I was born with both male and female 'attributes'... here's the harsh reality of my dating life

A woman who was born intersex has lifted a lid on the realities of dating while having 'both male and female attributes.'
Siera Arena, 27, from Lexington, Kentucky, grew up believing she was a perfectly normal girl.
But at age 16, she began to notice that she was 'different' from her peers.
She still hadn't started her period or gone through puberty, and she began to develop 'symptoms of menopause.'
'I wasn't getting any of the hormones I needed. I would get hot flashes and mood swings a lot, which was strange for a young teenager to experience,' she recalled exclusively to the Daily Mail.
'I also would get frequent headaches which I've since learned were likely hormone related as well.'
She brought it up during a checkup with her doctor, who ran a series of tests and discovered that her uterus and ovaries hadn't developed correctly.
Eventually, she was told she was intersex, which is when someone has 'physical sex characteristics, including sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, or chromosomes, that don't fit typical definitions of male or female.'
A woman who was born intersex has lifted a lid on the realities of dating while having 'both male and female attributes'
Siera Arena, 27, from Lexington, Kentucky , grew up believing she was a perfectly normal girl. But at age 16, she began to notice that she was 'different' from her peers
She still hadn't started her period or gone through puberty, and she began to develop 'symptoms of menopause.' She's seen as a kid
'Being intersex basically means that you don't fall on the binary for biological sex and can have both male and female attributes or characteristics,' she explained.
'In my case, I was born externally female, but I have XY chromosomes and instead of developing ovaries or testes, I had what are called streak (sterile) gonads, which don't produce the typical sex hormones needed to reach sexual maturity.
'It was a pretty jarring realization to have. You grow up planning your life around these societal norms and so when you find out that you're different and it will impact how you have relationships or start a family it can really reshape how you see everything and your future as a young person.'
When it comes to finding love, Siera said she doesn't usually bring up the fact that she's intersex 'until the topic of having kids comes up.'
'I can't conceive naturally and that's definitely something I like to be open about when having these types of conversations while dating,' she explained.
Siera admitted that she used to get really nervous about how she would tell her significant other, but now, she's realized it's not that 'big of a deal.'
'When I was still dating men it was something that I thought about a lot more, but now that I date women, it's really not as big of a deal as it used to feel for me when I was younger,' she added.
Siera is extremely open about her journey online, but she's unfortunately been subjected to a slew of cruel comments.
She brought it up during a checkup with her doctor, who ran a series of tests and discovered her uterus and ovaries hadn't developed correctly. Eventually, she was told she was intersex
'Being intersex basically means that you don't fall on the binary for biological sex and can have both male and female attributes or characteristics,' she explained
'There are definitely some haters in the comments which can primarily be explained by ignorance,' she said in response to the trolls.
'Not a lot of people know what intersex is or means, so it makes sense people will try to invalidate something they don't understand.
'I know that I was born the way I am for a reason and I'm excited to see how that manifests, so I don't let hate comments bring me down.'
While Siera felt ashamed by her differences at first, she has since come to love her body.
'As I've gotten older, I've continually strengthened my ability to not care what others think,' she stated.
'This has helped me a lot in building my confidence in speaking about being intersex. The more I talk about it openly with others, the easier it becomes to stand in who I am confidently.
'I find it really comforting to have a better understanding of who I am and what it means to be Intersex.
When it comes to finding love, Siera said she doesn't usually bring up the fact that she's intersex 'until the topic of having kids comes up'
While Siera felt ashamed by her differences at first, she has since come to love her body
'It's nice to be able to connect the dots on things that make me unique and different and knowing the words to describe my condition has helped me to foster a community with other intersex people online.'
In the end, she said she hopes that others who were 'born different' feel inspired by her story.
'There is a lot of power in having this unique perspective we have on life thanks to being born differently,' she gushed.
'Talk to your friends and family about it and become more comfortable sharing your story with others, because it can make a huge difference in everyone's lives.'

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The Sun

2 hours ago

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CANCER CON I was diagnosed with cancer at 19 and then was scammed by con artist Belle Gibson who said she could cure it By Leanne Hall Belle Gibson is the latest fraudster to have a TV show made on how she swindled people out of money by pretending healthy eating and green juices cured her brain cancer. However, it soon became clear that Belle's natural remedies didn't work and that she never even had cancer to begin with. Starting as a blogger in 2009, Belle claimed she was diagnosed with "malignant brain cancer" and given "six to eight months" to live. However, Belle said she had chosen to withdraw from chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, and instead embarked on "a quest to heal myself naturally… through nutrition, patience, determination and love". With 200,000 followers on Instagram at the time, many of whom were cancer patients, she conned them into thinking she had found a cure. And one of those was fellow Aussie Bella Johnston. 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Email 10 WEB OF LIES I was pals with Apple Cider Vinegar's Belle Gibson but exposed her for the liar she was – her 'seizures' were a red flag By Emma Pryer WHEN Chanelle McAuliffe struck up a friendship with Belle Gibson in October 2014, she thought she'd found a kindred spirit. Despite Belle's, 32, supposed terminal cancer diagnosis and the looming dread that she might not reach her next birthday, she was full of ambition - and that inspired Chanelle, 37. Little did Chanelle know, it was all a lie. Belle, who at the time was running Australia's most known wellness account by claiming she'd curated a natural healing lifestyle that cured her of deadly brain cancer, had never been diagnosed with the deadly illness. The incredible story of the world's most devious con-woman and how her fraudulent business was finally uncovered was made into a Netflix series called Apple Cider Vinegar, which hit the platform earlier this month. 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The Independent

2 hours ago

• The Independent

New daily weight loss pill to rival injections

A new daily Weight Loss pill, amycretin, developed by Novo Nordisk, has shown promising results in initial studies. In trials, patients receiving weekly amycretin injections lost an average of 24.3 percent of their body weight over 36 weeks. Patients taking daily amycretin tablets achieved an average w eight loss of 13.1 percent over 12 weeks. Amycretin works by targeting GLP-1 and amylin receptors to help control blood sugar and appetite. Side effects, including nausea and vomiting, were reported as mostly mild to moderate and resolved by the end of treatment.