Belgian supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele shares that she is intersex. She is famous for strutting on high-fashion runways. Odiele, 29, said that it is very important for her to break the taboo. She believes it is the perfect time to talk about it.
Individuals who are intersex don’t fit traditional definitions of female or male based on their genitals. According to the United Nations, the rate of intersex babies that are born are equal to red head babies born. Her intention of telling her secret is to raise awareness of the often secretive surgeries intersex children are forced to undergo. Odiele herself experienced such surgery where surgeons removed her testes at the age of 10.
Hanne Gaby Odiele was born with XY chromosomes due to an intersex characteristic called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Later on undergone vaginal reconstructive surgery. A professor of pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Sue Stred, stated that parents whose children are born without typical genitals may be encouraged to have their child undergo cosmetic surgery solely for aesthetic purposes. He described it like doing a nose job for a seven year old.
According to the Fox News, this decision will affect the child long term. The child could become permanently infertile and dependent on hormone replacement medications. And that choice that eventually only parents agree upon will affect the relationship of the child towards parents.
Stred said that there is a sense of betrayal when teens or young adults find out. Some individuals leave medical care because they feel anger at what physicians did to them before they were the age of consent. Hanne Gaby Odiele said that it is not a big deal being intersex, but her parent’s decision had a traumatic effect on her. She also told the newspaper that she is proud to be intersex, however, she is angry that the forced surgeries are still happening. According to the Yahoo, supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele will continue to tell her story.