Up next in 10
We're 'Different' & Looking For Love | DATING DIFFERENT
0 views
Aug 10, 2025
These stories highlight the strength found in embracing differences. Sydney discovered she was intersex in her twenties and has since become a confident voice in the queer community, openly sharing how her identity shapes her dating life. Jonna, a 3-foot-tall dancer with dwarfism, challenges beauty standards and brings body positivity to her relationships, showing that love and confidence come in all sizes. Monica, who has Tourette’s, has been cautious about dating due to her tics, but takes a brave step by going on a blind date—hoping to find someone who accepts her fully.
View Video Transcript
0:00
Get ready with me to go on a date with my friend's roommate
0:04
I am Sydney. I'm 24 years old. I'm a tiktoker and an intersex person
0:09
Biological sex is not a binary and I am living proof of that
0:14
It's going to be nice to go on a date with Syd, based off of what I know of him
0:20
But you just never know how these things are going to turn out. I plan on telling him that I'm intersex, like, pretty quickly
0:27
because the longer I wait, the more nervous I get about it
0:31
There's so much that people don't understand about being intersex. Dating can be difficult
0:37
An ideal date is one where when no one says anything embarrassing, unfortunately, I've had a lot of dates
0:43
where people say things that are close-minded. So any date that doesn't involve something like that
0:49
is honestly good with me. Hi. How are you doing? I'm good, how are you
0:57
Good. Good to see you. How's it going? It's going. Thank you
1:03
Sometimes I am worried about how a date will react when I tell them that I'm intersex
1:08
I think they try to visualize it and they try to reconcile what they see as a woman with this idea that they've just presented with that I am not
1:17
The main reaction that I get is this pensive look and they just kind of go
1:21
Huh, did Ely tell you that I'm intersex? She mentioned it a little bit
1:27
Have you heard the word before? I've heard of it, but I still don't really know too much about it
1:35
It means that I have characteristics that fall outside of the binary
1:40
Like, there are some things that aren't either male nor female when it comes to my hormones and my physical anatomy
1:47
I didn't realize I was intersex until I was 17 years old
1:51
I was raised as a girl. When I was around 15 years old, I decided to go to the doctor for severe cystic acne
1:59
They were able to measure my hormones thinking that could be a contributing factor
2:03
It was found that I had a heightened level of androgens, or what are sometimes called male hormones
2:09
And so they prescribed me hormones for my acne to try to make me normal
2:14
That's the very first time that I noticed that my body was different
2:18
When I was 16 turning 17, I realized I didn't have an opening
2:22
When I visited the gynecologist, they didn't really believe me. But when they finally looked and saw that there truly was no opening there
2:31
that it hadn't developed, then they decided that it was time to do surgery
2:36
And that's what we proceeded with. It felt like I had a proper body
2:41
like I'm getting closer to being the female that I was intended to be
2:45
But I do wish that the word intersex had been uttered. I wish I knew why this was happening
2:50
I wish they didn't treat it as an anomaly. Have you ever had any problems with that, like dating or anything
2:59
No, I think it's pretty new. I know it's new that I'm being more honest about it
3:03
And that's partially because in the past I just viewed my intersex characteristics as flaws
3:10
It isn't until recently that I'm realizing that I'm okay being honest with people
3:16
about what it actually means to be intersex. Well, that's good. I hope so
3:20
In my early 20s, I made friends in the queer community. That's when I identified as intersex for the first time
3:27
I had a conversation with a friend who is transgender, and they were like, huh, that's kind of like being transgender
3:35
I knew that that's not who I am, that I don't actually have a transgender experience
3:41
So after hanging out with them, I googled what it means to have a body with these anatomical differences
3:48
That's when I learned the word intersex. Hi! Hey! How's it going
3:55
Oh, mom's here too, I guess. So, tell us. How was the date
4:02
How was it? I think the date was nice. He exceeded my expectations and being really thoughtful and easy to talk to
4:09
So the date went really well. I think she's really nice. Really cool. Kind of crazy that she found out about her being intersex at such a late age
