Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Women Around the World: Hiker Chiu

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Women Around the World: Hiker Chiu · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Danny and Samantha and welcome to Stephano.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Never told your protection of I Heart Radio and welcome
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: to Well. So we typically called this women around the World,
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  Speaker 1: And honestly, I've been thinking about this for a minute,
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  Speaker 1: but we have come up on a hiccup. We need
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  Speaker 1: to go beyond these restricting terms. We are definitely talking
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  Speaker 1: about female identifying people, including trans film and of course, uh,
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  Speaker 1: we're also talking about non binary and intersex people. So
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  Speaker 1: we need to change this term. I think we need
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  Speaker 1: to change our names because I love women around the
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  Speaker 1: World as the like, Yes, we're talking about the marginalized
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  Speaker 1: people around the world. Maybe that's what it is. I
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  Speaker 1: don't know, activists sins, I don't know. Um, but as
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  Speaker 1: catchy as that is, it's not inclusive and we want
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  Speaker 1: to do better on that way. UM, So we need
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  Speaker 1: to think of something better. And you're pretty good at
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: titles to be fair, we kind of struggled with this
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  Speaker 1: one to begin with because that was a topic of
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  Speaker 1: conversation of like, how do we do this and make
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  Speaker 1: sure inclusive? Yeah, and I think that's been an issue
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  Speaker 1: we've run into in several of our episodes. In our
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  Speaker 1: kind of mini series and even in the name of
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  Speaker 1: the show, so it is we're trying to get better.
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  Speaker 1: I think a lot of us are trying to find
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  Speaker 1: like the best terms to be inclusive. And it's ongoing, um,
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  Speaker 1: and it's up for debate because people have different opinions.
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  Speaker 1: But yes, it is important to us and it is
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  Speaker 1: something that we would love to hear input on. Right
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  Speaker 1: So if you have some suggestions or some ideas, catchy
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: phrases you you, I think we've been around this, the series,
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  Speaker 1: mini series, the sub series, however you want to state,
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  Speaker 1: it has been around long enough to understand for the
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the regular listeners what this is about. So if you
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  Speaker 1: have any ideas or suggestions, please let us know. We
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  Speaker 1: love it, we need it. Our brains are fried. Our
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: brains are fried. We have all that going on right now,
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  Speaker 1: but just generally U. But for today, we do want
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  Speaker 1: to celebrate Hiker Cho, who is a Taiwanese activists that's
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  Speaker 1: been advocating for the rights and the visibility of intersex
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  Speaker 1: people in their community. If you go and look through
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  Speaker 1: any of their biographies or any of their interviews, they
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  Speaker 1: do say the s slash h E so to uh
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  Speaker 1: include both sex and keeping out of the just the
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  Speaker 1: binary levels. So we're going to just refer to them
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  Speaker 1: as they because we want to be respectful. So please,
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  Speaker 1: uh be respectful. I don't know why I did that.
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  Speaker 1: Dar collapse, Samantha is true ours boot when I can
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  Speaker 1: would talk about my brain is fried. Yeah, she has
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  Speaker 1: a good reason for her brain be fried, all right.
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  Speaker 1: Um So born with two reprotective organs in nineteen sixty six.
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  Speaker 1: Um So didn't completely understand the biology of their bodies
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  Speaker 1: and were taught to feel ashamed, and even said they
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  Speaker 1: had written in their diary, I feel like a monster.
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  Speaker 1: They spoke about how they were able to go back
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  Speaker 1: and look at their medical files, which stated they had
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  Speaker 1: their enlarge clearterists removed at the age of six without
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  Speaker 1: understanding what was happening and how it would affect them.
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  Speaker 1: They talked about how their parents were helpless and didn't
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  Speaker 1: know what to do and felt shame as well. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: they talk a lot about trying to discover who they were,
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  Speaker 1: and when we talked about the fact that they didn't
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  Speaker 1: know we're talking about they weren't able to give consent. Yeah. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it wasn't until age forty two they started to figure
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  Speaker 1: out their identity, they stated in an Amnesty International interview.
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  Speaker 1: Inducted in after discovering the medical records, they quote googled
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  Speaker 1: my condition and gradually learned that I was born a
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  Speaker 1: healthy baby, except that I had two sets of reprojective organs.
