No, honestly, thank you, Emily! I understand that this was a difficult and, for some reason, controversial topic to discuss, even though talking about other LGBTQIA+ rights isn't. You are a beautiful well spoken individual addressing an issue that is important to every society and, eve, every species on this planet (even though most of the human population of earth feel like it isn't because it isn't happening to them). I give you a standing ovation and I am sharing this with everyone I know. Well done.
This was different from what I expected. I have known about intersex people for most of my life, but this was educational, especially about unnecessary operations.
@Swae Ocean All what? Okay, fine. You pointed out what problems many of these genetic anomalies incur, and sounded as if the medical support they receive would be a bad thing, as it allows them to procreate and spread the problem. While I appreciate the facts you pointed out to further understanding of the situation (and not to post hoc justify something, I presume), what you are saying is not as clear as you'd like.
@Swae Ocean I think it is not to teach that these anomalies are normal but that they happen, and that they are nothing to be ashamed for. This talk also calls into question, whether we really need the aspect of who matches whom to procreate in everyday conversation. Sure, 2% may be a fringe phenomenon, but would it not have some advantages to be able to only bring this up, when you want? But otherwise fair enough. We just have to see how this pans out over generations. Short sight as a species seems to be a big problem with that. How do you get from someone having a genetic anomaly to them not being human?
One of the greatest things about TED is that when you look through the comments you actually find more ideas, costructive criticism, positive discussions. It shows how comments should always be used, and adds a lot to the video itself.
Occasionally, many top comments one finds are of the toxic and unhelpful kind. RU-vid comments section is the last place I want to spend my day in. I'd rather talk to a real person face to face. The advantage of RU-vid though is you can just ignore the toxic people for the most part. I'm just about to take a wine and cheese break myself from all the nonsense RU-vid drama. Will resume later, but hopefully not too soon.
@Thunder Cat I agree. There is no constructive criticism here. I would say she meantions a lot of biological truths that she uses to prove a biological lie. But if we try to argue aganst the overall point of this talk we get shut out.
@@lee1davis1 What biological lie are you talking about? I would say it is a fact that this many people can be defined as intersex because of their genitalia, chromosomes and hormones.
@Glyn number 1 the article that you have listed is from Wiki which is an unreliable resource number 2 just because it's rare doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve talking or awareness
Yes, in health class they said that intersex people were born a male or female and their genitalia is just weirdly sized or shaped, I kind of knew it was wrong because I know more than the average 13 year old, but it was still messed up that they didn’t actually know stuff about that but were teaching it as the only type of intersex
It's still not all that special. Along the lines of people bickering about prevalence, "intersex" is a catch-all for a variety of conditions that affect sexual differentiation. That 2% statistic is very misleading as it encompasses every condition that results in intersex and every type of presentation therein.
I mean, that's basically the entire history of learning. We come up with a wrong explanation for some observed phenomena, then we study it more, improve our knowledge, and come up with a better wrong explanation. We went from Classical physics to Newtonian physics to Relativistic physics and now we're in Quantum Mechanics which is also wrong, but it's the best wrong we've come up with so far. And in another however many years, we'll have a new wrong physics model that's even better than QM.
No, wrong. The examples given are still right, they just don't explain everything. Science just doesn't throw what it has proven trough the window. it enriches it.@@ang-hell
@johnmburt1960 Define "true." The word "useful" would be more accurate. Basically, if you've heard of this before: all models are wrong, but some are useful.
That would be great, those are 3 things I can't stand but still have to deal with. I don't wanna have children, so that would also be great, not worrying about that.
It's interesting /telling how society (and the medical profession at times) can tell a person like Emily that she needs certain medical procedures, yet she doesn't, while discouraging trans people from pursuing the surgeries that they desire. Even more telling is the tendency to perform some of these needless surgeries on infants without their consent.
Wow I came to the complete opposite conclusion. Im thinking how bad is it to encourage people (especially young people ) to undergo these invasive surgeries when someone who is intersex is happy she didn't get rid of her testicles that aren't even providing any normative function. I think that's telling about the transgender craze.
This is one of the most endearing talks I've seen. I cannot understand why people would shame someone in regards to this. Thank you for sharing your video.
