Understanding people with intersex variations

• In the same way that people have all kinds of bodies, intersex variations are a normal and natural variation in people’s bodies. Intersex variations are only one part of a person’s life – and do not define who they are or what they’re capable of!
• Like everyone else, intersex people are assigned female or male by doctors, using tests if they aren’t sure how to assign an infant. Some intersex infants and children go through surgery or hormone treatment after sex assignment, which can be harmful, especially if they aren’t given a choice in this decision.
• Intersex variations are not uncommon. It’s thought that up to 1.7 percent of the population experience intersex variations. That’s as common as people born with red hair or green eyes! 
• Intersex variations are not always obvious at birth. For some people, they might not be obvious until later in life when their bodies do not respond in a way expected for a typical male or female body – like during puberty or if trying to have a baby.
• Intersex variations are really different, and even two people with similar intersex variations, will experience them in different ways. Some more common intersex variations people experience are: congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Klinefelter syndrome, hypospadias, and androgen insensitivity syndrome.  
• People with intersex variations use many different words to describe their bodies, like: intersex variations, variations of sex characteristics, or differences of sex development. Rather than guessing, a good rule of thumb is to use the term a person with an intersex variation uses or ask them what term they would like you to use.

• Doctors and our communities can have very rigid views about how people should be. For intersex people, these views are about their bodies being and looking typically "male" or "female". 
• Medical interventions are usually used because doctors and communities think that people need particular kinds of bodies to be "normal" or to stop bullying. 
• These medical interventions are usually performed on minors who are too young to make decisions about their body and understand how it affects them.
• There is no evidence that surgery in infancy or childhood can stop bullying or make "normal" bodies. People with all kinds of bodies grow up to have all different kinds of identities.
• Medical interventions can have negative consequences on people with intersex variations as they get older – like pain, loss of sexual sensation, having a body different to one’s gender identity, and mental health issues.
• The issues that intersex people actually face, including infertility, scarring and specific health needs associated with their intersex variation can become lost in discussions about sex and gender identity.
• Because of the efforts of intersex advocates and their allies, there have been many steps taken to educate people about intersex variations, stop medically unnecessary interventions, and protect the legal and human rights of intersex people.

Some people may choose to have medical interventions on their body when they are older. The most important things about any decision is being able to choose freely, being able to make your choice without being pressured, being treated with respect and being given accurate information to help inform their choice. It's important to respect and support the choices people with intersex variations make about their own bodies and identities.