A statistic that really surprised me the other day is that 1 in 2000 babies born have “indistinguisable genitalia” at birth.   XXY and XYY children are born daily, and the majority of these children have their post-operative gender decided by their parents long before their bodies suggest which sex they more closely identify with.  The UK has recently recommended to doctors and families not to perform gender assignment surgeries on children, yet legally it is still a parent’s decision to do so.  In other cultures, it is still a decision of the state.

Recent history of the past few hundred years had either ignored, alienated, or persecuted intersex people - based generally on a lack of understanding.  But lest we forget our ancient history, when our differences were reverred.  The Greek God, Hermaphroditus, was the god of hermaphrodites and of effeminate men. Hermaphroditos was a son of Hermes and Aphrodite, the gods of male and female sexuality.

Some say he was once a handsome youth who attracted the love of a Naiad nymph named Salmakis. She prayed to to be united with him forever and a god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one. At the same time her spring acquired the property of making men who bathed in its waters soft and effeminate.

Both modern Christianity and Islam have references to hermaphroditic angels, as well.  However, devout and orthodox members of these religions would have you believe that God will only recognize marriage as between a man and a woman - when gender is clearly not that black and white.  In the US alone (from the statistics above) 175,000 people would identify as intersex.  It’s high time we appreciate each other for our differences and stop using ignorance, confusion, and religion as pulpits for hate.

The video above is from Current.com and documents Adele’s 30 year journey to the crossroads of courage and realization.  I hope you enjoy it.

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