My Name Was Baby: An Intersex Memoir

From a rising intersex activist in the Midwest, a candid memoir about growing up different and an inspiring story of self-discovery and self-acceptance. When Chris Arnone was born in Independence, Missouri, nobody could tell what sex he was. For the first few days of his life, until a chromosome test confirmed he was a boy, his parents called him Baby. From this first, literal “coming out,” it was clear he was different. His life was punctuated by a string of surgeries and trips to the ER, unrecognizable and confusing diagrams in sex ed class, and the need to preface every intimate encounter by explaining his medical history. But it wasn’t until he was thirty-seven that he discovered he didn’t have “birth defects”—he was intersex. In this fresh and affirming memoir, Chris’s struggles with anxiety, confusion, and a painful journey toward self-acceptance will be familiar to LGBTQIA+ people everywhere.