The way we think about biological sex is wrong | Emily Quinn

Translator: Belén Albor Reviewer: Servizo de Normalización Lingüística

[Esta charla inclúe contido para adultos]

Teño vaxina.

(Risas)

Pensei que igual vos interesaba.

[This talk contains mature content]

Ao mellor non vos sorprende.

Teño o aspecto dunha muller.

I have a vagina.

(Laughter)

Vou vestida como unha, supoño.

Just thought you should know.

O caso é que tamén teño collóns.

That might not come as a surprise to some of you.

I look like a woman.

E si, precísase moito valor

para vir aquí falar dos meus xenitais.

I'm dressed like one, I guess.

The thing is, I also have balls.

Só un pouquiño.

And it does take a lot of nerve

Mais non estou falando de bravura ou de coraxe.

to come up here and talk to you about my genitalia.

Refírome a que teño collóns de verdade.

Aquí mesmo,

Just a little.

xusto onde moitas de vós tedes ovarios.

But I'm not talking about bravery or courage.

Non son home nin muller.

I mean literally -- I have balls.

Son intersexual.

A maioría da xente acepta que se é bioloxicamente home ou muller,

Right here,

right where a lot of you have ovaries.

mais é moito máis complicado ca iso.

I'm not male or female.

I'm intersex.

Hai moitas formas de ser intersexual.

Most people assume that you're biologically either a man or a woman,

No meu caso, nacín cos cromosomas XY,

but it's actually a lot more complex than that.

os coñecidos como cromosomas masculinos,

There are so many ways somebody could be intersex.

e nacín con vaxina. Ademais de con testículos dentro do corpo.

In my case, it means I was born with XY chromosomes,

Non respondo á testosterona,

which you probably know as male chromosomes.

polo que durante a puberdade medráronme os peitos,

And I was born with a vagina and balls inside my body.

mais non tiven acne, pelo corporal nin pel graxa.

I don't respond to testosterone,

Xa vos podedes celar.

so during puberty, I grew breasts,

(Risas)

but I never got acne or body hair, body oil.

Non teño útero,

nacín sen el,

así que non teño a menstruación e non podo ter fillos biolóxicos.

You can be jealous of that.

(Laughter)

But even though I don't actually have a uterus --

Definímonos a partir dos nosos xenitais.

I was born without one,

so I don't menstruate, I can't have biological children.

Mesmo antes de un bebé nacer, xa preguntamos se vai ser neno ou nena,

como se realmente importase;

We put people in boxes based on their genitalia.

como se nos fose facer menos ilusión ter un bebé

Before a baby's even born, we ask whether it's a boy or a girl,

se non nos sae cos xenitais que queremos;

como se o que alguén ten entre as pernas nos dixese algo sobre esa persoa.

as if it actually matters;

as if you're going to be less excited about having a baby

É boa, xenerosa, divertida?

if it doesn't have the genitals you wanted;

as if what's between somebody's legs tells you anything about that person.

Lista?

Que quere ser de grande?

Os xenitais non nos din nada.

Are they kind, generous, funny?

Mesmo así, definímonos por eles.

Smart?

Who do they want to be when they grow up?

Nesta sociedade, encántanos definirnos,

Genitals don't actually tell you anything.

etiquetarnos entre nós.

Fainos sentir que encaixamos

Yet, we define ourselves by them.

e amósanos como temos que interactuar os uns cos outros.

In this society, we love putting people into boxes

Mais hai un problema ben grande:

and labeling each other.

It kind of gives us a sense of belonging

o sexo biolóxico non é branco ou negro.

and teaches us how to interact with one another.

É unha escala.

But there's one really big problem:

Ademais de xenitais, temos cromosomas

biological sex is not black or white.

e gónadas, como ovarios e testículos.

Temos órganos sexuais internos,

It's on a spectrum.

produción hormonal, resposta hormonal

Besides your genitalia, you also have your chromosomes,

e características sexuais secundarias: peitos, pelo corporal etc.

your gonads, like ovaries or testicles.

You have your internal sex organs,

your hormone production, your hormone response

Eses sete trazos do sexo biolóxico teñen moitísima variación.

and your secondary sex characteristics, like breast development, body hair, etc.

