'I was born intersex and doctors tried to erase me. It's important to speak out'
'I was born intersex and doctors tried to erase me. It's important to speak out'
Raven van Dorst is the singer and a musician with the Dutch rock-metal band Dool, and a TV personality in the Netherlands. After discovering in their 20s that they had been born intersex, van Dorst is now singing about the theme of identity in Dool's upcoming album.
I remember listening to dool years back and discussing with my brother whether the singer was a dude or a chick, because we couldn’t work it out. As it turned out, the answer is both. Pretty neat.
They sound like a lovely person. I'll have to give the band a listen.
This really touched me. Thank you for sharing.
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Having struggled to fit in as a little girl, then a young woman, the medic confirmed van Dorst had been born intersex, with aspects of both male and female sex characteristics, and operated on as a baby.
Later this month, their rock-metal band Dool will release third album The Shape Of Fluidity, which tackles the themes of gender and identity in today's changing world.
The song Venus In Flames deals with "shaking off societal expectations, obliterating gender roles", while Hermagorgon features "gorgon", the Greek word for female monsters.
As the debate around transgender rights continues, The Shape Of Fluidity aims to show how identity can change, with artwork featuring a flag made out of ice.
Our interview follows the recent comments made by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who dared police to arrest her over legislation that came into force in Scotland earlier this month.
The new measures aim tackle harm caused by hatred and prejudice, extending protections from abusive behaviour to people on grounds including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
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Raven really is a good force in the Netherlands I feel like. I don't regularly watch TV, but a while ago I was at my parents and there we had a TV show on which primarily featured Raven inviting guests on their farm. My parents, who normally are mostly okay with trans stuff but also quite unaware and a bit ignorant, seemed to like Raven as a person and therefore also seemed quite open to their identity and opinions. The show also contained some candid discussions about the subject, including the impact of the way people still fail to fully accept people who don't fit the binary. I think Raven actually contributes a lot to Intersex and non-binary awareness.