In January 2019, a small group of individuals came together to form a new organisation called Intersex Ireland - a group set up to support intersex people and their families, educate wider society, and advance the rights and equality of all intersex individuals across the country. Here Timara, Jessica, Olive, Clara, Adeline and Sara share a conversation on their own experiences.

Timara, Jessica, Olive, Clara, Adeline and Sara

Definition: “Intersex people are individuals born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies”. It’s believed 1.78 percent of the population have an intersex variation, and, as a result, there are many variants that few people in Ireland consider. Intersex conditions - that someone isn’t typically male or female - can emerge at different life stages. Intersex variations can be evident at birth or perhaps can become evident in adolescence, as an individual’s body doesn’t develop as expected. It is not unusual for variations to become clearer in later life either.

Traditionally, even before birth, parents want to know the gender of their child - whether it’s a boy or a girl. Friends and family consistently ask if the parents know the gender. When a child is born and there’s this ambiguity, doctors have often been quick to intervene in order to fit the child into the gender binary. This can result, later in life, in people’s intimate lives being negatively impacted because of complications.