Intersex individuals' religiosity and their journey to wellbeing

Abstract

The intersex movement has spent the past two decades forming around a common need to change the way in which contemporary societies ‘diagnose’ and ‘treat’ intersex. As the intersex movement is becoming articulate, visible and politically active, intersex individuals are also struggling to deal with the ongoing psycho-social and emotional trauma generated by decades of silence, secrets and scars. As the movement finds strength in numbers, and in ‘others like ourselves’, some intersex individuals are turning elsewhere for guidance and means of ‘coping’. This article introduces recent findings that intersex individuals are turning to traditional discourses of religiosity to understand not only the ‘treatments’ they have undergone, but also the meaning(s) of their intersex bodies. While counselling and peer support are increasingly recommended to, and sought by, intersex individuals, it is in spiritual and/or religious life that intersex individuals are finding answers, health and wellbeing. This article explores how some in the intersex movement are articulating their sense of intersex self through their own spiritual journeys; a path that contributes to traditional coping mechanisms.