Porén, nós só temos dúas opcións:

home ou muller,

Those seven areas of biological sex all have so much variation,

Considéroo ridículo

porque non podo pensar en ningún outro trazo humano

yet we only get two options:

para o que haxa só dúas posibilidades:

male or female.

cor da pel, cabelo, altura, ollos.

Which is kind of absurd to me,

because I can't think of a single other human trait

Podes ter o nariz A ou o B, ata aí, non hai máis opcións.

that there's only two options for:

skin color, hair, height, eyes.

Se hai infinitas feituras,

You can either have nose A or nose B, that's it, no other options.

infinitas maneiras de pensar,

infinitas personalidades,

non sería máis lóxico, xa que hai tanta variedade,

If there are infinite ways for our bodies to look,

que tamén a houbese no sexo?

our minds to think,

personalities to act,

Sabiades que, ademais de cromosomas XX ou XY,

wouldn't it make sense that there's that much variety

podemos ter ambos cromosomas XX e XY?

in biological sex, too?

Ou que podemos ter un X extra: XXY.

Did you know that besides XX or XY chromosomes,

Ou dous X extra: XXXY.

you could have XX and XY chromosomes?

E así sucesivamente.

E para as persoas “normais” con XX ou XY,

Or you could have an extra X -- XXY.

que significa iso?

Eu teño cromosomas XY.

Or two extra -- XXXY.

Se encontran o meu ADN na escena dun crime…

Goes on from there.

And for those "normal" people with XX or XY,

Non estou dicindo que vaia pasar, mais xa veremos.

what does that mean?

(Risas)

I have XY chromosomes.

Se descobren o meu esqueleto dentro duns miles de anos,

If my DNA is found at the scene of a crime --

not saying it will, but, you know, we'll see.

definiranme como home.

É esa a verdade?

(Laughter)

If my skeleton is discovered thousands of years from now,

Os meus testículos dirían si.

Mais, e o resto de min?

I'll be labeled male.

E que ocorre se unha muller desenvolve cancro de ovarios e llos hai que extirpar?

Is that the truth?

My balls would say so.

Seguímola considerando muller?

But what about the rest of me?

Que pasa coas persoas intersexuais que nacen sen testículos nin ovarios,

And what if a woman has ovarian cancer and has to have her ovaries removed?

ou con tan só un, ou coa combinación dos dous?

Does she still qualify as a woman?

Que facemos con elas?

What about other intersex people who are born without balls or ovaries

Hai que ter útero para ser muller?

Hai moitas de nós que nacemos sen el.

or with just one or a combination of the two?

E a parte favorita de todos: os xenitais.

Where do they go?

Do you have to have a uterus to be a woman?

Ou tes un ou tes outro, non é?

There's a lot of us who are born without one.

Ou tes un pene de 15 cm de longo, que é exactamente así de gordo,

And everyone's favorite part, genitalia:

e sobresae do corpo nun ángulo de 90 graos,

ou tes unha vaxina que é así de ancha,

you either have one or the other, right?

You either have a six-inch-long penis that's exactly this thick,

un clítoris que está a 1 cm e medio da abertura vaxinal

e uns labios que son exactamente como se supón que deben ser,

jutting straight out of the body at a 90-degree angle,

or you have a vagina that's this wide internally

como os daquel vídeo porno que viches aquela vez. Xa sabes cal.

and a clitoris that's half an inch above the vaginal opening

Se na vosa vida tivestes máis dunha parella sexual

and labia that look exactly like they're supposed to look like,

e xuntades esas persoas,

according to that one porn video you watched that one time.

garántovos que as podedes distinguir á conta dos seus xenitais.

You know the one.

If you've been with more than one sexual partner in your lifetime,

(Risas)

Pensádeo.

Veña.

and you line them up, one by one,

(Risas)

I guarantee you can identify them just by their genitalia.

Estouvos vendo.

Non vos xulgo.

(Laughter)

Só vos observo.

Think about it.

Todos diferentes, verdade?

Go on.

(Laughter)

I see you.

O sexo e o xénero binario están integrados na nosa sociedade,

No judging.

Just notice.

e nunca nos paramos a pensalo.

All different, right?

Automaticamente definímonos dunha maneira ou doutra,

The sex and gender binary are both so ingrained in our society,

como se realmente importase.

that we never stop to think about it.

Ata que alguén chega e o cuestiona.

We just automatically place each other into one box or the other,

E se pensades que eu son unha excepción, unha anomalía, un caso atípico,

as if it actually matters.

