Humanists of Colorado: Intersex

NOTE: Tihis is a cross-promotional event with the Humanists of Colorado. This month, doors open at 6pm and we'll have some light snacks available instead of a potluck dinner. The talk will begin at 7pm following announcements.

The first question usually asked when a child is born is "Is it a girl or a boy?" and most people usually think that's a pretty easy question to answer, but not always so. Many people want life to fit in to easy-to-understand binary boxes, and the existence of intersex people can complicate those matters. Intersex children born with ambiguous genitalia are very often subjected to surgeries in an attempt to make their bodies conform to these rigid understandings of sex and gender.

Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. Sex and gender are different things, and exist more along a spectrum rather than fitting into into binary categories. What are the implications for our understanding of ourselves as human beings in a society and culture that is often very focused on enforcing roles, responsibilities, and meaning to these "gender norms" when we account for intersex people?

Kimberly Saviano is the president of a national intersex support organization whose mission is promoting support, education, and outreach to foster healthy outcomes for adults, youth, children, and families affected by Intersex. Her presentation will give a quick history of the intersex movement, some of the struggles faced by the intersex community, and will highlight some of the humanist questions about what it means to fall outside the standard male/female dichotomy our culture insists upon. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.