When Sean Saifa Wall was just 13 years old, doctors at New York Presbyterian urged his parents to remove “undescended testes” they claimed would develop into cancer if left untreated. His parents agreed to the procedure, lacking the information to make an informed decision.
Wall didn’t learn about the existence of intersex people until later in life. Born with genitalia that is neither exclusively male nor female, these individuals make up between 0.5 and 1.7 percent of the population — around the same number of people in the U.S. who have red hair. But because this group is often operated on at early ages without their consent, they are likely to be unaware of their intersex status.
In a survey conducted by YouGov and The Economist, 49 percent of respondents who voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election claimed heterosexual males face a “great deal” or “fair amount” of identity-based bias. Just 41 percent, though, said that LGBTQ people are discriminated against because of who they are.
Thirty percent of the president’s supporters felt women are subjected to a “great deal” or “fair amount” of discrimination. Slightly higher shares claimed that Mexican-Americans (42 percent) and African-Americans (also 42 percent) either frequently or sometimes encounter bigotry.
“If they can roll back public accommodations for trans folks in Massachusetts, they can do it anywhere,” the actress tells INTO. “I know this isn’t what the citizens of Massachusetts want. So I want to do my part to amplify this fight.”
Cox has been among a chorus of public figures denouncing efforts to repeal public accommodations protections at the ballot box in Massachusetts in November.
Give me Sodomy, or give me Death 