Intersex

"So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God created him; male and female He created them…"

Genesis 1:27(NIV)

(or…So God created people in God’s own image, in the image and likeness of God created them; male and female God created them)

I have always found the book of Genesis fascinating. It provides such insights into how our early ancestors perceived their coming into existence. Whether it is seen as "the literal word of God" or stories/narratives with allegorical significance, it’s rich imagery is provocative. In particular the two versions of our origins; either after the creation of animals, birds and fishes, before the seventh day or later, after God rested and had planted the Garden of Eden where Adam was "formed" and the animal kingdom came into existence to provide him with companionship. What would have happened, if Adam had selected a dog for friendship? He may have kept all his ribs! Endless possibilities, are also included in the phrase "male and female"– never "male or female" in any of the biblical translations of which I am familiar. It gives a subtle hint towards human diversity. The possibility of people not being polar opposites – of one gender/sex or the other, but truly open to uniqueness, variety and possibility. The scientifically attested cases in the Dominican Republic, where girls, at puberty develop into boys, through an inherited (dis)order is well documented. Similarly, the "overall birth rate of recognizably 'intersex' individuals is surprisingly high, running at between one and two in every thousand. In industrialised societies…doctors usually do a genetic test to determine 'real' sex, surgically conform the genitalia accordingly and administer hormones as necessary. But in many non-Western societies a child is accepted as…is, and outside medical interference aimed at changing…basic identity may be viewed with extreme hostility."

Although I have never met her, I have always been an admirer of Cheryl Chase, the founder and former executive director of the Intersex Society of North America. She pioneered "efforts to improve the social and medical treatment of intersexed people". She was brave enough to be "out" and to champion the rights of her peers, as a human rights issue, of which, many of us are totally unaware. It was during my time in the Caribbean that I became aware of people being born with male and female characteristics that in the final analysis, superseded terms like male-female and homosexual-heterosexual. I was able to rethink my understanding of what is a person. I realised that the world was not so clearly defined in areas that I had never considered before. I began to see how Christ's injunction "to preach the gospel to all the people" had become by default to "some" of the people and that nothing truly, ever separates us from the love of God; not even gender, sexual orientation or identity. This was a key experience that has underpinned my subsequent approach to life that requires an openness to diversity on many levels. It also led me to ordination in the Church, in pursuit of that "good news" for all people. (And whilst we have come a long way in our inclusive worship and ‘God’ may have lost its "masculinity" and become a neutral term, He is also a Goddess and a Spirit reflecting the diversity of us all)

It was a newspaper article that provoked these thoughts for this Posting. Last week, in the media, it was alleged that the European Commission is to relax controls on chemicals that have been proven to interfere with the sexual development and growth of children. Coupled with the concern "that half of all fish in our lowland rivers are changing sex because of pollution" the article explicitly records that the chemical industry is opposed to "special safety screenings" despite concerns in Europe over "the level of male reproductive disorders". I was reminded of similar concerns raised in articles I have from the late 90s; of plastics linked to sex mutations in animals and the concern with chemicals in plastic baby toys and many day to day items that cause cancers and damage human reproductive systems. The high incidence of oestrogens released in the water supplies, from plastics, is contributing to the feminization of wild life in the rivers and streams of Europe . It is beyond, appalling, that our mental and physical wellbeing continues to be subservient to ‘profit’ and this is seen as acceptable to some political entities.

We need our diversity; we need to be who we are without the interference of harmful and polluting chemicals or surgery without our permission. We need to be ourselves.

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceived my thoughts from afar. And you discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways…for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well..." - Psalm 139:1-3,13-14. (NIV)

Take pride in the creation of yourself, cherish your very being, as being in the image of God (the Goddess) and Holy Spirit.

And be all you can be.

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