Monday, December 19, 2011

First Openly Intersex Mayor

Hobsons Bay, Australia elected who is believed to be the world's first openly intersex mayor recently.  Tony Briffa was born with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, and identifies as both male and female.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/10/tony-briffa-intersex-mayor_n_1140840.html

I found this news really interesting for two reasons:  One, because I am glad to see an intersex person being elected to a very visible role.  And two, because this highlights the fact that not all people with AIS identify as female.  Some identify as male, others as male and female, and still others would choose neither gender.  This is something that I myself have forgotten at times.  Being a member of a support organization where most of the members identify as primarily female makes me forget about those who don't.  I have no real reliable data on the number of people with Mild AIS or Partial AIS, but I have heard anecdotally that they may very well outnumber those of us with the Complete version of the syndrome.