@@alcoholandfun243 I think that they're referring to the fact that some doctors take the approach of trying to conform an intersex person into female or male through unnecessary surgeries
I find it odd how the topic of intersex isn't taught in biology or science, currently I'm studying gender (both the biological, societal and neurological approach) in psychology (in Highschool! So exciting!). Not in biology where it would honestly make more sense for the topic to be in but im in a behavioural science class... But more so, I have friends who are working towards medical degrees and, honestly, I'm so surprised that more of them aren't taking psychology than those that are, because if doctors- doctors with 8 year medical degrees are trying to convince intersex people to have invasive, potentially dangerous surgeries, they are undereducated. I'm 16, I'm not looking towards a degree in medicine or even scientific research and it seems to me that I know more about AIS and CAH than most of the doctors and nurses im friends with. I really enjoyed this video, I love when people talk about 'hidden' issues and bring them to light, and I love it even more when these issues are talked about by either those who experience/experienced it or who are professionals/professors, it adds a little more authenticity than a teen with no doctorate or experience on a soapbox.
So a few points i have on this are as follows. Biology in highschool is incredibly limited and kept to basic and common things needed to make further education i.e. uni easier and more understandable. So intersex being rarer and not building block of the large science of biology isnt considered of great importance in the highschool level. Second point is that those medical degrees again tend to be a general medical degree with different majors and study focuses such as neurology so studying about something like gender theory and psychology doesnt link up as much with people looking to be surgeons. That 8 years is nothing compared to the further 10s of years they will continue to learn on the job and from further research and studies. One of my housemates is stating his 3rd year of physics and also doing basic biology for the sake of becoming a forensics specialist and he said that specific to what hes learning and his path in uni he hasnt had to learn much about the in depth biology subjects such as sexual organs and gender albeit he has learned basics but not indepth because it was not specific to his course. Remember that even in med school if those people had to learn 100% of everything about the human body they would be in school for the rest of their lives and we wouldnt have docotrs hence having many doctors specialised in different things.
I wish you the absolute best in life and continue thinking and learning you'll go so far with an open mind which you clearly have the world would be a better place with more people like you.
''doctors trying to convince intersex people to have invasive surgeries'' Sounds terrible. But it depends. No two cases are the same. And in her case (I imagine?) sound like she's functioning (perfectly?) and comfortable, content as a woman. I presume that ''dead organ'' inside you is not a good thing. No matter if it's ''healthy tissue'' it's still foreign object, without a function, which might cause serious troubles one day. Or not? And removal may be a minor procedure? I am speculating. But i'm pretty sure about one of the reasons - she's refusing operation. She wants to keep her Balls. Because the whole thing is her identity. Thanks to ideology she's subscribing to.
''I find it odd how the topic of intersex isn't taught in biology or science...I'm 16, I'm not looking towards a degree in medicine or even scientific research and it seems to me that I know more about AIS and CAH than most of the doctors and nurses...'' Because humanities are infected with ideology masquerading as academia. Feminism (third wave) women's -gender -intersectionality studies...it's all ideology ! Far-left, authoritarian, illiberal pernicious ideology. (If you disagree your'e not just wrong. You are evil) It makes 16y.old believe, think...that they ''know'' better then doctors, know more then modern medicine or scientists.
I enjoyed your talk a lot! You are one of the lucky ones, who was allowed to grow up as yourself. I am way older than you, nobody had any idea what intersex was, when I was born. Th did not like what they saw when they looked at my genitals, and decided to make them "male". I grew up as a boy, everything was fine, until puberty hit, I did not develop into a guy, but stayed pretty female. Nobody knew why, I was just considered to be different. I live my "male" life until it as discovered that i was more female than male. I transitioned at that time into the female I am today. I am a happy woman now, but I wish i could have been a female person all my life! Keep up your good work, and help that people can grow up with their own life and not with a life somebody else decided they should have!
Awesome video. When I saw the talk a few weeks ago on Ted Talks, i shared it with my friends and colleagues to easier explain that I have complete androgen Insensitivity syndrome (XY) . I wasnt diagnosed til I was 21 and I am now 37, and still struggle to come to terms with parts of it. But this video certainly gets people thinking and I applaud you for it
Thank you for speaking out against harmful and unnecessary medical intervention to 'correct' or 'confirm' a person's healthy, normal body in order to conform it to stereotypes.
@@Alianger nope! every trans person's transition is different. some trans women have facial feminization surgery, where their face is altered to look more stereotypically feminine; many don't. some trans men have top surgery to remove their breasts; some don't. dysphoria is a wide spectrum and each individual who experiences it experiences it differently. many trans people feel no need to get certain procedures done and are comfortable with or accept the way their face or their shoulders or other parts of them are.
