Outed at Work!

I was out-ed at work today!

Sort of. :)

I met up with an old co-worker for lunch today.  Had a frozen daiquiri to decompress after what's been a pretty crappy few weeks in the office.  When I returned to my computer, ever so slightly, pleasantly buzzed, a co-worker (who knows about me having AIS) pinged me quickly over Communicator.

"I just sent you a Facebook message because I thought you'd gone home for the day."

I checked my messages.  Apparently one of our co-workers was reading a post on a forum about a female athlete who might have AIS.  There was a link to a page about AIS, where I happen to be pictured, and he came across it.  What a crazy coincidence!

She wanted to let me know he had asked if it were me in the photo.  She confirmed it was.  They didn't talk more about it apparently.  It doesn't bother me he came across it.  Of course, if I had wanted to keep this a secret forever, I never would have agreed to inclusion in the photo.  But it did come as a big surprise...

I wonder if he'll tell others we work with?  Probably about 10 people already know.  It should be interesting to see if the fact spreads...

Revision of AIS on Wikipedia

Several women with AIS and related conditions and I made a major revision to the Wikipedia page for Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome last week.

Previously, a photo of a man with a "micropenis" was the only image shown. He was standing there naked, with a tanline around the watch area visible, and a black box obscuring his face. Classic medical photo "protecting" the subject's identity but inherently also casting shame on the condition. Furthermore, the vast majority of individuals affected with AIS look more female than male and identify as such. This photo was clearly not an accurate representation of the syndrome.

A friend with AIS removed the photo and replaced it with our own: A beautiful color photo of a dozen plus women with AIS and other similar DSDs, all fully clothed and smiling. Check it out on the Wikipedia page under the heading "Variations produced by androgen insensitivity".

This photo was taken at a conference held a few weekends ago for women with AIS and related conditions (Swyer's Syndrome, CAH, and others). I of course was in attendance. It was a great weekend and I will talk more about it when I have time. For now though, the workday is calling my name!