Excerpts from Microrretalos sobre Intersexualidad

I grew up believing I was abnormal because of my genital variations. I felt attracted to men, but I was very insecure because of the bullying I had endured throughout my childhood due to my somewhat masculine appearance and personality, until I had my first sexual relationship. After that, I had several partners who thought I was perfect and said they really liked my vulva just the way it was: different and special. I wouldn’t trade my intersex vulva for a ‘normal’ vulva.

Crecí creyendo que era anormal debido a mis variaciones genitales. Me sentía atraída por hombres, pero sentía mucha inseguridad a causa del bullying que había sufrido durante toda la infancia por mi apariencia y personalidad un tanto masculinas,hasta que tuve mi primera relación sexual. Después de eso, tuve varias parejas a quienes yo les parecía perfecta y decían que les gustaba mucho mi vulva tal como era: diferente y especial. No cambiaría mi vulva intersex por una vulva ‘normal’.

When I was thirteen years old, my mother explained to my sister and I that she had to take us to the doctor because we were sick. However, my sister and I felt completely healthy and happy; we didn’t understand why our mum was telling us we were sick. Then, the medical appointments started, and with them, our nightmare began. They subjected us to genital examinations where the doctors touched us and treated us like strange objects; they examined us naked in front of fifteen or more people, including doctors and practitioners. We both cried because of that and begged our mother not to take us to the doctor anymore.

One day, one of our sisters found out about our situation and began to humiliate me because I was growing a beard and body hair. The humiliation from her continued, without knowing what we were suffering at each medical appointment and ignoring the impact of her words. Not even people who were distant to me humiliated me as much as my own blood did.

Cuando tenía trece años, mi madre nos explicó a mí y a mi hermana que nos tenía que llevar al doctor porque estábamos enfermas. Sin embargo, mi hermana y yo nos sentíamos completamente sanas y felices, no entendíamos por qué mi mamá nos decía que estábamos enfermas. Entonces, empezaron las consultas médicas y, con ello, nuestra pesadilla. Nos hacían revisiones genitales en las que nos tocaban y nos trataban como cosas raras; nos desnudaban frente a quince o más personas, médicos y practicantes. Las dos llorábamos por todo eso y rogábamos a nuestra madre para que ya no nos llevará al doctor.

Un día, una de nuestras hermanas se enteró de nuestra situación y comenzó a humillarme porque me crecía barba y vello corporal. La humillación por parte de ella continuó, sin saber lo que sufríamos en cada cita médica e ignorando el efecto de sus palabras. Ni siquiera las personas poco cercanas a mí me humillaban tanto como lo hacía mi propia sangre.