A prominent Denver photographer who thought he was a man, found out after an ultrasound screen to examine a kidney stone that he was also female. He has lived his whole life as a man, sometimes receiving comments about some female traits, only to find out that he was, in fact, born intersex.
Steve Crecelius told Fox News that he remembers secretly putting on his mother’s clothes and applying makeup when he was younger. He went on to explain that he had frequently identified with being female, and from a very young age – but he has lived his life as a male until a few years ago.
Steve told Fox News:
“When I was 17, I was working my first part-time job at a TV station as a floor cameraman and the person in charge said to me, ‘You know, you walk like a queer.’ And I thought I was hiding who I was, and I wasn’t.
I had a kidney stone and we’re in the emergency room. The nurse is reading the ultrasound and says, ‘Huh, this says you’re a female’.”
Intersex refers to a group of conditions, often termed DSDs (disorders of sexual development) – there is a discrepancy between the appearance of the external sexual organs and the internal ones. The older terms hermaphroditism or pseudohermaphroditism are rarely used by healthcare professionals, and have given way to intersex or intersexuality.
When his intersexuality was discovered, Steve said that it validated everything he had always felt inside. Initially, the diagnosis was a bit of a shock. However, Steve also described it as “a relief”. He eventually decided to permanently live as a woman.
For Steve, it was not just a simple question of deciding which gender he could best identify with and then making a choice. He was married to a woman and they had six children.
He told Fox News “How do you tell your kids that well, it’s no longer dad, it’s dadette?”
Apparently, on being told the news, his children said they did not care, and would love him for whoever he was.
The revelation occurred nearly five years ago. Wife Debbie and Steve still live together – they share the same bedroom and bed.
Written by Christian Nordqvist