As someone who is gender fluid, and with a lot of LGBT friends, thank you so much for sharing this. I learned more today, and people NEED to hear this story. So often society assumes we're all black or white, male or female, etc. They have no idea the wide spectrum of gender or sexual orientation that exists and why. To many assume it's a choice, and you're proof that it's not. We've always been taught that we are either male or female, but that's only because society has made it difficult or impossible to come out as being different. So thank you for having the courage to share your story. I shared this video several times and will continue to do so.
That Kilted Guy DIY Home Improvement as a fellow genderfluid person I agree so much with what you said and this video. Society needs to change if it claims we’re “not real” because we are and we’re here
@@SphincterOfDoom not as rare as you think though. Only 4 of all ~1000 of people I know, know that I'm intersex. You likely know someone who's intersex in your life and they never tell you, so you'll never know and keep thinking that we're rare.
How fortunate intersex is to have Emily as a spokes... person. She is poised and matter-of-fact. Before this, I was unaware of the prevalence of intersex.
@@seybertooth9282 What is the number then? Tell me, I looked it up and that's what comes up. I grew up on a farm, and a lot of animals end are born intersex. We have three heifers who are "Freemartins" which means that they are intersex. THREE, OUT OF LIKE, 50 COWS. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more intersex people than estimated!
I can tell you're trying to be inclusive by saying spokesperson (At least I hope that's what that was) but she refers to herself with female pronouns and seems comfortable presenting as a woman so I think it'd be better to refer to her as a spokeswoman. Or at least refer to her as a spokesperson without the "...". You made a mistake but learning is good!
IKR. 2% of the population sounds small so we treat them as invisible and negligible; until you realize 2% of 340,000,000 million people is still MILLIONS of people. I’m too lazy to do the math but at least 8 million people. That’s bigger than some middle American states.
@@Abba-dabba-doo, no, to the contrary, it would seem that assholes have been taking up too much of the available bandwidth. The fact that people who don't have a dog in this fight actually click on the vid, listen, and then give real feed back, like -- "learned something" -- one might think would be a reason to (at the very least) not be a pos.
@@LifeAsANoun ME a pos? Your comment seemed to insinuate that the majority of people on Emily's side of the debate had not and could not make a sound argument. That's fallacious and pos move and it reeks of the dog whistling I've seen taking up a lot of the "available bandwidth" as well. I'm pointing out that Emily is not even close to the first person to make these arguments or bring any of this to the table. If she's the first person you're hearing it from that's perfectly fine, but it's worth pointing out that this stuff has been widely known for a while, whether or not you decided to listen to Emily and others with her POV earlier.
@@Abba-dabba-doo Yea, can confirm, I learned nothing from the video, not because it was wrong, but because I already knew all of this. I''m not sure we can ever really get a society where people understand basic things though, since there's a lot of basic things to know, and lots of people. Internet sure helps with spread of knowledge, but big portion of people just seek entertainment, so they never learn these things, or if they do learn, it's when they're already old. So most of all people will always be stupid. However, if something becomes mainstream then there's a social pressure to conform to those ideas, so any given idea has a possibility to be known to most people. It's just that people will come up with new things to shame others with then.
Did we hear a logical argument against binary gendering? She seemed to identify as female, dress feminine, and use female pronouns, even while acknowledging that she has XY chromosomes and striated testes. Did she argue for a third gender? Didn’t seem like she did. She argued for better biology classes and better educated medical professionals, which I agree with. And she is correct, intersex is something we should be taught about. The question though is how should we talk about it? Intersex is not a third gender. Intersex is not an agenda. Intersex is a catch-all term for human sexual biology that falls outside of norm. Not all intersex are XY chromosomal females, nor is intersex a Banner for transgenderism. I concur that students should be educated on the diversity of differences that fall between biological male and biological female. I even concur that we need to develop better language to communicate this diversity. We also need to recognize that a man transitioning into a woman or vis versa is still a binary set of male-female, just as intersex consists of males with female characteristics and females with Male characteristics. We even know that neuter is a possibility, where the individual displays no sexual biological morphology. What we don’t need is forced language change, laws requiring use of forced language, nor parents transitioning their children because our culture is undergoing a societal contagion. We need better education, better awareness, and an open discussion that doesn’t push agendas. Thank you Mrs. Quinn for sharing an honest assessment of our human diversity!
