When Alec Butler was born in 1959 it was assumed Alec was female. But after being brought up as a girl, Alec - now an award-winning writer and film-maker - realised they were intersex.
Alec said that,” I was about 12 when it really hit. I started to grow a beard and I had a period. So, it was really confusing for me.”
The term “intersex” refers to people who have variations in their sex characteristics, like variations in their hormones, chromosomes, internal reproductive anatomy, and/or external genitalia. An intersex person is someone who was born without falling directly into one among the binary biological sexes assigned at birth – male or female. when you’re born, you're assigned biological sex based on your genitalia. this can be different from your identity and is entirely based on your biological structure at birth. Being intersex suggests that you are born with characteristics of both sexes – there are several combinations and developmental causes which will lead somebody to be considered intersex. It can turn up externally in the appearance of genitals or internally during a person’s reproductive organs. intersex also can mean that body combination varies from the typical XX (usually known as female) or XY (usually identified as male), for instance, XXY.
Research states that 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits – that’s similar to the number of people in the world with red hair! Yet these people have gone through situations where they feel that they need to hide their experiences and pain. We have to understand their situation and learn that periods do not have anything to do with gender.
As there are so many variations of what it can mean to be intersex, there is no one definite answer to whether intersex people bleed. Mostly, it depends on the sexual and reproductive organs an individual is born with. Like other genders, some intersex people bleed and some do not. If an intersex individual is born with a functioning uterus, ovaries, and a vagina, most probably that person will begin menstruating at puberty. The experience of getting a period can range hugely from person to person and it is the same for individuals who are intersex as well.
Everybody has different experiences, and we must understand them and make them feel included. We have to stop thinking that what we are taught is the only normal. There are many new things we learn every day and its okay for the normal to change every passing day.
-Nandini Jalan
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