Until somebody comes along to make you question it.

as persoas intersexuais representan o 2 % da poboación, aproximadamente.

And if you're thinking that I'm the exception, an anomaly, an outlier:

A mesma porcentaxe que os rubios.

intersex people represent around two percent of the population.

Sobre 150 millóns de persoas, máis ou menos,

That's the same percentage as genetic redheads.

o que é máis que a poboación de Rusia.

Así que somos moitos, sobra dicilo.

It's about 150 million people, roughly,

Non somos unha cousa nova nin rara.

which is more than the entire population of Russia.

Somos invisibles, sen máis.

So there's a lot of us, needless to say.

Existimos, ao longo da historia, en todas as culturas.

We're not new or rare.

Porén, nunca falamos sobre isto.

We're just invisible.

De feito, moita xente é intersexual e non o sabe.

We've existed throughout every culture in history.

Fixestes un cariograma para identificar os vosos cromosomas?

Yet, we never talk about it.

In fact, a lot of people might not know that they're intersex.

E unha analítica completa para determinar os niveis hormonais?

Have you had a karyotype test to determine your chromosomes?

Unha amiga miña descubriuno o ano pasado, aos seus 50 anos.

A directora executiva de interACT,

What about a full blood panel for all of your hormone levels?

a principal organización de dereitos humanos das persoas intersexuais dos EUA,

A friend of mine found out last year, in his 50s.

descubriu que era intersexual aos 41 anos.

The executive director of interACT,

which is the leading organization for intersex human rights here in the US,

Os médicos sabíano desde que tiña 15,

mais non llo contaron.

she found out she was intersex at age 41.

Mentíronlle e dixéronlle que tiña cancro;

Her doctors found out when she was 15,

pareceulles máis fácil de asimilar

que non ser “completamente” muller.

but they didn't tell her.

They lied and said that she had cancer,

Isto pasa moito,

que se nos minta ou se nos oculten cousas sobre os nosos propios corpos,

because that seemed like an easier option

than finding out she wasn't "fully" a woman.

o que parece sorprender a moita xente.

Mais vivimos nunha sociedade na que non se fala sobre o sexo ou os corpos,

This kind of thing happens a lot,

where intersex people are lied to or kept in the dark about our bodies,

salvo para mofarse ou para ridiculizar alguén.

which comes as a surprise to a lot of people.

But we live in a society that doesn't talk about sex or bodies at all,

Eu descubrín aos 10 anos que era intersexual,

e, en xeral, non me afectou.

unless it's to mock or shame each other.

Non quedei de pedra;

estaba aínda descubrindo como funcionaba o mundo.

I found out I was intersex at age 10,

and for the most part, I was fine with that information.

Non foi ata que fun máis vella

que fun consciente de que non me axustaba ao que a sociedade esperaba de min,

It didn't really faze me;

I was still developing my understanding of the world.

de que non encaixaba, de que era rara.

It wasn't until I got older

E aí comecei a avergoñarme.

and realized I didn't fit society's expectations of me,

Cantas veces vistes nenos xogar con xoguetes “errados”

that I didn't belong, that I was abnormal.

para o seu xénero?

Ou vestir a roupa “errada”?

And that's when the shame started.

Todo o tempo, verdade?

A rapazada non ten esas ideas sobre as normas de xénero,

How many times have you seen kids play with the "wrong" toys

non sente vergoña por ser como é,

for their gender?

Or try on the "wrong" clothes?

All the time, right?

nin polo que lle gusta ou lle encanta.

Kids don't have these ideas about gender norm,

Non lle importa nada diso.

they don't have shame about who they're supposed to be

Non sente vergoña ata que lla facemos sentir nós.

or what they're supposed to like or love.

Eu tamén tiven médicos que me mentiron.

They don't care about any of this stuff.

Aos 10 anos, dixéronme que ía ter cancro

They don't have shame until we put it on them.

se non extirpaba os testículos.

I also had doctors lie to me.

Logo, seguiron a dicirme o mesmo cada ano.

At age 10, they told me that I would also get cancer

Incluso a día de hoxe, hai aínda médicos que queren que os extirpe.

unless I removed my balls.

Mais non hai ningunha razón para facelo.

Then they proceeded to tell me that every year.

Se un home XY prototípico ten testículos

Until today, there are still doctors who want me to remove them.

