Happy Spring!


 

 

by ''Meg''

 

 

We are finally seeing some green sprouts in Massachusetts, and our support group gathering is now four months away.  It is always such an exciting time for our group as we see registrations coming in and can start to anticipate seeing each other!
 
Camp Orchid 2019 in Little Rock is going to be a blast…camp fires, a lake to canoe and fish in, an accessible pool, walking trails on site, and hiking nearby, basketball court, and lots of indoor space for member-led sessions and conversations, not to mention karaoke and the usual fun we all get up to!
 
By way of introduction -- I’m Meg and am a mom of two intersex children.  I have been a Board Member for 6 years, and a part of the Welcome Committee for longer than that.  We have appreciated this support community for a long time now!
 
Our first contact was through the old Yahoo group for parents – and Arlene Baratz and Jane Goto were two of the welcoming, generous people we met in those early days.  Back then, my concern was learning how to be a good parent to our kids – both toddlers when we brought them home – as we navigated this new world of being parents of intersex kids.  Through talking with other parents and with intersex adults, we learned how to start talking with our kids about their intersex traits when they were just 3-4 years old.  At every stage of their lives we have reached out to the group for advice – and have been met with such thoughtful, caring, generous help.

When our oldest was 11 years old, and youngest was 8, we felt like they were old enough to come to their first annual conference.  We knew the kids needed to meet people like them, to know that there was a community there for them.  We were all pretty nervous – but within a few hours our shy one had been drawn into the teens group – the youngest member by far, but welcomed nevertheless!  Later that night, they said it was the “best day of my life!”  Music to our ears for sure!  Even at just 8 years old, our youngest had a meaningful experience, too – meeting intersex men (“the Jims”) who we could refer to over the years to remind him that there are other boys and men like him.  At later conferences, he met some other boys his age, and that awareness of not being “the only one” has been a solid foundation through the years.
 
Through the Yahoo group (then Orchid Connect, and now Facebook groups) and the annual conferences our relationship with this community has deepened and expanded through the years.  Our eldest has a crew of teens around the same age that are a part of their life, invaluable during the ups and downs, and has been able to reach out to young adults at times when there were decisions to make, or they just needed support and understanding we couldn’t provide.  I can’t imagine our lives without this community!
 
 
''Meg''

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear InterConnect Community

Image
    by Rebecca Baughman Kerns       As I sit here and reflect on the past two years, I’m so proud of the many milestones we achieved.  The in-person conference in Minneapolis was not only well-received but also a testament to the strength of our community.  Every time I turned around, I saw a new connection being made, a new memory being formed or a new friendship created.  The impulse to connect, as often as we can, is not to be overlooked.  Whether you have attended one conference or dozens, they are life changing.  Minnesota showcased many of the victories happening in our own community.  We had the chance to sit together and watch a documentary about our community, giving voice to our lives.  I hope everyone reading this has the opportunity to get together with others in the intersex community.  If you cannot make it to a meet-up, let us help you create one in your own area. Our monthly Zoom meetings have s...
Read more

Remembering InterConnect's Founder

Image
Sherri Groveman Morris On Monday, October 9, we learned of the passing of InterConnect ’s dear founder, Sherri Groveman Morris (1958-2023).  Sherri, an orchid legend, founded InterConnect in 1996 as the AISSG-US (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group, US Chapter) and was also actively involved with the Intersex Society of North American (ISNA). At that time, InterConnect functioned as a small support group for women with AIS.  Over the last 27 years, InterConnect has grown into an organization that supports people with all intersex variations and gender identities, their families, friends, and allies.  Dr. Charmian Quigley, who knew Sherri from InterConnect 's founding, wrote this about Sherri:  "Passionate and compassionate, committed, courageous, dedicated, warm, honest, human, humorous, driven, bold, articulate, engaging, our surrogate mother and grandmother, the matriarch of our family tree; the architect of a support movement that has blossomed over...
Read more

ABA Supports Intersex Bodily Autonomy

Image
American Bar Association Resolution supports intersex bodily autonomy   Last week, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted resolution 511 supporting the bodily autonomy of children with intersex traits. Within resolution 511, the ABA “urges licensed professionals not to conduct or propose medical or surgical intervention on minors with intersex traits until the minor requests the proposed care, understands the impact of the proposed care as well as alternatives, is provided with affirming psychosocial supports, and gives informed consent or assent, except when immediate life-threatening circumstances require emergency intervention.” We applaud the ABA in their support of intersex children to make their own informed choices regarding their medical care. Read more HERE .
Read more