Intersex, in humans and other animals, describes variations in

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

characteristics including

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

s, gonads,

sex hormones Sex hormones, also known as sex steroids, gonadocorticoids and gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate steroid hormone receptors. The sex hormones include the androgens, estrogens, and progestogens. Their effects a ...

, or

genital A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

s that, according to the UN

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

, "do not fit typical binary notions of

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

bodies".

Intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bin ...

is a part of nature and that is reflected in some representations of intersex in film and other media.

Documentary films about intersex

''Hermaphrodites Speak!''

'' Hermaphrodites Speak!'' (1997) is a 30-minute documentary film from the United States in which several intersex people at the first retreat of the

Intersex Society of North America The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries.Matthews, Karen (Oct 22, 2000). Debate Grows Over Using Surgery on Infants with Amb ...

discuss their lives and the medical treatment and parenting they received.

''XXXY''

In 2000, Porter Gale, Masters in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University, and Laleh Soomekh, produced '' XXXY'', a documentary revealing intersex individuals' and medical professional's opinions on the surgical procedures done on them, while providing a medical professional's opinion as well. The film clearly shows the dissatisfaction and the painful repercussions for the children who went through sex reassignment surgeries.

''One in Two Thousands''

''One in Two Thousand'' (2006) produced by Ajae Clearway features intersex individuals and their experiences with surgeries, and advocates for informed consent.

''Orchids, My Intersex Adventure''

Australian documentary filmmaker

Phoebe Hart Phoebe Hart is an Australian filmmaker, lecturer and intersex rights activist, born with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Hart lectures in film, television and digital media at the Queensland University of Technology, and is principal of Hartflic ...

directed the 2010 autobiographical documentary ''

Orchids, My Intersex Adventure ''Orchids, My Intersex Adventure'' is an auto-biographicalATOM Award descriptio"First Hand Films" ''Interview with Phoebe Hart'', Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2010 2010 documentary about one woman's struggle to understand her own in ...

'' of her personal experience as an intersex person. It explores the various social scenarios faced by many intersex individuals.

''Intersexion''

Grant Lahood's 2012 documentary ''

Intersexion ''Intersexion'' (2012) is a documentary about intersex people. The film was researched and presented by activist Mani Mitchell, New Zealand's first "out" intersex person.

'' follows

Mani Bruce Mitchell Mani Bruce Mitchell (born 1953) is an intersex activist and counsellor from Wellington, New Zealand. In 2021, Mitchell was recognised as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Early life Mitchell was born and raised in the central Nort ...

of Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand (ITANZ) as they visit intersex people in America, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Australia. It was awarded the Best Feature Documentary award at the

Documentary Edge Festival The Doc Edge, formerly DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival or simply DOCNZ Film Festival, and then Documentary Edge Festival, is New Zealand's Academy Award-qualifying international documentary film festival, run annually by the Documen ...

, presented by . The film was directed by Grant Lahood.

''The General Was Female?''

The General Was Female? "The General Was Female?" is the sixth episode in the documentary series ''America's Hidden Stories'' that argues that Revolutionary War General Casimir Pulaski was intersex. It first aired on Smithsonian Channel on April 8, 2019. See also * Int ...

'', a 2019 film about

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

General

Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...

which asserts that he was intersex.

''She's Not a Boy''

Robert Tokanel and Yuhong Pang directed this 2019 documentary film about the life of Tatenda Ngwaru, an intersex woman who immigrated from Zimbabwe to the United States. It chronicles the joys and challenges she faces in asylum status, relationship with family, medical care, identity, and the LGBTQIA community.

''Stories of Intersex and Faith''

The result of scholarship and interviews about the theology, biology, and personal lives of intersex people, this documentary provides a lens into the diversity of intersex people's experiences and how intersex identity intersects with different contexts.

Fiction films about intersex

''Ponyboi''

'' Ponyboi'' is a USC Graduate thesis film written and directed by

River Gallo River Gallo is a Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, model, and intersex rights activist. They wrote, directed, and acted in the 2019 short film ''Ponyboi'', which is the first film to feature an openly intersex actor playing an intersex pers ...

