Dear intersex body
Stephan Mills
Dear intersex body,
I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for never giving up on me.
I know it has been hard all these years, with all the pain and stuff.
You were hard to understand. You were weird. I still don’t understand you entirely. Nobody really does, not even the ‘experts’. Well, the ‘experts’ entirely gave up on you when they realized you weren’t as simple as a routine blood test.
Dear intersex body,
I know I hated you a few times, blaming other people’s crimes on your uniqueness. But I now know that none of that was your fault.
I know I wanted to hurt you a few times, but now I love you. I mean it. I really do.
You made me realize a few things during these years. It took me a while, maybe too long, and I’m sorry you had to deal with me all this time. But I finally realized that you are perfect the way you are. I finally realized that my true happiness does not come from being what I called a ‘normal 100% male’. Yes, I now understand that being ‘normal’ is not the secret ingredient to being happy. Because guess what? I am happy just the way I am. And I am following my biggest dream right now—studying medicine. That is thanks to you, my friend. You made me love medicine; with all your ‘weirdness’ and uniqueness, you forced me to spend hours and hours reading about the wonders of the human body and its peculiarities. You are kind of like my muse.
Dear intersex body,
You’re a body. Everyone has a body. Some are tall, some are short, some are hairy, some are thin, some are chubby, some are muscular, some have one leg, some have eleven fingers, and what not. Bodies are awesome. I guess that’s rich, coming from a medical student.
Each body is a bit ‘weird’. Humans are weird. You just happen to be a bit ‘weirder’. Statistically, of course.
Everyone has a body. And I have you.
Dear intersex body,
I’m going to take care of you in the best way I can. I will never give up on you.
I will fix your pain just like you fixed mine by doing the best that you could.
About that, thank you for all you have done for me—thank you for all the testosterone, for all the body hair, the deeper voice, the ‘ambiguous genitalia’. Thank you for not making me a ‘normal girl’. You know I never wanted to be a girl.
Now it’s my turn to help you. It’s teamwork, buddy. You just give me the curiosity to study you, and I will study you. We’ve been doing this for years, you and I.
Dear intersex body,
I know they tried to hurt you. They were scared of you. They wanted to fix you by destroying your beauty. But little did they know, you were stronger than they could ever imagine.
Dear intersex body,
You’re cool. No, you’re awesome.