One of the best TED talks I have heard. She doesn't shame or insult anyone,she tried to stay neutral and mainly state facts. Truly educational video and scientifically correct. I am truly astonished 😍
Very informative and powerful speech. Emily really drove the point of sexual differences home with her statement about shame. Thanks Emily for sharing this with us and bringing healing to people who are struggling.
thanks for this. I've have only heard of this from plant cultivation, i have never thought about it in humans. thanks for enlightening me. i feel for you, and other alike. best regards.
A system that correctly classifies 98% of the population is not a bad system. It's not perfect, we could do better, but to say it's useless is a little strong for me.
A system that leaves 2% of the population left for dead, gives the rest of the population the tools to marginalized them, and has a major stochastic influence on ignorance and discrimination, is not a good system. Newtonian physics are also good for 99% of the things you need to work with, but if you want your precious GPS and other things you take for granted to actually work, you _need_ Relativity.
@@katrinal353 I don't deny that atrocities have been committed in the name of this system, but that's humans for you. We are extremely good at dividing people into ingroups and outgroups and demonizing and outgroup and praising (angelizing?) the ingroup. And Newtonian gravity has taken us to the planets of the solar system. _As long as you understand the limitations of the system, and understand when it is applicable and when it is not, it is not an obstacle._ There's a lesson there.
@@katrinal353 To clarify, I don't want to replace the gender binary - I think it still functions fairly well - I want to complete it with a set of categories for the different types of intersex.
It's amazing how there's so much we are still unaware of and things we still need to learn about our own species. Humans cannot accept differences and things out of our knowledge or the "norm". Accepting difference is such a challenge for our kind.
Miss K Is it amazing? Because we still don’t know the vast majority about how humans work (on a fundamental level). Anyone who was done serious medical research will tell you this if they are being honest.
@@PeterWW420 I guess it's not amazing, but sad. We can't be expected to know everything but I guess this is what internet is for. To find out what other people know around the world. If those people are willing and have the tools to share. I am however amazed to discover so many different things about our own kind. I like listening to most TED talks. They are interesting to me.
Isn't it a coincidence that no religion has ever communicated that kind of educational revelations from their gods, but would rather share the prejudices of the unaware and uneducated people of the past?
Just because you don’t know of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Plenty of religions mention it, if they don’t, it doesn’t make them ignorant, since it’s a very rare phenomena and there are thousands of things that are more common that aren’t addressed. Nothing has changed except for how you CHOOSE to view it. Same with most things in life, there’s no added new complications, we just want to see things above ground instead of below it because society now is more considerate of others feelings. All modern biology tells us that hormonal stimulus is needed to create gene expression, the consequences of those gene expressions are the same regardless of whether you know that or not.
@@pa21thebeast "Plenty of religions mention it" - I doubt that - which ones, and where do they mention it? And of course it doesn't make them ignorant, it's "only" another example that nothing scientific from the future has ever been foretold by any religion. Isn't that a weird coincidence that God himself passed the knowledge on so many things that were perfectly parallel to people's current knowledge of that time? It's just as if there was no God involved at all...
I remember reading a book maybe 15 years ago called “Middlesex” which went into great depth of one person’s experience as an intersexed person. I highly recommend it.
Of course there are parts of the population that are exceptions. That doesn't disprove the validity of using two boxes to categorize humans, or monkeys, or cattle or any species that reproduce sexually.
It's a shame that so many people feel the need to change their bodies in order to "fit" into society's mold of what is female and what is male. She is right, we all fall on a spectrum. We are very far away from learning to accept people as they are. I'm very happy that I heard this, it helped me understand some of the issues that surround LGBTQ+ people.
If genders wouldn’t exist, so wouldn’t you and I! It’s not a spectrum. LGBTQABCXYZwhatever is the exception not the norm. You all are not helping the cause here. In general, people, no matter the gender, skin colour, ethnicity, religion, nationality, just want to be treated as NORMAL. You are doing the opposite here and make the quiet majority of the LGBTQ community look bad in the eyes of people outside of your »friendly« little bubble.
It's not a spectrum, male and female relate to reproductive function, of which there are only 2. You are either the phenotype that's supposed to produce sperm or egg.
@@cutlery9831 Rail against gay people? What...- bro, I'm literally gay. How the heck did you get that from my comment? lol This has nothing to do with sexuality.
Well, yea? Aside from cultural norms (which is understandable and OK to have), there is no reason we shouldn't be. After all, we have stalls for a reason. Right?
If genitalia doesn't matter why are policies being made to try to have 50/50 ratios at some jobs? I mean, who cares what genitally does people have in jobs?