But there's literally no reason.

e un non lle baixou,

ten unha probabilidade alta de desenvolver cancro,

If a typical XY male, like yourself, has testicles,

ou unha probabilidade máis alta de desenvolver cancro.

É preciso termorregulalos.

and one is undescended,

Así, separaranse do corpo para arrefriar

there's a high chance of it becoming cancerous --

ou encartaranse para quecer.

or a higher chance of it becoming cancerous.

They need to thermoregulated.

Aos meus non lles pasa iso.

Non responden á testosterona, non producen esperma.

So they drop down away from the body to cool off,

or they shrink back up to get warm.

Están ben dentro do meu corpo.

Mine don't need to do that.

Porén, por falta de información sobre as persoas intersexuais,

They're not responding to testosterone, they're not producing sperm.

os meus médicos nunca o entenderon.

They're fine right here inside my body.

Realmente, nunca entenderon o meu corpo.

Yet, because there's such a lack of information about intersex people,

Andado o tempo,

encontrei outra médica que me mandou operar a vaxina.

my doctors never understood the difference.

They never really understood my body.

Dixo que ata que me operase, ata que ela me operase,

As I got older,

I had another doctor tell me that I needed to have surgery on my vagina.

non podería ter relacións sexuais “normais” co meu marido.

She said that until I had an operation, until she operated,

Iso foi o que dixo.

I would not be able to have "normal sex" with my husband one day.

Finalmente, non me operei,

e agradezo enormemente non o facer.

Her words.

Non vin ata aquí falar da miña vida sexual.

I didn't end up going through with the operation,

(Risas)

Mais, digamos que está ben.

and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

(Risas)

I'm not here to talk about my sex life.

Eu estou ben, o meu corpo está ben.

(Laughter)

Non seriades quen de diferenciar

But let's just say it's fine.

entre min e outra persoa a non ser que volo contase eu;

(Laughter)

non notariades que son intersexual a non ser que volo contase.

I'm fine, my body is fine.

You actually wouldn’t be able to tell the difference

Non obstante, de novo, por falta de coñecemento sobre os nosos corpos,

between me and another person unless I told you;

a miña médica non o entendeu.

you wouldn't be able to tell that I was intersex unless I told you.

E, en xeral, a miña vida sexual é boa.

But again, because of the lack of understanding about bodies,

O único problema que teño

my doctor didn't understand the difference.

é que hai situacións sexuais que me traen recordos de médicos tocándome,

And for the most part, my sex life is fine.

unha e outra vez desde os 10 anos.

The only issue that really comes up

is that sometimes, sexual situations bring up memories of doctors touching me,

Son moi afortunada por terme librado…

Non pensei que me fose emocionar.

over and over again since I was 10.

Son moi afortunada por terme librado da dor física

I've been really lucky to escape --

que estas cirurxías innecesarias provocan.

I didn't think I would get emotional --

I've been really lucky to escape the physical harm

Mais ningunha persoa intersexual é quen de escapar do dano emocional

that comes from these unnecessary surgeries.

que provoca vivir nunha sociedade que intenta ocultar a túa existencia.

But no intersex person is free from the emotional harm

A maior parte das miñas amizades intersexuais están operadas.

that comes from living in a society that tries to cover up your existence.

A miúdo, extirpan testículos como os meus,

pese a ser o risco de cancro de testículos máis baixo que o risco de cancro de mama

Most of my intersex friends have had operations like these.

Oftentimes, they will remove testes like mine,

nunha muller sen predisposición xenética e sen antecedentes familiares.

even though my risk of testicular cancer is lower than the risk of breast cancer

Mais a ela non lle mandamos quitar os peitos, ou mandamos?

in a typical woman with no predisposition, no family history.

É raro encontrar unha persoa intersexual que non estea operada.

But we don't tell her to remove her breasts, do we?

Adoito, estas cirurxías queren mellorar a vida da cativada intersexual.

It's rare to meet an intersex person that hasn't been operated on.

No entanto, acaban por facer o contrario

e provocan máis complicacións e máis dor,

Oftentimes, these surgeries are done to improve intersex kids' lives,

tanto física como emocional.

but they usually end up doing the opposite,

causing more harm and complications,

Non estou dicindo que o persoal médico sexa malo ou desapiadado.

both physical and emotional.

