The Natasha Helfer Podcast: 017: Understanding Intersexuality and Transgender Issues

017: Understanding Intersexuality and Transgender Issues

Jul 1, 2019

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Natasha Helfer Parker interviews Kimberly Anderson, author of the Mama Dragon Story Project, regarding her journey of gender discovery and her ensuing knowledge on such topics as intersexuality and the transgender experience. In the wake of so much controversy about transgender rights to use public restrooms, this is such an important area for all of us to seek education about. What are intersexual conditions? What does it mean to be transgender? What medical interventions are available and when is it appropriate or not appropriate to use them? How do these topics affect people’s lived experiences? What are considerations those of us who are cisgender never have to think about? What types of stigmas and discriminations are typically experienced? How does Mormon doctrine and culture currently deal with some of these issues? This is a fascinating interview covering a broad spectrum, yet applicable details that will make it worth the listen for those who identify as intersex or transgender, for parents of such youth, for family and friends who want to offer support, for ecclesiastical leaders who want to lend support without causing undue harm, and for the general public who needs further education so that we can all do our part to lessen the discrimination this segment of our population readily endures.

Kimberly Anderson is a noted photographer, professor of photography, and storyteller who has recently published the Mama Dragon Story Project, as an attempt to offer a much needed resource within the Mormon community that will fight against the high suicide rates we see within the LGBTQ+ population. Anderson has a BA and an MFA from Utah State University, has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally and has work in various collections throughout the Intermountain west. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, Snow College and Utah Valley University.