A very good talk. Especially nice that it did not develop into the "weird Biology-class-way of talking about sex", it was just interesting what she had to say - really does not deserve that may dislikes. Shows that many people are not ready to get out of this box
Anytime a brave person talk about such common, but covered issue like this, they deserve a lot of kudos. I wish her, and any other non-binary individuals all the best. Emily is a hero, bringing this to light🙏🏽Emily rocks!
I experience a fair amount cognitive dissonance due to being intersexed myself . I was born with both testicles and ovaries but my 1 active partial ovary is more powerfull than the rest ( sorry boys ) . Giggles ...im intersexed , a redhead and type O negative 😊 I was aware I wasn't a boy and obviously wasn't a girl either and attempted to cut my penis off with scissors due to dysphoria at age 5 . At 46 , I was experiencing PMDD and not BPD like a psychiatrist diagnosed me as . Thank you for sharing your time and energy with us all. Angel hugs n Blessings to you and yours
I applaud you! Thank you for sharing! Such a rare mix of genetic traits has granted you a different and valuable perspective right from the start on how society values certain aspects of people. I think that a person with your characteristics can bring something completely unique and special to every discussion and, even though you may receive backlash for sharing your opinions, and maybe even experiences, your input is incredibly valuable. It may be rude of me to say this, but thank you for being alive. I hope you are living unapologetic-ally yourself!
the thing is, you are a different case, the foundation is biological base, not feeling base. i do have a problem with transgender people who born male or female and want to become something they cant, they destroy their body and want other to do the same.
Humans self discovery journey is still ongoing. In various aspects world is still flat and sun is still revolving earth. Thanks Emily for making blurred gender spectrum more visible.
Based on that statistic, intersex individuals are more common than Muslims in the United States and roughly as common as Jews in the United States. Let that sink in.
Nice talk in general. However the statement that 2% of population are intersex is questionable. The number is based on a controversial study by Fausto-Sterling published in 2000. Later studies (e.g. by L. Sax) suggested that in reality approximatly 0.018% of population quallify as intersex
Abnormality does not disprove the effectiveness of the boxes we use for understanding things like reproduction. I was born with esophageal atresia, specifically my esophagus was not attached to my stomach. Would it make sense to say that the human digestive systems exist on a spectrum? I wouldn’t. Her message about treating people better is perfect, but the word abnormal doesn’t need to be derogatory when it is true. Own it!
Some people can't understand the meaning of the word 'exceptions' thus they assume everyone should be like them, have similar experience, similar ideologies and join them (literally what was her last words. Why?). Why can't other people have different opinions and beliefs. Also majority of people can't accept 'exceptions' thus this shaming thing. This world is so F up.
2%, 150 mIlLiOn pPl, liKe rEd hEaDs n RuSsIanS. WeRe nOt oUtLiErS Redheads are literally outliers but less so than intersex, and Russians are even less outliers but still far from the average person. If group A forms 49% and group B forms 49% and group C forms 2%, yes, 2% is an outlier. This can’t even compare to countries where the largest country is like 20% ish of the population and there are so many
An intelligent, rational, scientific, and objective, informative video about gender based upon science, rather than religious/political ideology with absolutely no basis in science 😉. Everybody including trumpublicans really need to watch this and pay attention 😀 😉 👍
It was a very well done talk by Emily about something that's not easy to discuss. That being said two percent of humans (one in 50) are born with an extra finger or toe (Polydactyly). That's the same percentage as those born intersex. We shouldn't be cruel toward intersex people, but it's not accurate to say that gender is a spectrum. 98 percent of people do fall into one of two genders just as 98 percent of humans have 10 fingers and toes. We have to orient our society around what the vast majority of people have in common for the sake of unity and utility, but hopefully we can find a way to do that while still treating those who don't fit in with dignity and respect.
I agree with your statement. For the vast majority of people they are clearly male or female regardless of what traits you have. Facial hair has nothing to do with gender sometimes as Native American men generally lack it.
There doesn't have to be an equal number of people on each point for it to be a spectrum. Intersex people are a real part of the spectrum and you have missed the entire point of the presentation.
I understand how she feels about how intersex people are treated and there's definitely a lot of things society needs to learn about their way of looking at this issue. But saying male female construct is a facade is just stupid. If gender was not binary and everyone has their own shade of gender, how are we supposed to reproduce? Gender is not a spectrum, it is binary. If you don't fall in MALE or FEMALE boxes you are an outlier. And being an outlier should be OK. That is the issue. Not gender.
