Sunday, May 25, 2025
Khmer Daily Cambodia News
34 °c
Phnom Penh
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
The Khmer Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Tell the world we exist: The intersex child on a mission to inform

November 16, 2020
in World
0
Tell the world we exist: The intersex child on a mission to inform
0
SHARES
11
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When Wen Long van Knippenberg wanted to tell fellow pupils about life as an intersex child in the Netherlands, the presentation was banned by her teacher as inappropriate for children.

Now the nine-year-old hopes to spread the message far beyond the classroom, as the star of a short film – Girlsboysmix – that shows her finding a place in the world in the face of widespread ignorance about intersex conditions.

“The whole world needs to know what intersex is,” van Knippenberg, who uses ‘she’ and ‘her’ pronouns, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video call from her Dutch home.

“Most do not, so I have to tell them how it works and what it is.

“I want everyone to know what intersex is, so I don’t need to explain it any more.”

Up to 1.7 percent of people are born intersex – with bodies that are neither definitively male nor female – according to the United Nations.

Some undergo cosmetic surgery at a young age to alter their bodies and make them fit gender norms, though this has been condemned by intersex campaigners and experts who say it is medically unnecessary and often leads to trauma.

Van Knippenberg, who was found abandoned on a roadside in China and adopted at age two by Dutch couple Sander and Kirstin, will decide if she wants surgery when she is older.

Increasingly frustrated with all the ignorance, she said adults were often more resistant to learning than children.

“Someone said, ‘You’re not a boy, you’re not a girl, so you’re nothing at all,'” she recounts in the film.

“I felt very bad because you can’t be nothing.”

After discussing her feelings with her parents, they agreed to take part in the film with the aim of increasing awareness.

The short was released in the Netherlands in September, and will air at online film festivals in Chicago and Belgrade.

“I have never heard about a documentary from the perspective of an intersex child because they are always told to not talk about it, to be silent,” said filmmaker Lara Aerts.

“I really hope that this film will open people’s eyes.”

This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.

Tags: #adoption#Gender issues#Sexuality
Previous Post

Gold exports from Cambodia exceed $2 billion in first eight months

Next Post

Tripadvisor slaps warning on Thai hotel that sued expat over bad review

Related Posts

Italy to pass ‘right to be forgotten’ law for cancer survivors

Italy to pass ‘right to be forgotten’ law for cancer survivors

by AsiaOne
June 15, 2023
0
24

ROME — Italy will pass a law on the "right to be forgotten" (RTBF) for cancer survivors, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni...

Bill Gates in China: Microsoft co-founder to meet Xi Jinping

Bill Gates in China: Microsoft co-founder to meet Xi Jinping

by AsiaOne
June 15, 2023
0
38

HONG KONG — Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp's co-founder, is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday (June 16) during his...

US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision

US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision

by AsiaOne
June 15, 2023
0
30

WASHINGTON - A US judge late on Tuesday (June 13) granted the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request to temporarily block Microsoft...

Most Popular

$2 million electric motorbike assembly plant in Cambodia by Verywords Co Ltd launched

$2 million electric motorbike assembly plant in Cambodia by Verywords Co Ltd launched

May 30, 2023
48
Japan jeers at ‘terrifying’ mascot for Osaka World Expo: ‘Who approved that monstrosity?’

Japan jeers at ‘terrifying’ mascot for Osaka World Expo: ‘Who approved that monstrosity?’

May 11, 2022
21
EZECOM first to collaborate with AWS to provide leading Cloud service for Cambodia

EZECOM first to collaborate with AWS to provide leading Cloud service for Cambodia

March 15, 2022
43
Cambodia Rice price could rise up to 20 percent in coming months

Cambodia Rice price could rise up to 20 percent in coming months

May 25, 2022
62
Eva Premium Ice is looking for distributors as it expands in Cambodia

Eva Premium Ice is looking for distributors as it expands in Cambodia

November 12, 2021
30
Wrapped in blanket, dumped in pond: Top South Korean livestreamer found dead in Cambodia

Wrapped in blanket, dumped in pond: Top South Korean livestreamer found dead in Cambodia

June 14, 2023
102

© 2020 By Khmer Daily News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Cambodia
  • ASIA
  • World
  • Business
  • Tech

© 2019 The Khmer Daily.

error: Content is protected !!