7. Intersex people with disabilities explain how they understand their identity.

Now I want to reclaim intersex and disability as something I am proud of and even happy to be. For the last few years I have been making propaganda art. It’s a way of making our experience, which so many people are still misinformed or unaware of, something that people should pay attention to. This is also for me. This is an announcement that we are here, and we are not going to be silent about it. When I first introduced public art, I felt like I had crossed a border. We don’t “have to” do this, and that’s why I want to do it.

Desmond Louis Edwards

Between my junior and senior years of high school, I attended summer intensive camp on Broadway. Jacob Yandura, composer How to dance in Ohiowas the arranger of the music we wrote. We knew he was working on something, but we didn’t know what it was.

All summer I felt like a very annoying and overly enthusiastic kid sitting in front of the class and constantly saying, “Oh, I know the answer!” I confided in Jacob and his partner Paul, who were running the summer camp. I said, “I’m really sorry I did that. I’m autistic.”

They’re like, “Why are you apologizing?” I had a moment when I realized Wait, they’re right. Why I am I’m sorry? This was probably the last time I apologized for being autistic, which is a celebration in itself.

On the last day of our summer camp, Jacob approached me. He said, “I think you’d be great for the musical I’m working on. It’s about autistic people, and we want to cast real autistic actors in these roles.” I sent them a self-tape and they cast me at age 17. The first workshop we did was when I was a senior in high school.

At the time, I identified as a trans man. I didn’t know I was intersex. I realized I was intersex in February 2023 during one of our last pre-Broadway workshops. There are almost no openly intersex people in the Broadway community. When I came out as intersex, I realized that I could become the first openly intersex actor on the Broadway stage. I bet there are more intersex people, but that’s not true. open intersex. On stage, our costume designer, Sarafina Bush, helped me put on my intersex pride bracelet. It was a truly touching moment for me. I wore this bracelet with pride. My version of Remy How to dance in Ohio is intersex. I’ll die from this.

Courtesy of Bria

Bria (they/them), 27, Delaware

I was raised as a girl. I wore beautiful dresses and hair clips. When I was in second grade, I started growing hair on my face and chest at the same time. My entire body, including my legs, armpits and torso, was covered in hair. I remember around the same time that I first ate an Adam’s apple, I discovered that I had eaten an Adam’s apple. period when I was eight. I knew I was different, but I just didn’t know how to understand those differences. My mother and doctors told me that I was a normal girl, especially since I already had my period. However, my enlarged clitoris made me feel different. I couldn’t wear swimsuits because I always had a noticeable bulge that other girls laughed at. No one prepared me for this experience. I felt very lonely and confused. I began to freely identify as intersex when I was in high school. I finally have a word to describe my experience. I had something to say to people when they asked me if I was a boy or a girl. I can now reveal my intersex characteristics on public platforms and raise awareness about intersex issues. I’ll take that over being a “normal girl” any day.

I’m honored to be a spokesperson for so many people, especially young queer kids and disabled kids. When I made my first introductory video, someone made a TikTok of me crying. They said, “He’s a plus-size black actor who’s disabled and autistic on stage.” That was the first moment when I realized that this was much more than I thought. There are so many stories of intersex trauma, and I want to share stories of intersex joy.

Apollo Robert

Much of my intersex experience stems from my experiences with disability. Due to my intersex variation, MRH, I was born with only one kidney and complete deafness in my right ear.