{"id":6430,"date":"2017-01-24T15:02:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T09:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=6430"},"modified":"2017-01-24T15:02:15","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T09:17:15","slug":"model-hanne-gaby-odiele-reveals-she-is-intersex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/model-hanne-gaby-odiele-reveals-she-is-intersex\/","title":{"rendered":"Model Hanne Gaby Odiele reveals she is intersex"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"module-position-PrHpbu-XoLw\" class=\"story-asset video-asset\">\n<div class=\"ui-video-wrapper   playerIsScrolling\">\n<div class=\"ui-video-controls story-video inline-story-video priority\">\n<p class=\"video-desc\">Susan Miller\/Pahichan &#8211;\u00a0In honor of her son, this Gold Star mom went back to college at 50-years-old. That decision was just the beginning of her journey.<span class=\"credit\">WVEC<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"module-position-PrHpbu_KmFo\" class=\"story-asset story-metadata-asset\">\n<div class=\"article-metadata-wrap\">\n<section id=\"module-position-PrHpbu9vvms\" class=\"storymetadata-bucket expandable-photo-module story-expandable-photo-module\">\n<aside class=\"single-photo expandable-collapsed\">\n<div class=\"image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-horiz\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/d3bd6128e02afb9db721a3456d38744eabd8d612\/c=0-0-1896-1425&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/01\/17\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636202732751296739-XXX-554006101TL00126-2015-CFDA-DEC-2711-87878824.JPG\" alt=\"XXX 554006101TL00126_2015_CFDA__DEC_2711.JPG E ACE ENT FAS AWD USA NY\" data-mycapture-src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2017\/01\/17\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636202732751296739-XXX-554006101TL00126-2015-CFDA-DEC-2711-87878824.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/32d5f1ba4ee61121e09eb25aebf32d5a86c1d399\/r=263x400\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/01\/17\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636202732751296739-XXX-554006101TL00126-2015-CFDA-DEC-2711-87878824.JPG\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"image-credit-wrap\"><span class=\"js-caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Larry Busacca, Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Hanne Gaby Odiele is a fearless fashion star known for putting herself out there in a bold and striking take on street style.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Now, the veteran of the runway and city sidewalks is revealing a more intimate piece of herself: Odiele is intersex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo,\u201d says the 29-year-old supermodel from Kortrijk, Belgium, in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this,\u201d says Odiele, one of the\u00a0first high-profile people\u00a0to disclose her intersex status and\u00a0share her story.<\/p>\n<p>Intersex individuals\u00a0are born with sex characteristics such as genitals or chromosomes that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female. Up to 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/unfe.org\/system\/unfe-65-Intersex_Factsheet_ENGLISH.pdf\">United Nations<\/a> \u2014\u00a0a figure roughly equivalent to the number of redheads.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond giving a voice to people who are often in the shadows, Odiele is making this disclosure to spotlight\u00a0medical procedures intersex children undergo without their consent in a misguided effort to make a child appear more typically male or female. \u201cI am proud to be intersex,\u201d she says, \u201cbut very angry that these surgeries are still happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Odiele was one of those children. She was born with an intersex trait known as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) in which a woman has XY chromosomes more typically found in men.\u00a0She also had internal, undescended testes, and her parents were told that if she did not have her testicles removed, \u201cI might develop cancer and I would not develop as a normal, female girl,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>At 10, she had surgery to remove her testes, an experience she could barely process at the time. \u201cI knew at one point after the surgery I could not have kids, I was not having my period. I knew something was wrong with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At 18, Odiele \u2014\u00a0whose modeling career took root when she was discovered a year earlier at a music festival in Belgium \u2014\u00a0underwent an equally distressing\u00a0procedure in the form of vaginal reconstructive surgery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not that big of a deal being intersex,\u201d she says. But the anguish\u00a0of the two surgeries is an issue for her that is still troubling\u00a0today. \u201cIf they were just honest from the beginning&#8230; It became a trauma because of what they did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>AWARENESS AND OUTRAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kimberly Zieselman, executive director of interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, says Odiele will be a powerful champion for the intersex community and will help thrust medical procedures that try to \u201cfix\u201d intersex kids into the harsh focus\u00a0they deserve.<\/p>\n<p>Zieselman says Odiele\u00a0will partner with her advocacy group.\u00a0\u201cI think her speaking out, having her voice added to the mix is going to culturally raise awareness in the mainstream,\u201d she\u00a0says, noting that groups such as the U.N. and the World Health Organization already condemn these surgeries as human rights violations. It will \u201chelp in raising awareness \u2013 and raising outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-PrHpbu_I034\" class=\"story-asset oembed-asset\">\n<div class=\"story-oembed-wrap \">\n<div class=\"js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed-usa-today story-oembed-type-link\" data-oembed-type=\"link\" data-oembed-provider=\"usa-today\">\n<div class=\"oembed-asset oembed-asset-link oembed-asset-usa-today oembed-simple-link-container\">\n<p class=\"oembed-link-desc\">Trans girl, 9, makes history on National Geographic cover<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Zieselman, now 50, had an experience as searing as Odiele\u2019s. At 15, a reproductive oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital told her parents she had a partially formed uterus and ovaries that needed to be removed so they would not become cancerous. Her parents consented.<\/p>\n<p>When the married mother of adopted twin girls was 40 and struggling with a hernia problem, she obtained her medical records. Zieselman was stunned to find the surgery she had as a teen removed internal, undescended testes. Zieselman never had a uterus, ovaries \u2014\u00a0or cancer; she was intersex.