A TEENAGER who was born without a vagina has had a new one built by doctors so she can enjoy a normal sex life.
Jyoti Gambill-Read, 18, started to develop as male in the womb, but at around 12 weeks the process suddenly stopped.
6
6
The student, from Hopkins, Minnesota, has lived with a variation of “intersex” – something she defines as “not having the typical binary sex organs or parts”.
She said: “When you look at me, you see a female. So everyone just assumes that I am. But there’s a little more to it than that.
“Intersex is like a variation or evolved term of hermaphrodite-ism basically. It can vary from person to person, but in my case, it means I don’t have internal or external sex organs.
“It also means I won’t be able to have my own biological children.”
Jyoti says the condition has impacted her self-esteem and confidence, but she has always seen herself as a girl.
Doing it for me
She decided to have life-changing reconstructive surgery to create a vaginal opening and a vaginal canal, so she can experience a normal sex life.
She said: “I decided to do the surgery, mainly because as I get older, I want to have a more typical female sex life.
“It’s for my own enjoyment and my own pleasure.”
Jyoti added: “For me, dating can be kind of awkward at first because I have to explain what intersex means for me and what it means in a relationship.
It’s for my own enjoyment and my own pleasure
Jyoti
“It’s complicated to explain and articulate, but in reality I think it’s pretty simple.
“The last guy I told, he said that was a deal breaker.”
In July, Jyoti had the life-changing operation, which involves using a piece of her colon to create a vaginal canal.
When she was discharged 10 days later, she said: “I’ve been bleeding quite a lot down there and I just remember thinking well I finally got a period I never had, welcome to womanhood Jo.
“I’ve been in the hospital for about 10 days, I have a lot of progress still to do but I’m excited for the rest of the process.”
Difficult op
Explaining the operation to her daughter, mum sue said: “It wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be.
“He had to try three different access points before he could get it right.
“It was a long surgery. It was supposed to be four hours but it was eight hours.
“He said it was one of the hardest surgeries he has ever done.”
Jyoti, who describes herself as bi or pansexual, said: “I’m excited to try new things, and meet new people and have new experiences that I might not have otherwise had if I had not had the surgery.
“People are going to hate on all sorts of reasons why I shouldn’t have done it but at the end of the day it’s my body, my choice, my decision.
“I don’t regret it whatsoever.”
6
6
Her parents, Sue and Joe, say they are proud of how far their daughter has come.
The couple adopted Jyoti, and her younger brother Krish, from Kolkata, India, when she was three.
Sue said: “She was delivered to us in an email. We’d been attempting to adopt for probably two years.
“At first, I was super excited and open about having the opportunity to adopt an intersex child. Thinking she can be whoever she wants to be.
For me, dating can be kind of awkward at first because I have to explain what intersex means for me and what it means in a relationship
Jyoti
“Then I kind of realised that I was breaching her privacy, especially since she started getting older.
“It took a little while to realise that there was no need to talk to anybody about it until Jo was ready to talk about it.
“I waited until she was able to understand and gave her all the information she needed at that age.
“I’m so proud of how far she has come, she’s just amazing. I love that girl.”
6
6
Patrick, who is transgender, added: “I looked at that first email and I read it over and over again.
“I thought ‘that’s our baby.’ I just knew with all my being, that connection was meant to be.
“The first time I met Jo, I knew within about 30 seconds that I had just come into contact with probably the most determined, feisty little personality I would probably ever meet in my life.
“The subsequent 15 years have not proven that wrong. And I’m just delighted at the compassionate and thoughtful woman that she has grown into.”
And Jyoti is more than grateful for the support she has received from her family and close friends over the years.
“They’ve given me a lot of freedom to choose who I want to be and how I want the world to view me,” she said.
“I’m very appreciative of that.”
Although Jyoti will never be able to have her own biological children, she says she is look forward to having a family one day.
She said: “I definitely want a family. To give another child the opportunities that my parents gave me through adoption.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