. It follows a young intersex runaway in New Jersey, looking for love in all the wrong places. After running away from home, Ponyboi (a disarming and troubled high school drop out) now works at Bubble-Land Laundromat—a grungy 24-hour establishment on the wrong side of town. To make ends meet he hustles as a sex-worker within the laundromat. He works with Vinny (his manager, pimp, and Eminem-wannabe) and Angel (Vinny's glamour-trash girlfriend). Ponyboi is a your typical Jersey boy; he loves Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey shore, and a well-rolled blunt. And like all Jersey boys, Ponyboi dreams of getting the hell out of Jersey. However, he believes the only way to do that is by meeting his Prince Charming. Ponyboi's life changes on a lonely Valentine's day night, when a debonaire cowboy whom he's dreamed about visits him in the laundromat. Through this enchanting encounter with the man of his dreams (literally), Ponyboi discovers that perhaps he is worthy of breaking free from his past and leaving his dead-end life behind.

''Tintomara''

'' Tintomara'', a 1970

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

. It is based on the novel ''

Drottningens juvelsmycke ''The Queen's Tiara'' ( sv, Drottningens juvelsmycke lit. "The Queen's Jewels") is a classic Swedish novel by Carl Jonas Love Almquist. It is the fourth instalment in the series of novels known as ''Törnrosens bok'' (The Book of the Thorn Rose) ...

'' by

Jonas Love Almqvist Carl Jonas Love Ludvig Almqvist (28 November 1793 – 26 September 1866) was a Sweden, Swedish author, romantic poetry, romantic poet, critique of political economy, romantic critic of political economy, literary realism, realist, composer and s ...

and features one of Swedish literature's most enduringly popular characters, the eponymous androgyne Tintomara.

''The Mystery of Alexina''

The Mystery of Alexina ''The Mystery of Alexina'' (french: Le Mystère Alexina), also titled ''Alexina'', is a 1985 French historical drama directed by René Féret and centered upon the intersex memoirist Herculine Barbin. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard se ...

'', a 1985 French film based on the story of

Herculine Barbin Herculine Adélaïde Barbin, later known as Abel Barbin (November 8, 1838 – February 1868), was a French intersex person who was assigned female at birth and raised in a convent, but was later reclassified as male by a court of law, after an affa ...

''XXY''

The 2007 Argentine film '' XXY'' centres around a young intersex person assisted in presenting as a girl by medication. The film deals with discrimination, sexuality and gender identity.

''Both''

A 2005 US/Peruvian film in English, ''

Both Both may refer to: Common English word * ''both'', a determiner or indefinite pronoun denoting two of something * ''both... and'', a correlative conjunction People * Both (surname) Music * The Both, an American musical duo consisting of ...

'' by filmmaker Lisset Barcellos, won an audience award at the 28th

Créteil International Women's Film Festival The Créteil International Women's Film Festival (in French Festival international de films de femmes de Créteil) is an annual event in Créteil, France, founded by Jackie Buet in 1978 to showcase the directing talents of female filmmakers who, ...

. The movie is unusual for being a film about an intersex issue directed by an intersex person.

''Spork''

Spork A spork is a hybrid form of cutlery taking the form of a spoon-like shallow scoop with two to four fork-like tines. Its name is a portmanteau of spoon and fork. Spork-like utensils, such as the terrapin fork or ice cream fork, have been manuf ...

'', a 2011 musical comedy, written and directed by J.B. Ghuman Jr. in which a frizzy-haired, pink-cheeked outcast named Spork tries to navigate her way through junior high.

''Predestination''

Predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...

'', a 2014 Australian

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

thriller film, directed and written by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film is based on the

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

short story "

All You Zombies "'—All You Zombies—'" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was written in one day, July 11, 1958, and first published in the March 1959 issue of ''Fantasy and Science Fiction'' magazine after being reje ...

''Being Impossible''

'' Being Impossible'', or ''Yo, imposible'' is a 2018 Venezuelan-Colombian film about a woman who has never felt like she fits in and whose intersex identity has been hidden from her in a Venezuela that doesn't talk about deviance and a religious family that enforces strict gender roles.

References

{{LGBT fiction

Intersex-related lists