Last night I started reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and I’m completely captivated. So much so I’ve created a Book Club in our discussion group, Gender Conversations, so that we can share and discuss books that have made an indelible mark on us. Middlesex will be my first recommendation.

Middlesex tells the story of an intersex individual who was, in this case, raised female because they were unaware of internal male sex organs. Years back the book was pushed on the public by a popular talk show host that I despise dislike have little respect for (those of you who read me often know exactly who I’m talking about) so as is my ritual I turned my back on the book until I felt like I could go back to it on my own terms. I’d always been interested; however, intersex is something I didn’t have a clue about.

Now after I’ve been on this gender adventure I’ve still only learned a little here and there. The few things I’ve learned came by way of a lecture or two where doctors discuss the process by which we develop our sex organs in the body. Terms like androgen insensitivity permeated my brain in the context of my child, of her development specifically. Now that I’m digging a little deeper into development, hormones and puberty, I’m fascinated about how the body and brain play a tumultuous tango before and after birth. Not being a biology buff of any kind, it boggles my mind a bit.

As my path unfolds, I want to create more inclusion for all people. It’s the driving force behind my work. It’s simple. If I’m asking for people to take a leap of faith to try to understand what my child is working with in terms of gender diversity, I have to constantly remain open to other’s experiences. I’m a forever student in this lifetime, opening my heart in every moment, and sharing what makes us beautifully unique.

Join Gender Conversations here.