I'm posting this on my blog instead of the story comments because some of my readers would probably regard this post as a spoiler. I still won't be disclosing exactly what condition Taylor has. Any spoilers will be mild, but I know some readers don't want any author hints at all. If so this post is not for you. Also if you are reading my story and haven't read through Part 14 yet, then you'd probably consider this post a major spoiler.

Spoiler Alert! Readers of The Taylor Project beware
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I just posted The Taylor Project - Part 14. When I did so, I added the 'Intersex' tagging to the story. I know that the 'Intersex' tag is a hot button for some readers, so I'd like to address why it is added to the story now and not earlier.

For my perspective this isn't any different from when I added the 'Gynecomastia' tag starting in part three. Before part three Scott didn't know he was growing breasts. Adding the 'Gynecomastia' tag would have been a spoiler. As soon as Scott became aware I added the tagging. I didn't even mention it when I added the tag because I didn't think it was controversial. On the other hand, the 'Intersex' tag is.

I think a large part of that is due to the intersex trope as distinct from the real world intersexed medical condition. In TG fiction there is a common intersex trope where the protagonist discovered they're intersexed, in fact a true hermaphrodite. While there is usually some mental stress involved after a minor surgery the protagonist to her true gender as a genetic female complete with working womb and ovaries.

I like some of these stories. In fact I'll give a shout out to Tiffany Shar's Bears Know Best as an example of this trope handled well. (Not to mention another protagonist named Taylor :-). However, in other cases I've felt a bit cheated and that the author handwaved a lot of the real world difficulties of transition. So I understand why some people roll their eyes and go 'Oh noes, not the intersexed trope again'.

So while it is a bit of spoiler let me state that I've added the 'Intersex' tag at this point in the story because it has been suggested that Taylor has Kleinfelter's Syndrome (XXY). I'm not confirming or denying whether Taylor has KS. Doc Buford has correctly identified KS as the most likely scenario as it happens in 1 in 500 males. That doesn't mean he's right. For that, read and find out. Regardless, Kleinfelter's Syndrome is an intersexed condition and that is why I've added the tag at this point in the story.

If I were to write a story that used the intersexed trope, be assured that I would have tagged the story as 'Intersex' on post one. I know people use tagging to select the stories they want to read and I'll also state that 'Chemical Induced Change' is truth in tagging. Taylor may or may not have an intersexed condition, but she would not be experiencing many of the changes she is experiencing now if she wasn't taking the mystery pills.

This isn't to say that I'll never use a red herring. I'm certainly capable of letting readers mislead themselves. However, I do apply Chekhov's Rule:

"If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there."