence in 2011? Maybe but I doubt it.

    1. Thanks. I watched it last night too. I got the same vibes. He knows what he’s doing and is deliberately being evasive. Intersex to him is the perfect shield. No one knows wtf he’s talking about and so can’t or daren’t fully challenge him on it. He’s definitely bullshitting though.

  8. I was arguing with a barrister on Twitter yesterday and he brought up intersex conditions. He believed that the existence of DSDs means that sex is ambiguous and this means we cannot reliably categorise people as male or female. He believed that, if sex is ambiguous, people will be less likely to insist that males are males and females are female.
    He’s a barrister. I know I said that already. I’m just still very depressed by the fact.

    1. The amount of people who suddenly fancy themselves as experts on rare and complex medical conditions, that they really know nothing about, will never cease to amaze me.

    2. Hi Sheena, I came across some Canadian lawyers who also believed this and was appalled they’d be so illogical. In their case, I think they had the added motivation of cash flow by anticipating something terrible happening as a result of Bill C-16.

      As I was using a Russian male name, Dr Zhivago, one of them accused me of being a Russian bot so not to be credited! LMAO, as if an actual Russian spy/bot could be bothered with Twit, much less while using a clearly silly aka. Honestly some of these guys have created their own bogeymen without a clue how computers work, much less how limited bots actually are or how plenty of ppl call themselves bots just for the amusement. (I wasn’t calling myself one though – it was an act for Man Friday on Twit.)

      Needless to say he used all the standard transtropes and never actually answered any of my questions. He was on to this ‘sex is a spectrum’ because intersex thing. Sometimes I guess that non-trans supporters of trans will just regurgitate any old transcrap without thinking it through at all. None of them have ever shown all the missing spectrum of gametes between sperm and egg!

      And thanks for this great article Claire.

      1. I think you’re spot on about people regurgitating what they’re told. Intersex is so easy to do this to as there is such little good quality information out there. What people are told feeds their misconceptions, so they swallow it and don’t think to question it.

  9. Claire, you’ve been such a source of information on this issue and I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to stand on the vanguard of it. If it isn’t impertinent, may I ask for some advice? I’m on the steering committee of an academic list serve and our terms of service list a number of characteristics protected from discrimination. “Gender identity” is on there but “sex” is not and I’ve received a great deal of push back in attempting to add it. The suggested compromise was “sex assigned at birth.” My instinct is that this would other intersex people by conflating observation of sex in the majority of cases with the unnecessary medical intervention that was the original meaning of the phrase. I don’t want to speak for another community though, so I thought I’d ask your opinion?

    1. Good question. I would agree with you. The phrase “assigned at birth” should be reserved for those who it really describes. If it helps you to make your case, this Lancet article talks about how it is an ideological, not accurate term.
      https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)32223-2/fulltext

      As does this from the BMJ…
      https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.l245/rr-1

      For the perspective of someone who was assigned a sex, and how they feel about others using the phrase, this is pretty hard hitting
      https://thatswhatkentsaid.tumblr.com/post/11187424315/faab-maab-camab-famab-and-intersex-erasure/amp?__twitter_impression=true

      Hope some of this is useful and thank for your kind words! 💜

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