Innately You: Depathologising Being Intersex

Innately You: Depathologising Being Intersex

Author: JOY 94.9 - Rainbow Community Podcasts for our LGBTI, LGBTIQA+, LGBTQIA+, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGB, Gay, Lesbian, Trans, Intersex, Queer Communities March 27, 2026 Duration: 43:36

Around 1.7% of babies born in Australia have innate variations in sex characteristics. That’s roughly one in 60 babies.

For decades…and to this day, intersex people have been treated as medical problems that need solving. Doctors make decisions about their bodies – often surgical decisions – before they are old enough to consent.

Variations in sex characteristics exist on a spectrum, just like height or any other trait. Yet intersex people face unnecessary surgeries, secrecy, shame, and a medical system that treated their bodies as “other”. The World Health Organisation still lists innate variations of sex characteristics as medical conditions. But being intersex isn’t a pathology. It’s a natural variation.

On Science Queeries, we’re talking about depathologisation; about recognising intersex as a natural part of human diversity, not a disease. Our guest is Paul Byrne-Moroney from The I in Us, the only show for intersex people by intersex people. He’s here to help us understand what it means to be intersex and why depathologisation matters.

Last month, Victoria passed legislation that protects intersex children from unnecessary, irreversible medical procedures. It’s a landmark moment. And it’s time we all understood why.

Originally aired 3rd March, 2026.

The post Innately You: Depathologising Being Intersex appeared first on Science Queeries.


Curiosity meets community in Science Queeries, a space where the wonders of the natural world and the vibrant spectrum of human identity intersect. Hosted by Cat, this podcast from JOY 94.9’s Rainbow Community collection approaches learning with a warm, questioning spirit. It’s less a formal lecture and more a series of engaging conversations that unpack scientific concepts through an inclusive, queer lens. You’ll hear explorations that connect the dots between biology, sociology, technology, and lived experience, making complex ideas both accessible and personally relevant. Each episode invites you to consider how science shapes and is shaped by the diverse LGBTIQA+ communities it seeks to understand. The tone is thoughtful and welcoming, designed for anyone who’s ever felt on the outside looking in at traditional science communication. Whether discussing the latest research or the fundamentals of how things work, this podcast consistently centers a perspective that is often overlooked. It’s a place for learning, questioning, and finding connection in the shared pursuit of knowledge. Tune in for a refreshing take that proves science is for everyone, and that some of the most insightful discoveries begin with a simple, open-minded query.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 55

Science Queeries
Podcast Episodes
A Big Birthday Bash [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:46
Science Queeries is officially a toddler – it’s now one year old! The whole team congregates around the mics for this birthday episode: Dr Cat as your ever-present host, Clayton Wimshurst, who helped kick the show off an…
Dr Cat depresses the (down in the) dump(s) button [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:51
Science meets feels on this Science Queeries episode. From cortisol chaos to serotonin slumps, Dr Cat and Jesse Crowe (aka the Travelling Scientist) take you through the science of stress and the complexities of our ment…
A lot of hot air [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:13
Looking for a breath of fresh… science? Dr Rob Ryan, atmospheric chemist in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at The University of Melbourne, clears the air. He and Dr Cat discuss how the effects of…
You’ll be hooked on this episode [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:08
We’re casting a net to reel in some knowledge. Dr Cat dives deep into the tangled world of ghost nets with marine conservation ecologist, Jess Leck. She is the GhostNets Australia Program Coordinator for OceanEarth Found…
A cracking good episode [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:07
Did you know that someone you know may have ceramics inside their body? Maybe it’s even you. Ceramics are used for so many things – including art and expression, medicine, space exploration, and more. Dr Cat chats to a c…
Somewhere over the rainbow there’s gay space [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:15
Space is soooo gay. Let’s go star gay-zing. Dr Cat and Zofia Witkowski-Blake, presenter at Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks, orbited queer cosmic stories, launched into what happens when humans are in space, and ref…
Weave got this – we’re healing with silk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:58
Dr Cat and Dilendra weave together the science of using silk from silkworms and spiders in medicine. Dilendra Wijesekara, a material scientist at Deakin University’s Institute of Frontier Materials, is developing a silk…
Seals’ flipperin’ good hearing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:22
This seals the deal: seals are incredible animals. They’re the only mammal that can hear both through air and under water. Pint of Science speaker/Palaeontologist Dr James Rule and Dr Cat go on a fossil-filled adventure…
Science, Sass and Song: The Radiothon Riff-Off [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:21
For a fabulously nerdy Radiothon special, Dr Cat goes full STEAM ahead with a science-packed extravaganza. She tests her history buff brother Sasha Kober’s knowledge of scientific discoveries and historical episodes of S…
Can you dig it? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Dr Cat and archaeologist Dr Wenjing Yu are digging up the past and brushing off the dust on history. Dr Wenjing has done fieldwork around the world, piecing together the story of our ancestors and their evolution to answ…