Meet Anick in 'The Intersex Diaries'

Anick was born intersex. Here he talks with the BBC about his life, meeting other intersex people and his final surgery.

Everyone's intersex story is different. As Anick prepares for what should be his final surgery, he meets Martin from London, Irene from Russia and Pidgeon Pagonis from the USA. Will hearing their experiences make Anick think differently about his own? And how does it feel to have a nurse show you how to use a prosthetic penis in front of your mum? As Anick prepares to make history by organising the first intersex march at Pride in London he becomes more determined that the first challenge is simply telling people about the intersex community.

Interviewed by Mobeen Azhar for BBC Asian Network in October 2018, Anick walks about his family, relationships and taboos. Listen to discussion about what Anick's family think, and about taboos and relationships.

In 2017, Anick was interviewed by Patrick Strudwick at Buzzfeed, where he talks about secrecy, shame and disclosure:

Surgeons first operated on Anick at 4 months, treating the hypospadias by trying to move the opening of the urethra to the end of his penis. They used part of his foreskin to cover the original hole. It failed and was redone several times until Anick was 5. As a result of the multiple procedures he suffered repeated painful urinary tract infections.

This was just the beginning. The next 17 years would be governed by one major preoccupation among clinicians: attempting to enlarge his penis to within the usual range. “The standard of care,” says Anick, was about “making me appear more ‘normal’”.

Published in December 2018, Anick and IHRA's Morgan Carpenter were interviewed by RightsInfo.