Business Standard

Nico Tortorella wants end of intersex surgery

Image

IANS New York

Actor Nico Tortorella is advocating to end surgical intervention when a child is born intersex.

Over the weekend, the "Younger" star attended a protest here and shared several photos and videos from the rainy day to his Instagram account. In the post, Tortorella, 30, urged his followers, especially those in the LGBTQ community, to advocate for intersex rights, reports people.com.

"We are responsible for queer people everywhere," Tortorella began the lengthy post.

"It's time for all LGBTQ+ folk to stand up for intersex rights. our bodies our choice. Unfortunately still to this day all over the globe surgeries are being performed on intersex babies at birth and shortly after without the child's consent to fit the recent historical binary construct," he added.

 

Intersex is a term used for a person who is born with "a reproduction or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male," according to Intersex Society of North America.

While there are doctors who prefer to surgically intervene and assign intersex babies to one particular sex, many advocates, including Tortorella, do not support that decision and believe they should be treated with the same respect as everyone else.

"People with intersex traits have always existed, but there is more awareness now about the diversity of human bodies," Tortorella added.

"People with intersex bodies, like anyone who may be seen as different, sometimes face discrimination, including in healthcare settings as early as infancy."

Tortorella, who is sexually fluid, recently tied the knot with his longtime partner Bethany Meyers, who does not use gender-specific pronouns, on March 9.

Tortorella and Meyers, who have been together on and off for 12 years, didn't live under the same roof in the months immediately following their wedding, but they have since moved in together.

--IANS

nv/rb/sed

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Nov 02 2018 | 12:20 PM IST

Explore News