'My Own Wings' is a transmedia project by Carla Moral and Katia Repina that aims to explore the intersex identity.
Originally the term "hermaphrodite" was used to describe the phenomena, but it has since been substituted with intersex because it was seen as offensive. Intersex people are not born with "both" sexes but born with a variation from the standard of what is socially accepted as a male or female body.
The project is based on different testimonies from intersex people as well as research on different social, medical and legal issues. As of now the project counts with 35 stories of intersex people living in Spain, the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Panama sharing their stories as an unique invitation to their inside world and experience. The most common shared experience of intersex people in any country or culture is a feeling of secrecy and shame. Intersex people are around 1.7% of population but you would rarely know at least one because of so much secrecy they are used to live.
With this project, we want to raise awareness about intersex human rights issues and to help increase and change the public dialogue surrounding gender identity. We hope this project reflects the beauty, power and resiliency that so many of these participants have shown in relating to society not as victims but as empowered and equal members. "My Own Wings" is an invitation to celebrate the beauty of being different.
