Intersex representation across different forms of media has long been problematic. Often, this has stemmed from a lack of research into not just the medical and biological side of being intersex, but also the lived experiences of intersex people, which are often left unconsidered while writing an intersex character. This gets further complicated by the fact that anyone who doesn’t fit into the cisgender binaries of male and female is thought to be transgender. If your gender identity doesn’t align with what was assigned to you at birth based on your genitals, then whether you’re trans, nonbinary, or intersex, you’re made invisible.
Some of the worst representations of intersex people on screen and in fiction have involved portraying them as monsters, murderers, inherently evil, or medical dilemmas.
So, let’s look at a few examples of intersex characters and how they’ve been portrayed—the good, the bad and the ugly.
#1: Maharani
Film: Sadak
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Year: 1991
Verdict: What were they thinking?!
An unofficial remake of the critically acclaimed American film Taxi Driver (1976), Sadak presents us with Maharani, a hijra person who is portrayed as an evil brothel-owner. Through hints and subtext it is also implied that Maharani is intersex, a problematic conflation between multiple identities. The character is also villainised through tired queer stereotypes, which harms a community that has little to no fair representation in Indian cinema.
#2: Amy Andrews
Show: Freaks and Geeks
Year: 2000
Verdict: The Good
Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series that introduced an intersex side character, Amy, the girlfriend of Ken, one of the main characters. Amy reveals to Ken that she was born intersex, with her parents having her male genitals removed and raising her to be socialised as a girl. While this initially causes confusion for Ken—prompting him to question his sexuality and consider ending the relationship—he accepts that he loves Amy for who she is and apologises to her. Considering the storyline is set in the 1980s and the show first aired in 2000, this was a groundbreaking portrayal for its time.
#3: Rebeca Duarte
Film: Both
Director: Lisset Barcellos
Year: 2005
Verdict: The Good
Both is the first film about an intersex character that is also directed by an intersex person. The film talks about Rebeca Duarte, a bisexual stunt double, who feels strangely disconnected to her own body and can’t figure out why. After going through an old photo album of her family that has pictures of her dead brother but not herself, Rebeca starts to question the lies that her parents had fed her her whole life. The story behind Both is partly inspired by the director’s own experiences, and the film was well received by intersex community organizations, including The Intersex Society of North America.
#4: Alexandria ‘Alex’ Robinson
Show: House, M.D.
Year: 2006 (Season 2)
Verdict: The Bad
While House is known for being one of those 2000s American TV shows that is a reflection of its time—some episodes aging better than others—the episode centered around a teenage intersex patient was disastrous even back in the day.
Alex Robinson is a 15-year-old supermodel who gets hospitalised after attacking another model on the catwalk and collapsing. Dr. House objectifies her, right up to the point when he uncovers the fact that she is intersex and has testicular cancer; then he starts misgendering her. The show also indulges in victim blaming and villainising Alex, when we get to know that Alex’s father has had sex with her and she reveals that she deliberately got him drunk and seduced him, as well as her financial manager, photographer and tutor, to gain power over them and earn benefits. This episode caused such an uproar when it aired that it even prompted criticism from The Intersex Society of North America.
#5: Annabel/Wayne
Book: Annabel
Author: Kathleen Winter
Year: 2010
Verdict: What were they thinking?!
The main character of Annabel by Kathleen Winter is an intersex child who is raised as a boy named Wayne. What starts off as a relatively harmless portrayal of intersexuality with some commentary on how intersex children have historically been raised according to binary gender norms and socialization, quickly goes off the rails. The story attempts to tell us that Wayne/Annabel impregnates themself and I say “attempts,” because this is not just incredibly sensationalist, but also medically inaccurate and outright impossible.
#6 and #7: Lauren Cooper and Raven
Show: Faking It
Year: 2014
Verdict: The Good
Faking It is an American rom-com series by MTV that is responsible for one of the first portrayals of intersex people on television that is not just positive, but also accurate. Lauren, played by Bailey De Young, reveals herself to be intersex in the Season 2 premiere. The writers of Faking It worked with interACT, an intersex advocacy organization, to make sure that the intersex representation on the show would be accurate and respectful. They even went the extra mile in Season 3, when Amanda Saenz, an intersex activist, was featured as a guest character, Raven, who is also intersex. This marked the first known intersex character played by a real-life intersex person.
#8: Stevonnie
Show: Steven Universe
Year: 2015-2020
Verdict: The Good
Stevonnie is a “fusion” of the male protagonist Steven Universe and his female friend Connie Maheswaran. While Steven Universe’s creator, Rebecca Sugar, has simply described Stevonnie’s gender identity as “an experience” and “the living relationship between Steven and Connie”, a 2019 public service announcement about self-esteem sponsored by Dove seemed to confirm Stevonnie as canonically intersex and non-binary.
