Popular Model Reveals She’s Intersex, Raises Awareness for What the Term Means

In an interview with USA Today on Monday, model Hanne Gaby Odiele revealed that she is intersex, a trait that about 1.7 percent of the population is born with, according to Greatist.

The term, however, is often misunderstood and rarely talked about, something Odiele hopes to change.

Generally, the term encompasses anyone born with genitals that don’t conform to the general definitions of male (penis) or female (vagina). In Odiele’s case, she was born with a vagina as well as internal, undescended testes and the XY chromosomes.

When she was 10 years old, she had her testes removed via surgery after doctors told her they could cause cancer and stop her from developing as a “normal girl.”

Odiele, however, is partnering with interACT, an advocacy group for intersex youth, to help more people understand the term, what it means, and to help children and doctors take their time making decisions on whether or not to seek surgery. Odiele is advocating for parents and doctors to wait until their children are old enough to understand the surgery and what it means, and can consent with full knowledge of that.

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