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  Speaker 1: And it was that same year that they watched X
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  Speaker 1: x Y, the two thousand seven Argentinian film following a
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  Speaker 1: fifteen year old intersex person that received critical acclaim and
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  Speaker 1: explored the main character's discovery of their identity, even if
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  Speaker 1: it didn't meet social norms. It was at this time
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  Speaker 1: show learned the term intersex right, and according to the
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  Speaker 1: American progress dot org site, the term intersex is quote
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  Speaker 1: an umbrella term used to describe people born with sex
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  Speaker 1: traits that do not fit binary medical definitions of male
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  Speaker 1: or female, sexual or reproductive anatomy. Intersex populations are born
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  Speaker 1: within these differences in sex traits or may develop them
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  Speaker 1: during childhood. Human sex development is naturally diverse, with many
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  Speaker 1: variations possible in genitalia, hormones, internal anatomy, and or chromosomes.
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  Speaker 1: It is estimated that up to one point seven percent
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  Speaker 1: the population has an intersex trait, and that approximately point
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  Speaker 1: five percent of people have clinically identifiable sexual or reproductive variations,
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  Speaker 1: and according to this organization, oftentimes intersex individuals are given
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  Speaker 1: medical treatment without consent and are often unnecessary, which can
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  Speaker 1: be considered a violation of human rights, as in fact
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  Speaker 1: that HRC are staying this as a violation of human rights.
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  Speaker 1: They stay quote mistreatment of intersex individuals begins early in life,
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  Speaker 1: with intersex infants and children commonly subjected to non consensual
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  Speaker 1: medical unnecessary interventions to alter natural variations in genital appearance
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  Speaker 1: or reproductive anatomy with the aim of conforming their bodies
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  Speaker 1: to binary sex stereotypes. These procedures on intersex infants and children,
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  Speaker 1: such as clteral reductions and sterilizing gonaddictomies, are often justified
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  Speaker 1: by discriminatory attitudes about healthy variations and sex characteristics, and
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  Speaker 1: they continue on writing that these types of medical procedures
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  Speaker 1: are typically harmful to the individuals. They say quote they
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  Speaker 1: have high complication rates and lifelong consequences such as infertility,
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  Speaker 1: reduced sexual function, and other physical and mental health impacts.
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  Speaker 1: These outcomes contribute to with the high physical and mental
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  Speaker 1: health disparities that intersex populations experience. In a study for
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  Speaker 1: example of adult intersect respondents reported their physical health as
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  Speaker 1: fair or poor and reported the same of their mental health,
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  Speaker 1: and show talks about feeling these consequences growing up and
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  Speaker 1: being confused about their bodies and how they fit into society.
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  Speaker 1: It was after the discovery of their past they started
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  Speaker 1: the organization Organization Intersex International or o I I Chinese
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  Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight, and according to their statement,
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  Speaker 1: o I I Chinese was quote established in two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and eight to provide Chinese speaking inner sex people information
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  Speaker 1: created by intersex people and to bring intersex people together
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  Speaker 1: for peer support and quote provide support for Chinese speaking
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  Speaker 1: intersex people through an online group, especially with the pandemic
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  Speaker 1: and its impact on mental health. The organization advocates for
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  Speaker 1: intersex individuals, seeking to bring awareness of intersex people and
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  Speaker 1: educating others as well as intersex people who had not
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  Speaker 1: been able to get the information or know that there
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  Speaker 1: were organizations for the intersex community. They also advocate on
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  Speaker 1: a governmental level, seeking to lobby for the rights of
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  Speaker 1: the intersex community and pushing to quote and normalizing surgeries
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  Speaker 1: on intersex children and to get governmental recognition of intersex
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  Speaker 1: as gender. Show is passionate about educating people about intersex folks. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: they said in the Amnesty International interview. Quote, there needs
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  Speaker 1: to be more education for the general public, letting them
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  Speaker 1: know that intersex people are common and not rare. They
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  Speaker 1: shouldn't discriminate against us and see us as shameful. Why
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  Speaker 1: should we and our parents have to bear the consequence
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  Speaker 1: of society's prejudice and goes deeper about educating and supporting
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  Speaker 1: parents of intersex people. Quote, it is really important to
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  Speaker 1: support our parents. My parents have felt sad, guilty and
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  Speaker 1: sorry towards me most of their lives. I had no
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  Speaker 1: idea why my body is a painful matter for my parents.