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy story quite frankly is not unique,\u201d says Zieselman, whose group\u2019s No. 1 priority is ending irreversible procedures. \u201cHundreds of women have a similar story. Hiding the truth conjures up feeling like a freak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A fear of non-binary bodies \u2014\u00a0not a pressing medical need \u2014\u00a0is often what drives surgical interventions on intersex children, says Sue Stred, a professor of pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University. When a\u00a0newborn\u2019s genitals do not appear \u201ctypical,\u201d parents can be compelled to have their child undergo cosmetic surgery to appear more ordinary.<\/p>\n<p>As for concerns about cancer, Stred says there is not \u201cgood, long-term data\u201d on whether someone with a condition such as AIS may develop cancer if testicles are not removed. \u201cThe possible percentage chance of cancer is vastly overwrought,\u201d says Stred, who specializes in pediatric endocrinology.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LIFELONG REPERCUSSIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The consequence of removing gonads is a lifelong dependence on hormone replacement medications, Stred says, and permanent infertility. Other physical issues are reduced sexual sensations, urinary tract infections and incontinence.<\/p>\n<p>The psychological repercussions of these medical procedures can also be devastating, Stred says. \u201cThere is a sense of betrayal when teens or young adults find out. Some individuals leave medical care altogether because they are so angry at what physicians did to them before they were the age of consent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And there is tremendous resentment of parents, she says. Kids think \u201csomething was done to me; you felt I wasn\u2019t perfect; I had to be fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Awareness of intersex issues is slowly evolving, says Zieselman, who notes that many people don&#8217;t even know what intersex means.\u00a0Being intersex relates to biological sex characteristics.\u00a0It is not the same as transgender: someone whose gender identity \u2014\u00a0how they feel inside \u2014\u00a0does not correspond with their birth sex.\u00a0An intersex individual can be straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me just in the last two years to see the difference in how many intersex young people are willing and comfortable to speak out at earlier ages. It is largely thanks to the LGBT movement ahead of us,\u201d Zieselman says.<\/p>\n<p>It is that group that may also carve a path on the issue of unneeded surgeries, she says. The transgender community \u201cis doing it right,\u201d she says. \u201cNo surgical treatment until (individuals) have psychological support. That\u2019s a model we can use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Above all, Stred says there should be no surgery until an intersex child is at an age of consent and can weigh the benefits and risks. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t do a nose job on a 7-year-old,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0A PASSIONATE VOICE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When Odiele\u2019s career was at the starting gate in 2006, she was slammed by a car that ran a red light on the streets of New York, leaving her with two broken legs and multiple fractures. After several surgeries and physical therapy, she was back on the catwalk \u2014\u00a0just 10 months later.<\/p>\n<p>She says the experience grounded her in her career choice and \u201cgave me something to fight for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now she is hoping to take that fighting spirit to the next level by being a passionate advocate for intersex youth. \u201cIt is an important part of my life to talk about this,\u201d says Odiele, whose story will also appear in the issue of\u00a0<em>Vogue<\/em> magazine that hits newsstands Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Odiele\u00a0has been more open about her status in the past year with close friends and trusted associates \u2014 particularly during chats about periods or having babies\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but this is her first public announcement. She says she doesn&#8217;t fear any backlash\u00a0from colleagues in the fashion\u00a0industry. &#8220;They will see me as they have before,&#8221; she says. &#8220;Nothing should change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Today Odiele loves to lounge in her husband\u2019s clothes as her \u201cgo-to day to day\u201d just as much as getting \u201cglammed up.\u201d She says being intersex has given her a forward-thinking perspective on fashion. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to fit into certain roles,\u201d she says. \u201cI was able to kind of have a sense of being more of an individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her husband, model John Swiatek, says he is \u201cincredibly proud and happy\u201d his wife is speaking out. \u201cI am very impressed with her decision to advocate for intersex children in order to give them an opportunity to make up their own minds about their bodies, unlike the lack of options and information Hanne and her family (and many others) were given,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Last summer, the fashion star\u00a0who has been in front of cameras for the industry\u2019s A-list photographers and poses for brands from Dior to Alexander Wang, married Swiatek in an outdoor bash infused with countryside cool in upstate New York.<\/p>\n<p>She wore a hooded cape draping a sheer lace dress, with cargo pants and a bra top peeking through. Bridesmaids strolled barefoot through fields in shimmering lavender slip dresses.<\/p>\n<p>It was trademark Odiele.<\/p>\n<p>Odiele, who calls her innovative style \u201cjust being myself; no rules,\u201d has the same message for intersex youth today: \u201cYou can be whoever you want. It doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Copy :\u00a0http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Susan Miller\/Pahichan &#8211;\u00a0In honor of her son, this Gold Star mom went back to college at 50-years-old. That decision was just the beginning of her journey.WVEC<\/p>\n<p>(Photo: Larry Busacca, Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Hanne Gaby Odiele is a fearless fashion star known for putting herself out there in a bold and striking take on street style.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the veteran of the runway and city sidewalks is revealing a more intimate piece of herself: Odiele is intersex.<br \/>\n\u201cIt is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo,\u201d says the 29-year-old supermodel from &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":6431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[981,621,492,490],"tags":[204,524,458,705,1219],"class_list":["post-6430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-model","category-news","category-opinion","category-slider","tag-intersex","tag-lgbt","tag-transgender","tag-united-nations","tag-usa"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6432,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6430\/revisions\/6432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}