The Impact of FEDUP’s Work

written by Jackie, a FEDUP community member

Last month was Pride Month, a time of celebration of the LGBTQIA+ communities. During Pride month, I reflected on how far I have come in accepting myself as an intersex person. Over a decade ago, I was not proud of being intersex, and I was struggling with an eating disorder that haunted me time and again for years. I felt hopeless and stagnant. However, I eventually connected with other intersex people, and that was a turning point. My eating disorder was entangled with medical trauma and experiences of loss of autonomy, fractured integrity, and the secrecy of being intersex. After connecting with others when I had previously felt isolated from my intersex experience, my eating disorder began to remit. 

Without organizations like FEDUP, I might not have experienced that shift in my self-concept and my eating disorder. FEDUP is the only organization dedicated to the peer support and advocacy of intersex individuals with eating disorders. There is also a significant gap in the understanding of eating disorders among intersex communities. FEDUP is leading the effort to close this gap on many fronts, including FEDUP members publishing recommendations on research with the intersex community and incorporating intersex into its mission. 

To continue its critical and unique work, FEDUP needs your support. Donations are vital to allowing  FEDUP to continue providing peer support groups and training on sex and gender-affirming practices in eating disorder clinical and research settings. 

I ask that you take the step to ensure the longevity of FEDUP’s work by making a one-time or or recurring donation. While all donations make a difference, recurring donations provide a crucial to ensuring FEDUP’s long term sustainability. 

Because of FEDUP’s work, intersex people with eating disorders like me have the life-saving opportunity to connect with others who finally understand our experiences.