logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2020
14m 29s

What it means to be intersex — and how t...

TED
About this episode

For intersex people -- those born with sex characteristics outside the traditional definitions of female and male -- the stakes to appear "normal" are high. Drawing on her personal experience, Susannah Temko reveals the shame, prejudice and harm faced by the intersex community, as they're forced to conform to a binary understanding of sex that ultimately hinders their health and well-being. She calls on us all to discard outdated notions of biological sex and accept the complexity within humanity.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Sunday Pick: The Office’s Rainn Wilson on meaning and happiness | ReThinking with Adam Grant
Rainn Wilson was a late bloomer: he landed the role of Dwight Schrute on The Office after over a decade of struggling as an actor. But success didn’t solve all of his problems -- and it even created some new ones. In this live conversation for the Authors@Wharton series, Adam ask ... Show More
47m 30s
Jul 25
A cosmologist's guide to the end of the universe | Katie Mack and Debbie Millman
How does studying the end of time change your perspective of life on Earth? Cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack joins designer and podcaster Debbie Millman to talk about the story of the cosmos — from the Big Bang's ancient light still glowing across the universe to the five wa ... Show More
22m 18s
Jul 24
How to get past the "messy middle" of a big change | Mary Martin
Did progress on your next big project stall out? Transformation expert Mary Martin refers to this moment as the "messy middle" — the frustrating gap between starting and finishing a goal, when you might lose confidence or give up altogether. Offering three ways to find glimmers o ... Show More
14m 38s
Recommended Episodes
May 2021
What it means to be intersex | Susannah Temko
For intersex people -- those born with sex characteristics outside the traditional definitions of female and male -- the stakes to appear "normal" are high. Drawing on her personal experience, Susannah Temko reveals the shame, prejudice and harm faced by the intersex community, a ... Show More
14m 27s
Dec 2020
The way we think about biological sex is wrong | Emily Quinn
Did you know that almost 150 million people worldwide are born intersex -- with biology that doesn't fit the standard definition of male or female? (That's as many as the population of Russia.) At age 10, Emily Quinn found out she was intersex, and in this wise, funny talk, she s ... Show More
14m 22s
Oct 2023
Born with Balls with Alicia Roth Weigel
Kayla is joined by Alicia Roth Weigel, an author and activist.. As an intersex person herself, Alicia hopes to dispel myths and normalize conversations about what it means to identify as such. She also shares her own healing journey after having surgery forced upon her without co ... Show More
38m 58s
Jun 2025
Munroe Bergdorf: “I’m scared for my safety!” Bodily autonomy & femininity as armour
Identity has become tribal, and it’s stopping us understanding each other’s humanity. Activist, writer, and model Munroe Bergdorf explains how fear and anger for society’s issues have been misdirected towards trans people.In this chat with Fearne, Munroe talks through what the re ... Show More
1h 25m
Feb 2020
Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Part One)
On Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990). Is gender socially constructed, and if so, how? Butler describes gender not as an essential quality of a person, but as "performed," as habits of acting in certain ways in accordance with customs. Her idea of soci ... Show More
51m 37s
Nov 2021
How Can We Put The “I” In LGBTQIA+? with Alicia Roth Weigel
Have you ever met a redhead? Someone with green eyes? Someone with intersex traits?  If you answered yes to the first two questions, you can likely answer yes to the third: being intersex is as common as having red hair or green eyes. And that’s almost definitely an undercount.  ... Show More
54m 5s
Jul 2019
Bisexuality: Part 1
<p>Anney and Samantha sit down with a panel of advocates, lawyers and researchers to discuss what it means to be bisexual, the issues facing the community, and what we can do about them.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com ... Show More
1h 10m
Sep 2021
Why Do I Feel Weird Saying I’m Bisexual?
The Cut’s Jazmín Aguilera has fought to be able to call herself bisexual, only to find out that the term might be a little… passé. So what label fits now? From Gen X-ers to Gen Z and even filmmaker Desiree Akhavan of "The Bisexual,” Jazmín seeks answers. Learn more about your ad ... Show More
26m 4s