Hanne Gaby Odiele: Supermodel Reveals She Was Born Intersex

Supermodel Hanne Gaby Odiele has revealed she is intersex, which means she was born with characteristics of both genders.

Odiele, 29, is one of the first celebrities or famous people to come out as intersex and talk about her condition publicly.

“At this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this,” she said in an interview with USA Today. About 1.7 percent of the population is intersex.

“It is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo,” the Belgian model said.

Odiele said surgery was performed on her to remove male genitalia and to reconstruct female genitalia, which she called traumatic because it was done when she was too young to understand or give consent.

Such surgeries are common among intersex children and are done in an attempt to make them more “normal” and get them to conform to one gender.

Odiele and other intersex adults feel strongly that children should not undergo surgery before they understand the risks and effects, which can include infertility and lifetime hormone replacement, USA Today reported. Part of Odiele’s decision to come out about her status is in order to advocate for intersex children.

Odiele married fellow model John Swiatek last year, and her husband is supportive of her and is “incredibly proud and happy” that she is speaking out, USA Today reported.

“I am very impressed with her decision to advocate for intersex children in order to give them an opportunity to make up their own minds about their bodies, unlike the lack of options and information Hanne and her family (and many others) were given,” Swiatek told USA Today.

• Germany Third Gender Allowed for Newborn 'Intersex Babies'
  
• Parents Sue Over Adopted Child's 'Sexual Assignment' Surgery