A woman who was born intersex – containing both male and female chromosomes – has revealed the one intimate detail strangers have.
Jackie Blankenship discovered the biological trait at the age of four, having had other members in the family with the same diagnosis.
It can lead to having certain characteristics and hormonal differences that typically fit either males or females, including changes in genitalia.
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In Jackie’s case, this presents as externally having a vulva, but no vagina – and internal testes instead.
While the 40-year-old is an “open book” online, proudly raising awareness and answering queries from curious followers, there is one thing everyone wants to know.
“It freaks me out that people are so curious about my sex life,” Jackie, a radio host from Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, told Need To Know.
“The biggest question I get is about intimacy and my genitalia.
“I pride myself on being an open book, but sometimes it gets a little too personal for me.
“It’s confusing for people to hear [that I am] externally female but [have] no vagina.
“What many think of when it comes to a ‘vagina’ is the exterior genitalia, not the inside which is what was shortened and almost non-existent without dilation therapy for people like me.”
A blood test at the age of four found that Jackie had XY chromosomes, typically seen in males.
Jackie said, “My parents explained it as being born a bit different, and not being able to have children.
“We didn’t really talk about the other aspects.”
Her body developed externally as a female as she doesn’t respond to testosterone, so she has no uterus but did have internal testes, which were removed at 15.
Jackie said she was “scared” about her future intimate life, with doctors implying future partners would “never know the difference” if she started vaginal dilation therapy – which involves using dilators to stretch the canal and make it longer like a typical vaginal canal.
She started dilating at 18 years old and has gone on to get married and have the same love life that a non-intersex person can have.
She often fields intrusive questions online, which she says she finds “triggering” after the way doctors introduced her to dilation therapy, as their phrasing placed importance on her partner’s experience of sex, rather than her own.
But despite her experience, she added: “Being intersex doesn’t affect my intimate life.
“I have a fulfilled life like any non-intersex woman.”
Jackie has never faced any negativity from partners, and says people online have been surprisingly open-minded after she started documenting her experience on TikTok.
She added, “My biggest fear [about opening up online] was always that people would not understand and say cruel things.
“This was ingrained in me from a young age by doctors who would always remind me not to tell anyone.
“I’ve been shocked by the support and kindness I’ve received.
“It’s been refreshing seeing people want to understand.
“I hope people walk away with a better understanding of the human experience – there are many ways to be born, and being different from the norm doesn’t mean wrong or broken.”
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