From the beginning

When you are starting a blog, you may not know where to begin.  I have tried to think about how to start this blog, and one of my problems is that I have experienced so much in my life that trying to break it down makes my head want to explode!  My simplest answer to that question is...from the beginning.

So here is my beginning.  When I was born in October 1978, I was just like any other new born baby girl.  But when I was about a month old, I had a hernia and operation to correct it where it noticed I had undeveloped testicular tissue.  This is referred to as Streak Gonads.  After further investigating, I was diagnosed with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.  This means that I was born with male (XY) chromosomes.  The simple explination of what all of this means is although I am a woman, wih the male chromosomes, I am intersexed. 

From the beginning, I was born different.  From the beginning, I had no choice in the situation that had been handed to me.  I also had no choice in the information and how it was presented to me.  I was vulnerable and impressionable.  Many other things were to happen to me in life, both positive and negative, which I will talk about eventually in this blog.
 
 I am writing this blog for a multitude of reasons.  Some of them include education and advocacy.  There are misconceptions about people who are intersexed, and there are actually more of us than some people think.  Another reason to write this blog is personal.  When you let go of a secret it can be very freeing, and usually less scarey than you think it will be when you rip the band-aid off.  I want to live my life taking ownership of who I am and not being afraid of it.

For more information on CAIS you can search for it or look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_androgen_insensitivity_syndrome