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Doctors often claim there's a "silent majority" of intersex people satisfied with the way they were treated as young patients. I used to be part of that "silent majority" - but I certainly wasn't happy. Doctors draw this false conclusion because most of their young patients haven't returned as adults
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described the book as a "gripping journey she takes readers on as she slowly unravels the truth of her identity as an intersex woman", "written with the sharp, unflinching and often hilarous prose of a woman on a mission to be her authentic self". In discussion with the Los
Angeles Review of Books,
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are not medical or social emergencies. Zieselman describes how shame and secrecy, and medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex infants causes devastating physical and psychological harm, but they take place for sociological reasons. She calls for a moratorium on surgeries until children are old
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Zieselman discovered her medical records at age 41, including a statement that she and her parents had consented to surgery after full disclosure of a diagnosis. She described being informed she was having "a hysterectomy to remove partially developed female reproductive organs that might become
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Zieselman has described how, at age 15 and because she hadn't menstruated, she was referred to a reproductive oncologist at
Massachusetts General Hospital, a teaching hospital, and told that her ovaries and uterus needed to be removed to eliminate a risk of cancer. She had surgery at age 16,
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community has helped open doors, but how intersex rights are broader: "at its core this is a children's rights issue. It is also about health and reproductive rights, because these operations can lead to infertility". She has described the MTV series
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described the memoir as an "impressie introduction the powerhouse that is
Kimberly M. Zieselman" that "carries the weight of what it means to be a first", showing "both the complexity and the ordinariness of intersex experiences".
602:
162:
The main goal of interACT is to end medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children. Zieselman describes how intersex children just have a different type of body, and
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cancerous in the future". Discovery was disorientating, challenging her identity and that of her husband. Zieselman has also described how "I felt free when I found out".
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In 2009, Zieselman discovered the peer support group AIS-DSD Support Group, and she later became a member of the board. Zieselman is now executive director of
306:
203:, on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.
159:, an organization that promotes the rights of intersex youth, including through law and policy, development of youth leadership, and media work.
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127:. Neither Zieselman nor her parents were told the truth about her diagnosis, that she had
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to complain. But their silence is just as likely to be caused by stigma and shame.
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enough to choose for themselves, with parents given a "full spectrum of choices".
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871:
577:"Struggles and Joys in the World: A Conversation with Kimberly M. Zieselman"
307:"I was an intersex child who had surgery. Don't put other kids through this"
633:
548:
368:"Why Doctors Should NOT Perform Surgery on Intersex People Without Consent"
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88:
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The book received the
Stonewall Honor Books in Non-Fiction Award in 2021.
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Zieselman trained as a lawyer, and worked in the field of family law and
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Zieselman is married to Steven. They are parents of adopted twin girls.
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of their intersex trait as a tipping point for the intersex movement.
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106:(formerly Advocates for Informed Choice), and is a signatory of the
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862:
84:
768:"Are We Witnessing the Birth of TV's Intersex Liberation?"
720:"Falling In Between: Inside the lives of intersex women"
406:"Falling In Between: Inside the lives of intersex women"
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A step forward for intersex visibility and human rights
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as ground-breaking, and the public disclosure by model
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Zieselman describes the memoir as about empowerment.
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69:
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793:"How a Top Model Also Became an Intersex Activist"
689:
765:
629:"Model Hanne Gaby Odiele reveals she is intersex"
491:"Model Hanne Gaby Odiele reveals she is intersex"
869:
665:"Interview: Intersex Babies Don't Need 'Fixing'"
603:Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
244:XOXY a memoir (intersex woman, mother, activist)
102:. She currently serves as executive director of
858:Website of Kimberly Zieselman for her book XOXY
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484:
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131:, XY sex chromosomes, and internal testes.
695:"US: Harmful Surgery on Intersex Children"
791:Safronova, Valeriya (February 11, 2017).
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766:Anderson-Minshall, Diane (July 6, 2016).
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123:requiring a subsequent dependence on
888:Intersex rights in the United States
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459:Blechman, Guthrie (March 11, 2020).
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366:McNamara, Brittney (July 26, 2017).
347:Intersex rights in the United States
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908:21st-century American women writers
739:Radcliffe, Charles (October 2016).
627:Khomami, Nadia (January 24, 2017).
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913:21st-century American LGBTQ people
837:"Stonewall Book Awards announced!"
489:Miller, Susan (January 23, 2017).
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718:Fogle, Asher (October 21, 2016).
404:Fogle, Asher (October 21, 2016).
663:Stewart, Philippa (2017-07-25).
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199:Zieselman is a signatory of the
183:Zieselman has described how the
145:assisted reproductive technology
118:Early life and medical treatment
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819:"Yogyakarta Principles plus 10"
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575:Gomez, Edgar (April 30, 2020).
236:Selected publications include:
129:androgen insensitivity syndrome
100:androgen insensitivity syndrome
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528:Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics
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269:Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics
241:Zieselman, Kimberly M (2020).
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903:21st-century American writers
839:. Rainbow Round Table of the
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201:Yogyakarta Principles plus 10
108:Yogyakarta Principles plus 10
841:American Library Association
521:Zieselman, Kimberly (2015).
262:Zieselman, Kimberly (2015).
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582:Los Angeles Review of Books
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222:Los Angeles Review of Books
170:Zieselman is quoted by the
125:hormone replacement therapy
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898:American intersex writers
878:Intersex rights activists
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883:American intersex women
741:"Intersex Ed at the UN"
466:Chicago Review of Books
217:Chicago Review of Books
605:(September 25, 2016),
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110:. In 2020, her memoir
541:10.1353/nib.2015.0056
432:"Mission and History"
282:10.1353/nib.2015.0056
232:Selected bibliography
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211:In 2020, her memoir
863:Website of interACT
843:. January 25, 2021.
746:The Huffington Post
798:The New York Times
699:Human Rights Watch
691:Human Rights Watch
670:Human Rights Watch
461:"An Intersex Life"
81:Kimberly Zieselman
23:Kimberly Zieselman
725:Good Housekeeping
693:(July 25, 2017).
411:Good Housekeeping
254:978-1-78450-990-3
194:Hanne Gaby Odiele
164:genital surgeries
151:Intersex advocacy
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16:Intersex activist
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752:2017-08-05
704:2017-08-05
676:2017-07-25
640:2017-08-05
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588:2020-06-11
502:2017-08-05
472:2020-06-11
442:2016-02-06
417:2017-08-05
379:2017-08-05
373:Teen Vogue
353:References
496:USA TODAY
318:August 9,
312:USA Today
190:Faking It
557:44624517
549:26300143
436:interACT
342:interACT
336:See also
298:44624517
290:26300143
157:interACT
104:interACT
96:intersex
92:advocate
85:attorney
59:interACT
43:Attorney
32:American
65:Website
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438:. 2016
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207:Memoir
139:Career
83:is an
70:xoxykz
46:Author
553:S2CID
294:S2CID
545:PMID
320:2017
286:PMID
249:ISBN
213:XOXY
185:LGBT
112:XOXY
72:.com
537:doi
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.