Why is this blog called The Orchis?
The word Orchis has two meanings:
Orchis is the genus for the Orchid flower.
Orchis means testicles.
The root for the flower Orchid comes from the greek Órkhis, which means testis. Why, might you ask, would you name one of the most beautiful and exotic of flowers after testes? Well, the roots of the orchid plant look like a pair of testes!
The orchid has also become the symbol for Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome as well as many other intersex conditions. The orchid is a power metaphor for us with AIS as it shows a beautiful and rare flower blooming from what appear to be testes.
References to testes as orchids also appear in medical journals and scholarly articles. An orchidectomy is the alternate name for a gonadectomy, the controversial procedure where gonads are removed from people with androgen insensitivity syndrome, forcing us to go on hormone replacement therapy. Cryptorchid, another medical term using the flower’s name, is a term for when the testes remain inside the body and do not descend. It is actually common for people with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome to actually have cryptorchid testes.
I truly hope that you enjoy reading The Orchis: An AIS Blog. I hope that it brings you all of the answers to the question about Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome that you may be on your mind.