When there is more than two, then it's not binary. That we want simplicity does not make the world less complex. The world doesn't care about our comfort. And the world doesn't exist in binary. Our brains might but reality is much more complex than our brains.
We came up with the concept of what it means to be a man or woman, in which we then validate overlooking ALL of the people that naturally do not fit the specific requirements for those categories, even technically biologically with their own categories, or try to force them to adhere to the two when they just biologically can't be. We mutilate newborns in an attempt to 'correct' them often without parents' knowledge, with this outdated idea of preserving the two categories. That's why it's important to realize WHY it's not binary. It's harmful to every person who feels broken or wrong for biologically occurring a certain way. They're not outliers, we made up the rules that determine they would be regarded that way without any science to validate that.
First of all gender is a social construct. Second of all gender and sexual organs are different. Having female chromosomes and functioning testicles is different. Re type that stupid paragraph lol
This topic actually needs a degree of attention where teens should be educated about it in schools and colleges... Loved the way she took all the audience step by step.. 💖💖💖☮🏳️🌈
it would be great if schools actually gave proper education on the subject of puberty, sexuality, and gender at all. it would be even better if they mentioned that there are anomalies, and exceptions as well. people tend to only find out these things, when they meet someone with experience that tells them, and thats not guaranteed.
@@janetlapham3919 I do agree. Hopefully efforts from people like you and me will help spread awareness and clear out misunderstandings.. again appreciate your opinion..👍🏾🏳️🌈💖☮
Thank you for this wonderful talk! Thank you for speaking out about being intersex. It’s so important. People can no longer hide behind being uneducated about these important issues as an excuse to be ignorant! Well done! 🙌🏻
@@Boces1988 I can't speak for the OP but I'm guessing she is equating intersex with the current trans movement... 😒 While a few of the issues (gender norms) are addressed and similar, they are otherwise entirely separate issues; the former being a science-based biological issue... the latter utter nonsense based on feelings. Neither group should be subjected to unnecessary surgeries or medical intervention.
the truth is that most don’t care wether you’re one or another or even another. most never asked to know and never will. you are who you are, fine, just BE. don’t push it on anyone who doesn’t care, don’t emphasize it like it’s something anyone else needs to know. in short, keep it to YOURSELF and the ones you love who do care. period… researching that Jordan Petersen person is what brought me here… and it’s a weird rabbit hole… where’s the exit
Crying. I've never heard of intersexual. I asked Google for a definition, and it completely confused me. Someone sent this to me. Need to watch it with my boys, husband and anyone else willing to listen. THANK YOU.
the existence of birth defects doesn’t mean there’s more than two sexes. that’s like saying the number of legs people are born with is “on a spectrum.”
Even though I think it's great to let intersex people have more visibility some things she said where not true though, or we could say where scientifically inaccurate. So that might be the reason some people rated it with a thumbs dowm. I didn't but just because you find something enlightening doesn't mean every body feels the same about it.
If I'm hearing correctly, the main call is for greater tolerance by society of people that do not fit rigid definitions of biology and for doctors to improve their treatments of them. I think that can be accommodated without even getting to the debate about whether society needs to be overhauled more radically. I think there's calls for "things that need to change" that are incorrectly linked to the valid concerns of intersex people.
I wonder what is there to tolerate when she is physically perfect. She will be treated just like everyone else in every place because nobody even knows who is she underneath her undergarments.
I'm sorry, but it's incredibly arrogant to state that the binary view of gender is wrong. The fact that there are exceptions to the rule of male & female gender doesn't mean that binary gender isn't the norm. On top of that, as far as I know, they cannot procreate. The relatively small fraction of intersex people, no matter how big the amount might seem, is not convincing. While I agree that unnecessary, invasive surgery on a physiology that is poorly understood is likely to be harmful, this shouldn't have the effect of altering our perceptions of what typical gender is. Emily is an exception and in some ways is no doubt also an exceptional person. But her existence doesn't warrant radically rethinking our view of gender. The needs of the minority should not dictate to the majority beyond a few basic considerations.
I mean, how many exceptions to the rule do you need to have before you change the ruleset? If it was widely accepted that Nobody had red hair, or that Nobody lived in russia, period, then that would be obviously and demonstrably wrong, and thats pretty much the same number of "exceptions" to the rule statistically speaking. 2% of the population doesnt seem like much, but thats one in every 50 people, out of the worlds total population thats about One Hundred and Fifty Million People. In science, once an exception to a theory or law is found, and is reliable, the theory is thrown out, and replaced with something more correct, why should medical and societal understanding be any different?
