Born Kristi, Lived Jim: Intersex Truth Revealed

Jim Ambrose, born in 1976, spent the first 19 years of his life believing he was a girl named Kristi. This occurred because doctors performed medically recommended infant surgery on his genitalia, which fell outside typical male or female norms. Raised as Kristi in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ambrose always felt a sense of disconnect.

The truth surfaced during his first year of college when a class discussion about intersex children led him to his medical records. He discovered he was born with XY chromosomes and that surgery had been performed to make his genitalia appear female. His testes were later removed, and he was given oral estrogen from age 11 to induce female puberty.

Ambrose eventually stopped taking hormones and later chose testosterone, which he felt made him feel at home in his body. He also underwent a double mastectomy. These decisions followed years of feeling confused and angry about the irreversible medical interventions made without his consent.

The documentary "The Secret of Me" explores Ambrose's story, noting that around 1 in 2,000 babies are born with genital differences risking surgical intervention globally. Such "corrective" surgeries continue in most countries, with no specific law banning them on intersex infants in the UK.