Intersex people exist, and it’s time society respects them for who they are—not what everyone wishes them to be.

To all of those who may be unfamiliar with intersex, it is a condition that affects about 1 in 2,000 people with ambiguous chromosomes or genitalia which do not allow a distinctively male or female identification. The right of identification, for these children, is in their hands—not the doctors or their parents. Their right to life and liberty has been commandeered without consent and the result is often a stark one. I say no to stolen rights.

Doctors and parents have no right to dictate the fate of an intersex child. They do not have the ability or the right to assign a child to an identity they have yet to discover and validate. It is a cruel and damaging act if the parents decide what gender fits their children best rather than the children themselves.

Intersex surgeries should not happen until the children are old enough to define and determine their own identity and decide whether surgery is in their best interest.