Great, informative talk! Thank you for sharing your personal story. Let's celebrate the whole spectrum of variation instead of desperately trying to fit everyone into a narrowly defined box; Especially when said boxes are irrelevant to a society's ability to function in the first place. :)
At 8:10, did she just point to someone random in the crowd and assume the person is a 'typical XY male' when her whole point is that she looks like a typical XX female but really isn't? Found that part a bit backwards honestly
Isn't it a bit weird to show the scope by saying intersex make up 2% of the population, while later saying that most are unaware? The interesting statistic for me to know would be how many are intersex and also are affected by this fact. Otherwise one could argue it's a non issue.
But both men and women can get acne, that has nothing to do with testosterone so how did you avoid it? The only reason it appears to be more common for boys is because use make up to hide their acne... And I can't tell you how many times I wished I could just put make up over my forehead... Which is where most of my acne developed in my teens. I was even embarrassed having to wear make up on stage as an actor because make up is a girl thing. Would of been far worse if I ever actually did my own make up to cover my zits. It also doesn't help that being color blind I can't even color match properly without help. So at the theater with assistance is the only time I could wear make up without anyone really noticing... Outside of the girls who actually did my make up.
Testosterone is responsible for a lot of things, including libido and acne in both men and women because that hormone exists in both (as does estrogen). It's just that biological men tend to have higher levels of testosterone and biological women have higher levels of estrogen.
Tiny quibble and first I'd like to point out that all of us have had the experience of not being able to categorize some one as male or female based on a cursory glance. This is true for anatomists as well, there is lots of variation in skeletons. But based on your gracile brow ridge and mandible, long legs and narrow shoulders your skeleton would probably be put in the female box.
See, I don't get the point of complicating the issue like this: I value the concept of biological gender because it tells me who can have a family with who. That is not nothing. I want kids, I want to pass on my genes, propagate the human species, I want to pass on everything I've learned in my life, and watch them grow up, and to help them become decent people and contribute to a better tomorrow. I can only do that with a female partner. It is regretful how intersex people are often treated, and society does stereotype gender more than we should, but the binary gender is still an important concept. It facilitates the family. I'm sorry that you don't fit on the binary scale, but +98% of us, specifically the +98% who can have biological children, and thus for whom gender matters, do. It's not a societal construct, and its not meaningless just because you feel excluded.
Cisgender women who fit the exact ideal picture of a "biological woman" can be infertile. You, as a man, could also be infertile. Looking at someone's body or seeing the gender marker on their birth certificate does not tell you whether or not you can have kids with them. It also doesn't tell you whether or they want to have kids.
I know right. It's lowkey gross, but people seem to think that, because intersex is a "real" thing (aka physical not emotional or psychological) it's deserving of pity and/or understanding, while trans people are just faking it and need to "grow out of a phase"
@@EricaLaurenx3 the thing is being transgender is not a mental illness, not by any real updated medical criteria. Gender dysmorphia is but gender dysmorphia is a mental illness because of the distress it causes the patient not because gender dysmorphia in itself is wrong. It's like having an anxiety disorder, anxiety is normal it's nit an issue unless it causes distress for long periods of time. Anyone calling it a mental disorder doesn't have correct information.
Thunder Thruster well if you’re talking about scientific facts, I don’t think you understand science. Science is based on discovery and from there we create a story that fits what we see. We create hypothesis and theories that works the best and fit in well. What we might know today might be wrong because we don’t know enough. Years and years ago, science was taught differently and people used to learn complete different things from what we learn today. So I’d say, you probably should check on your “facts” and maybe do your own investigation and research before you draw a valid conclusion
Strange that this even needed to be a ted talk, there is not much information here I found to be "new". Never understood why people think of kids wearing the wrong clothes or playing with the wrong toys, I shared toys with my sister growing up nothing strange there, or is it wrong she always ran off with the Ninja Turtles. And even in society today you can find examples of real tough men, John Wayne and The Rock wearing Pink shirts. I think the society bubble has been broken long ago and some people just have not realized it.
so informational and important. the world definitely needs to know about this and you said so many things i wish i couldve been the first to say myself....im not intersex, but i do have an odd body because of pcos, though im non-binary. the boxes and stupid expectations and pain that the world gives to everyone are horrible and no one deserves it. thank you for speaking up about these things, the world doesnt deserve to be able to quiet the people who are different anymore, it never deserved it in the first place.
