Hi I was an intersexed man contacted for the show but my book was not published yet but will be in November 2007. It would have been in conflict with the other book being talked about on the show. I was told that there will be another intersex show next year. I told them that I have a powerful story to tell. Oprah is really fascinated by this subject so she still wants to educate people about intersexed people.

Thank you for your post and bringing the Klinefelter Syndrome, or 47xxy community, into the discussion. I am the mother of a 15yo 47xxy male, dx at 13. Although he completely identifies as male, especially since receiving hormorne replacement therapy, there were many times prior to HRT that he struggled with who and what he was. The occurance rate of KS is 1 in 500 males, often misdiagnosed as ADHD or even on the Austim Spectrum or not found out until trying to conceive...doctors and the public are so in dark it is pitiful. It is good to hear that Oprah has a desire to educate the public about these issues, as they are very common and they need a voice.

it is great to have a voice

Hi...i found out the same way you did....i had the operation at 20 and they lied to me....said i had cancer and had to have my ovaries removed.....i stumbled on the support group and read the bio 's and thought ...hmmm this sounds similar to me....but i had to get the medical records to find out the truth....i felt shame and i felt anger...i still do...i do not like doctors....

cheers loz

In regard to a post by wolfgrrl...i too am alarmed at the book linking intersex to incest....if this opinion is taken up by the public then it will push us further down...it was hard enough dealing with all the implications of being intersex, to be labelled a result of incest would crush me....

Thank you, Oprah, for being such a wonderful person and spreading truth. I live openly as an intersex person, by which I mean I have not had an operation to remove my breasts even though I wear a full beard on my face. I cause confusion where ever I go, but am always happy to answer respectful questions about myself, and many people do find the courage to ask. I'm not taking hormomes, I'm not planning an operation, I'm not transitioning I tell them, I am simply being myself and then explain as much as I can about chromosomes and conditions that create intersex people.

I am happy with who I am, with who God made me, and my decision a few years ago to let my beard grow after 23 years of shaving. I was in my late 30s before I finally achieved the freedom (courage) to stop trying to fit into a female box that I don't belong in but that every one told me from my earliest childhood I was supposed to be in even though I never felt at home in that box.

Despite this wonderful liberation, some aspects of being intersex remain troublesome. The general level of ignorance within general society about the existence of intersex people is difficult to deal with sometimes, what is worse is the the shockingly harmful level of ignorance that still exists among medical providers.

Doctors I have worked with in my hometown are stuck on the idea that I have female chromosomes and a life-threatening disorder which is causing the facial hair to grow. The problem is I have no symptoms of any life-threatening disorder/condition/disease that causes facial hair growth in women other than the facial hair itself. This is why the doctors have yet to name one of these life-threatening conditions that they want to test for, and instead make blanket statements about how "you might have a life threatening condition so we need to do a bunch of [invasive] tests on you."

I've refused to go along with these tests without having a chromosome test first. The insurance company approved it with little hassle, but the geneticist refused to do the test and convinced my doctor to tell me that I have "gender identity confusion." Yes, my confusion is making hair grow on my face, and is also responsible for my maleish muscle mass, flat butt, attraction to women, and high testosterone levels (for a female) and low estrogen levels (for a female). This is the type of nonesense and anti-scientific garbage that intersex people still routinely face from doctors who are supposed to know better. The ignorance among the medical community contributes to the ingorance of the general population and to the trauma of being intersex.

I feel sorrow for parents who have not been educated about the existence of intersex people and then have an intersex child that the doctors want to poke and prod all over while the family is still in shock and confusion about the new baby. Instead of being held and hugged and cuddled and kissed a million times and given all these demonstrations of unconditional love at the start of life, the baby is objectified into a thing that is some sort of malfunction that needs to be corrected. Now the parents instead of being overcome with joy, are overcome with shock, sadness, worry, fear, and trauma about their new child who is seen by the doctors as some sort of error. This is where the trauma of being intersex begins, in the delivery room, and it should not happen.

Not all things about being intersex in our society are negative, of course, despite the trauma, annoyance, and risk and threat of violence from the ignorant and intolerant. Not only do I feel much better being my true self, but apparently my confidence does show and I have been taken aback at the increased attention I have received from members of the "opposite" sex since I allowed my beard to grow. While trying to fit into the female box, it was difficult to get a date (I was not a particularly pretty female, my face is too guyish). As an openly intersex person, I have been hit on for dates and openly propositioned numerous times by straight women, gay women, straight men, and even gay men! I have been turning them all down while waiting for the love of my life to show up, but the attention is still flattering and makes me smile nonetheless.

Paul.

What the medical "proof positive" for determining whether or not someone is a hermaphrodite? From what I've read, it seems to be not only ambiguous genitals, but also the existence of BOTH ovaries and testes. Is this correct? What about a DNA test? Blood test? Medically speaking, what is the real test? How does one go about getting tested if he/she wants to get his/her birth certificate changed?

Here is a definition that I found in an online medical dictionary: *+An individual whose body contains tissue of both male and female gonads. The ovaries and testes may be present as separate organs, or ovarian and testicular tissue may be combined in the same organ (ovotestis). The ovarian and testicular tissues may be present at the same time (synchronous hermaphrodite) or sequentially (when the sex organs appear one after the other; protandrous when the testes come first, protogynous when the ovaries appear first).+* Does this sound correct? How does one get tested so that civil authorities will accept the results?

I identify myself as a lesbian and see some similarities between myself and your guests. I think that fear is something of a wall you are chipping away at with stories like these presented in a respectful way!..Thanks Oprah!

I commend Harpo for having the courage to choose Middlesex as a must read book. I read it, I literally injested it, cover to cover. While it has no direct bearing on my sexuality or my children, I so enjoyed learning something that I had known nothing about, and in such a real and compasionate even gentle way. Did not know about this gene, and did not have opinions on its existence. Really enjoyed and was so profoundly greatful to be informed of such an existence in perhaps ,yes, people around me.While reading is a gift, it is also an art form. What we leave a book with when we finally put it down, should last us a lifetime. Each book is an awakening to something. I thank you for making me aware of this gem. thank you ...thank you. I so pray for and think of parents and young people living with this difference, and yet not a disability, but a difference all the same.

I am a 16 year old girl and I just recently found out that I am intersex (only because I watched the show), those women are so brave and I am so grateful that they spoke out about it otherwise I may have never know. I always wondered why I was different or if there was anyone else out there like me. Thankyou so much Oprah I feel like a weight has been lifted just knowing that I am not alone in this. I hope one day the world will be more accepting so I can feel more comfortable in my own skin, but I am very glad that I found out about it now instead of in 20 or 30 years I think it would be so much harder to deal with.