Intersexuality is for the first time recognized in the United States. Sara Kelly Keenan, 55, obtained a birth certificate in accordance with her physical characteristics.
Neither man nor woman. Intersexuality is recognized for the first time in the United States. This December 27, Sara Kelly Keenan received a birth certificate that meets her expectations. The city of New York, which issued it, certifies that it does not belong to either of the two genders, reports NBC News. The culmination of a long fight: at 55, Sara Kelly Keenan claims her particularity. Born with male genes, female genitalia, and mixed internal reproductive organs, she chose to define herself by female pronouns… without claiming a gender.
“Not all intersex people choose to legally identify themselves this way,” she told the American media. Not all parents choose to identify their child as intersex on birth certificates either. For those who wish, this option must exist. To date, only two countries officially recognize intersexuality: Germany and Australia. This gesture of openness on the part of the United States could well set an example. A necessary development, because it is not uncommon. About one in 2,000 births is intersex. It would therefore be 2% of the world population that would be affected.
A free choice
Intersexuality corresponds to a concrete reality: a visible and anatomical sexual ambiguity, without functional reproductive organs. Several pathologies or malformations can correspond to this definition. Only one requirement, that the reproductive, genital or anatomical characteristics do not correspond to any of the definitions of masculine and feminine.
Sara Kelly Keenan, for her part, decided not to modify her physical characteristics. She has been receiving hormonal therapy since the age of 16. On the other hand, she refused to undergo surgery in order to endow her with a penis. Her father refused the procedure. A free choice supported by the ORFEO association, which represents intersex people. She militates against the automatic surgical solution, and pleads for the right of this population to choose its evolution.
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