This week’s guest blog is from the lovely Jennifer Milligan, a woman with Turners Syndrome. I’ve been lucky enough to share her perspective before about the importance of understanding women with Turners Syndrome as women. You can fine that excellent post here.
This week she is tackling the issue of healthcare for people with DSDs. She also talks about the impact of ideas such as “gender identity” and how they are being used against women with DSDs to the point of our exclusion from conversations.
Talking about medical issues can often lead to accusations that people with DSDs are “pathologising” themselves. I hope Jennifer’s post might help people to see why this is a nonsensical and why it’s important that people with DSDs are allowed to talk about their experiences and build better understanding and relationships with healthcare professionals.
If you enjoy Jennifer’s writing, then I recommend popping over to Twitter and giving her a follow. She is a tireless and patient campaigner for the rights of those with DSDs…show her some love and support. (Or don’t, it’s your social media and I’m not your boss).
I’ve also had a few people ask me recently how they can support the blog. Obviously sharing the writing here is always appreciated and is an amazing start. The larger the audience we reach, the more chance we have of effecting change. I’m also going to give a quick plug to my PayPal and Patreon. Financial contributions can help to free up time and go towards future projects. As I’ve explained in the past, intersex funding is more likely to go towards groups that promote trans identities over the voices of those with DSDs. Until this changes, unfortunately, DSD advocates are very much reliant on contributions from elsewhere. I realise that times are tough for a lot of people though. If you can’t contribute, as I say, please keep sharing the blog. We can spread accurate information and elevate DSD voices together. Thanks!