BOISE, Idaho — Public testimony at the Idaho Statehouse can be a window into lives that are not ours, with experiences we haven’t had, lives lived uniquely. Intersex TikTok influencer Sydney Madsen entered the public testimony this week, testifying to the critical issues she sees with House Bill 421.
“I’m a TikTok-er. I make plenty of videos about being intersex,” Madsen said.
That term intersex is something Madsen believes House Bill 421 completely ignores. The legislation, according to bill sponsor Rep. Julianne Young is meant to clarify words like "male" and "female" tied to the reproductive system of a person.
“Having clear definitions is critical to our ability to both communicate and to craft policy,” Young said in committee.
Legislative intent in the bill states, “In human beings, there are two, and only two, sexes: Male and female.”
It defines terms like "male," "female," "mother" and "father" in state code based on biological and reproductive attributes. It specifies that gender is a synonym for "sex" and not gender identity.
Sydney is intersex, that is a term for people, very generally, that are born with a combination of both male and female biological traits. There are several different intersex conditions.
“It's highly nuanced, and that's the most accurate description. Non-binary categories are very effective because it's cheaper to enforce law in that way," Madsen said. "It's easier to exercise power in that way, but it's not scientifically accurate and it does a lot of harm to people's bodies and their lives by trying to force them into binary categories that really have no place in the law anyways.”
Through TikTok, Sydney has shared her journey of learning more about herself and the term intersex, all while educating millions of people.
“Well, I thought I was sharing a funny story about my body being different. I didn't recognize that to be intersex was controversial," Madsen elaborated. "It was a term that I wasn't quite familiar with. But the more that I discussed it and got questions about it, the more that I researched and found that this is a vital topic and one that deserves, you know, a lot more attention and rights right now.”
So, when Sydney saw a proposed law that will put only two defined groups into Idaho code - neither of which she identified as - it raised a major red flag.
“There is no surgery, there is no medical treatment that will make your body not biologically intersex if that is the way that you were born and to endeavor and treatments that will force someone into a binary rather than endeavor in treatments that support that individual's health are wrong. And this bill is implementing language to try to force medical treatments outside of what I would consider to be good faith,” Madsen said.
Another line in the bill made Idahoans like Sydney feel like they didn’t exist in the law: “Rare disorders of sexual development are not exceptions to the binary nature of sex.”
“We would like to enforce that such a rare condition should not be recognized with legitimacy and given respect and rights. Then it's about time that we stop giving rights and respect to those with green eyes as well, because both intersex populations and green-eyed people make up approximately 2% of the global population," Madsen argued.
"There's plenty of reputable research to support that. So, while I don't think we should be stripping the rights from either of these populations, I say that if we are going to go after intersex people, we have to start looking at other 2% populations as well,” Madsen said.
Another line in the bill states: In no case is an individual's sex determined by stipulation or self-identification. Sydney and other Idahoans told the committee that it’s not that simple.
“I like to say that I did not choose to be intersex in the same way that no one chose to be more born, male or female. And that is again, to distinguish the distinguished man or difference between biological sex and gender," Madsen said. "Not to say that gender is a choice, but the ways in which we express gender is more fluid, whereas my body is as it is."
"I've already had certain treatments and hormonal therapy since I was very young that I don't feel comfortable with that were in some ways intended to force me into the binary. And that has had long term negative effects on my health.”
Join 'The 208' conversation:
- Text us at (208) 321-5614
- E-mail us at the208@ktvb.com
- Join our The 208 Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/the208KTVB/
- Follow us on Twitter: @the208KTVB or tweet #the208 and #SoIdaho
- Follow us on Instagram: @the208KTVB
- Bookmark our landing page: /the-208
- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.