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  Speaker 1: My birth brought them so much pain. Now I know
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  Speaker 1: intersex is a biologically natural variation. I hope parents understand
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  Speaker 1: that intersex babies are natural, their intersex traits are not
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  Speaker 1: a disease and don't need unnecessary treatment. Parents don't need
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  Speaker 1: to feel sad about it, right, and they do talk
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  Speaker 1: about the side that they are close with their parents
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  Speaker 1: now and have a better bond. But it definitely took
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  Speaker 1: a minute to get there. And cho has become a
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  Speaker 1: speaker in public figure for the advocacy of the intersex
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  Speaker 1: community with their first public event as an intersex person
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  Speaker 1: at the two thousand tent Taiwanese Pride, where they started
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  Speaker 1: the Free Hugs with Intersex UH and it was a
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  Speaker 1: really cute shirt they were wearing UH. They stated of
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  Speaker 1: their mission, I'm changing TI wants impression of intersex people
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  Speaker 1: and encouraging everyone to question if it is appropriate to
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  Speaker 1: operate on intersex babies without letting them have the choice.
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  Speaker 1: It also helps as Taiwan's gender movement is now relatively
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  Speaker 1: mature and the society has more tolerance towards gender diversity.
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  Speaker 1: Love is all I'm trying to convey from my movement.
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  Speaker 1: Intersex people are also people we love, we need to love,
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  Speaker 1: and we desire to be loved. It's the meaning of
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  Speaker 1: my Chinese name love grass on a hill. My parents
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  Speaker 1: have been loving me wholeheartedly and have helped me achieve
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  Speaker 1: what I have achieved today, and show has not stopped
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  Speaker 1: in their advocacy. They co founded Intersex Asia, which is
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  Speaker 1: a Pan Asian organization that works quote for slash with
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  Speaker 1: intersex activists, organizations and communities in Asia. The network aims
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  Speaker 1: to be a leading and sustainable intersex human rights advocacy
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  Speaker 1: organization in Asia. The organization is based out of Taiwan,
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  Speaker 1: but has spanned across the continent and in two thousand
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  Speaker 1: eighteen established the first Asian Intersex Forum in Bangkok, Thailand,
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  Speaker 1: and it included people from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, menmar Nepal, Pakistan,
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  Speaker 1: the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam and appointed Brashant Seeing,
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  Speaker 1: an Indian human rights lawyer, as the organization's coordinator. So
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  Speaker 1: pretty big step. Intersex Asia wants to provide advocacy through
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  Speaker 1: getting representation in the community and government, promote the protection
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  Speaker 1: of intersex people in Asia and protect their basic human
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  Speaker 1: rights including bodily integrity, autonomy and consent and self determination.
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  Speaker 1: The key issues the organization brings up quote discrimination, violence
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  Speaker 1: and killings of intersex people by a number of cultural, religious,
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  Speaker 1: traditional and medical beliefs and practices. Cho also became the
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  Speaker 1: first intersex activists elected to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
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  Speaker 1: Trance and Intersex Association are the i l g A
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  Speaker 1: Board as the co chair in treet fifteen and is
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  Speaker 1: currently a part of the organization as a representative of
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  Speaker 1: the Intersex Steering Committee for Asia and also is currently
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  Speaker 1: a member of the Advisory Board for the Intersex Human
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  Speaker 1: Rights Fund at Austraia Foundation, which is also involved with
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  Speaker 1: the o I I Chinese and Intersex Asia organization. Show
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  Speaker 1: has been celebrated since they're publicly sharing their story and
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  Speaker 1: was awarded by Appcom, an Asian and Pacific nonprofit working
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  Speaker 1: to improve the health and rights of the gay community,
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  Speaker 1: with the Community Hero Award for their work improving the
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  Speaker 1: quote lgbt I people in any capacity in specific countries
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  Speaker 1: in Asia and the Pacific, or across the region more broadly.
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  Speaker 1: While accepting the prestigious award, they said, we are determined
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  Speaker 1: to build intersex communities in each Asian country and support
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  Speaker 1: intersex people to speak for themselves to defend their human rights.
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  Speaker 1: We believe one day we will have a community that
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  Speaker 1: includes intersex people from every Asian country. For me, the
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  Speaker 1: community always goes first without community, no community hero. This
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  Speaker 1: honor definitely goes for intersex community. I believe this honor
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  Speaker 1: will help me raise more intersex awareness in Asia and
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  Speaker 1: incubate more community heroes in the future. You love to
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  Speaker 1: see it building up. Oh, it's so lovely, that's so well,
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  Speaker 1: But it's fantastic, as always, can't wait to see what
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  Speaker 1: Chow continues to do. And also, as always, listeners, If
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: there's someone you think we should focus on in these segments,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: please let us know our emails Stephanie, your mom, step
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: and I Hurt mea dot com. You can find us
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: on Twitter at most of podcast or on Instagram and
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: Stuff I Never Told You. Thanks as always to our
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: super producer Christina, Thank you yes, and thanks to you
• 12:24
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• 12:26
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