Shame is so underrated. It's such an effective social levelling mechanism. Society couldn't function without it so it's advisable that one learns to deal with it early on. Unfortunately most are not taught how to address and use it effectively in childhood. They then assume that there is no use for it and vilify the emotion. But like any other emotion, it's not the emotion that's at fault but the lack of personal self control. That lack of control may lead to undesirable behaviour. Due to the detrimental effects of such behaviour, society has formed different ways to mitigating the damage. Shame is but one of the many ways.
So why's this link the conditions of intersex to things not of ourselves and improper levels of certain hormones. XX INTERSEX The person has the chromosomes of a woman, the ovaries of a woman, but external (outside) genitals that appear male. This most often is the result of a female fetus having been exposed to excess male hormones before birth. The labia ("lips" or folds of skin of the external female genitals) fuse, and the clitoris enlarges to appear like a penis. In most cases, this person has a normal uterus and fallopian tubes. This condition is also called 46, XX with virilization. It used to be called female pseudohermaphroditism. There are several possible causes: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (the most common cause). Male hormones (such as testosterone) taken or encountered by the mother during pregnancy. Male hormone-producing tumors in the mother: These are most often ovarian tumors. Mothers who have children with 46, XX intersex should be checked unless there is another clear cause. Aromatase deficiency: This one may not be noticeable until puberty. Aromatase is an enzyme that normally converts male hormones to female hormones. Too much aromatase activity can lead to excess estrogen (female hormone); too little to 46, XX intersex. At puberty, these XX children, who had been raised as girls, may begin to take on male characteristics. 46, XY INTERSEX The person has the chromosomes of a man, but the external genitals are incompletely formed, ambiguous, or clearly female. Internally, testes may be normal, malformed, or absent. This condition is also called 46, XY with undervirilization. It used to be called male pseudohermaphroditism. Formation of normal male external genitals depends on the appropriate balance between male and female hormones. Therefore, it requires the adequate production and function of male hormones. 46, XY intersex has many possible causes: Problems with the testes: The testes normally produce male hormones. If the testes do not form properly, it will lead to undervirilization. There are a number of possible causes for this, including XY pure gonadal dysgenesis. Problems with testosterone formation: Testosterone is formed through a series of steps. Each of these steps requires a different enzyme. Deficiencies in any of these enzymes can result in inadequate testosterone and produce a different syndrome of 46, XY intersex. Different types of congenital adrenal hyperplasia can fall in this category. Problems with using testosterone: Some people have normal testes and make adequate amounts of testosterone, but still have 46, XY intersex due to conditions such as 5-alpha-reductase deficiency or androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). People with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency lack the enzyme needed to convert testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). There are at least 5 different types of 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. Some of the babies have normal male genitalia, some have normal female genitalia, and many have something in between. Most change to external male genitalia around the time of puberty. AIS is the most common cause of 46, XY intersex. It has also been called testicular feminization. Here, the hormones are all normal, but the receptors to male hormones don't function properly. There are over 150 different defects that have been identified so far, and each causes a different type of AIS. TRUE GONADAL INTERSEX The person must have both ovarian and testicular tissue. This may be in the same gonad (an ovotestis), or the person might have 1 ovary and 1 testis. The person may have XX chromosomes, XY chromosomes, or both. The external genitals may be ambiguous or may appear to be female or male. This condition used to be called true hermaphroditism. In most people with true gonadal intersex, the underlying cause is unknown, although in some animal studies it has been linked to exposure to common agricultural pesticides
Four stars for this video. When you factor in psychological variation that binary system is shattered. We need to break free from binary thinking to be full human beings , inter-sexed or not. I want to change it to. Hugs and love to you !
That's true in all senses of the saying, but what are you implying exactly? I'm a trans woman, and I have no delusion where I think I was born in the wrong body or don't want to admit my biological reality. Intersex and trans rights go hand in hand, and it has everything to do with society and nothing to do with having an illness or disability. Sure it may be a deviation caused by mutation in some cases, but what would our species be without genetic variation? I could have misunderstood you, but seeing the dislikes on this video makes me uncertain. Cheers :)
Johnny A. it’s not a joke though... the reality is the lack of information results in uneducated individuals murdering trans and intersex people for simply being themselves.. and it’s happening daily and just like this information, it’s all neglected.
@@MxStella which rights are we talking about here? This person lives like a woman, fully benefitting from the rights women have. So how is this a talk on rights?