O problema é que vivimos nunha sociedade que fai que queiran “arranxar”

I'm not saying that doctors are bad or evil.

aquelas de nós que non encaixamos na definición de normal.

It's just that we live in a society that causes some doctors to "fix"

Non somos problemas que precisen arranxarse.

those of us who don't fit their definition of normal.

É tan só que vivimos nunha sociedade que necesita mudar.

We're not problems that need to be fixed.

A miña maneira de contribuír

é escribindo unha guía sen xénero sobre a puberdade

We just live in a society that needs to be enlightened.

para que a rapazada poida aprender sobre os seus corpos.

One of the ways I'm doing that

Non sobre os seus corpos de neno ou de nena:

is by creating a genderless puberty guidebook

simplemente, sobre os seus corpos.

Con frecuencia, temos expectativas irreais sobre cousas dos nosos corpos

that can teach kids about their bodies as they grow up.

Not their girl bodies or their boy bodies --

que non están nas nosas mans.

just their bodies.

Ou sexa, se un home é quen de deixar unha boa barba, elegante e moderna,

We often place unrealistic expectations on the things that our bodies do

e outro só é quen de deixar uns peliños no bigote,

that are outside of our control.

que nos está dicindo iso deles como homes?

I mean, if one man can grow a full, luxurious, hipster beard,

Nada.

and the other can only grow a few mustache hairs,

Significa, simplemente,

que os seus folículos pilosos non responden igual á testosterona.

what does that mean about who they are as men?

Porén, cantas veces vistes un home avergoñado por algo así?

Nothing.

It literally, most likely, just means

that their hair follicles respond to testosterone in different ways.

Imaxinade un mundo onde puidésemos vivir nunha sociedade

Yet, how many times have you heard a man ashamed about something like this?

que nos aprendese a non sentir vergoña

das cousas que os nosos corpos poden ou non poden facer.

Imagine a world where we could live in a society

that teaches us not to have shame

Quero mudar a maneira en que pensamos sobre o sexo biolóxico na sociedade,

about the things that our bodies do or do not do.

o que é pedir moito.

I want to change the way that we think about biological sex in this society --

Poderíase dicir que require collóns.

(Risas)

Mais, co tempo, acabamos por aceptar que a terra é redonda, non?

which is a lot to ask for.

You could say it's ballsy, I guess.

Xa non diagnosticamos a homosexualidade como un trastorno mental,

(Laughter)

nin as mulleres con histeria.

But eventually we accepted the world as round, right?

Non pensamos xa que a causa da epilepsia sexa o demo, o que está bastante ben.

We no longer diagnose gay people with mental disorders

(Risas)

or women with hysteria.

A medida que aprendemos, mudamos e evolucionamos como sociedade.

We don't think epilepsy is caused by the devil anymore, so that's cool.

E o sexo biolóxico é unha escala.

Non é branco ou negro.

(Laughter)

We constantly change and evolve, the more we understand as a society.

Este coñecemento pode salvar nenas e nenos intersexuais

da dor física e emocional,

And biological sex is on a spectrum.

mais pode tamén axudar o resto do mundo.

It's not black or white.

Not only could that knowledge save intersex kids

Quen aquí se sentiu fóra de lugar ou avergoñado algunha vez

from physical and emotional harm,

por non ser feminina dabondo, ou por selo demasiado?

I think it would help everyone else, too.

Por non ser masculino dabondo, ou por selo demasiado?

Who here has ever felt inadequate or ashamed

Avergoñamos a xente por non encaixar,

because you weren't girly enough, you were too girly,

mais realmente,

coido que avergoñamos outros para que non poidan caer na conta

you weren't manly enough, or too manly?

We constantly shame people for not fitting into a box,

de que nós tampouco encaixamos.

but the reality is,

E a verdade é que, realmente, ninguén encaixa,

I think we shame others because it prevents them from seeing

porque o normal non existe.

that we don't fit inside our boxes, either.

A clasificación binaria masculino-feminino é algo que nós ideamos,

And the truth is that nobody actually fits in a box,

because they don't exist.

algo que nós creamos.

Mais non ten por que existir.

This binary, this false male-female facade is something we constructed,

Podemos desbaratala.

E iso é o que quero facer.

we built ourselves.

But it doesn't have to exist.

Botádesme unha man?

We can break it down.

Grazas.

(Aplausos)

And that's what I want to do.

Will you join me?

Thanks.

(Applause)