4:19
can't really imagine what that'd be like. Life has changed tremendously since I began to identify
4:26
as intersex. I've been a lot happier with myself because I can understand why my body is the way
4:33
that it is. I wish that people would understand that it's not bizarre to be intersex. The
4:39
biological sex is not binary. It exists on a spectrum. That people who are intersex have
4:45
bodies of all kinds, different characteristics. There's no one way to be an intersex person
4:56
I'm a three feet baddie that deserves to be treated like a queen. Today I'm going on my
5:01
first blind date Dating with dwarfism is very different obviously than the average person I curious as to how he going to react Hello hello How it going Hi How are you Good How are you Today I going on a blind date
5:18
and I've never gone to a blind date before in my life so I have no idea what to expect
5:25
But yeah, I'm excited. I was born with a rare form of dwarfism called cartilage hair hypoplasia
5:33
I'm only three feet, and typically other types of dwarfisms are a lot taller than me
5:39
I kind of just look like an average size, just like smushed together
5:45
Everything's like proportionate except my legs and my arms. High school was the hardest
5:50
Kids were having crushes, and it was all fun and games, but nobody wanted to date the little person
5:55
All the guys were like, you know, I'd date you if you were taller
6:00
or they, like, I had a secret relationship for about six years, which is terrible
6:08
He didn't want anybody to know. For me, I'm curious as to how he's going to react
6:15
I can see people's reaction before they actually say anything. So I think that's what I'm more, like, curious about
6:23
So right now I'm on my blind date and we're at a Mexican restaurant
6:27
I'm kind of nervous now. As I get older, I realize that just someone that's genuine and honest and loyal is a huge checklist
6:37
It's not easy to find. My name's Brian Sullivan. I'm 29 years old, and I'm a musician
6:43
About my date, I don't know much about her. I just know that she's a little person, and she's looking for love, a lot of love, big love
6:51
So I'm here. Hello, hello. How's it going? Hi. How are you
6:55
Good. How are you? Fantastic. I'm Jonna. Jonna. I'm Brian. Brian, nice to meet you
7:00
How you doing today? Good, good. Good, good. It's another good day. I kind of hope that he, like, I don't know if, like, no reaction means good
7:11
I think probably just an open, like, like, it doesn't matter. It's just who you are
7:18
It's no big deal. So what's up? We're going to get some food? We're going to get some drinks? Yeah, I'm good
7:22
I'm good. I'm hungry. I'm trying to drink a margarita. All right. Sure. Here we go. I know how it goes. They say you buy two
7:26
The third one's $5 off. So we might be able to share that last one. Okay
7:29
Give me two straws. Actually, I don't drink. Oh, you don't? No. Okay, beautiful. Yeah
7:33
I love it. I've been sober for about almost five years. Congratulations. Thank you
7:37
Congratulations. I don't want to send you off the edge. No, no, it doesn't bother me. Okay. It's all good
7:41
I've been around it. I love it. Yeah. I love it. Is there any reason in particular why you stopped drinking
7:46
Well, yeah. Obviously, it's good for you not to drink. Yeah. So, you know what I mean? I just kind of got out of control
7:53
I hear you. You know? No, no worries. You know, living in a world that doesn't accommodate little people is hard
8:02
I did struggle with an addiction of drugs and alcohol, which I'm now sober
8:07
Through all that, like, here I am and I'm feeling good about myself, you know
8:12
Can we get two waters? Yeah. I want some lemon in the water and then can I get maybe a strawberry margarita
8:17
Ooh. Strawberry margarita. Yeah, I'm sweet like that. I do love like if we have the connection of like music because I love just like blasting and singing songs in the car
8:28
Life is music. That's what these tattoos are. So you got the microphone here. The tattoo says my music is medicine
8:33
And then Love City is, you know, my little crew. Here in Fresno? Okay
8:39
So I'm a dancer. So I danced in L.A. for quite a while at studios and stuff
8:45
And I got like noticed by Chris Brown. What? Snoop Dogg. What kind of dance
8:51
Hip hop. Straight hip hop. Yeah. Okay, yeah. I got the, you know. No, I can see it
8:55
I can see it. Dancing has pretty much been in my whole life
9:00
Like, I started dancing when I was six. I moved to L.A. And it really helped me get through a lot of times
9:06
And then I started posting about it. And people loved it. And then TikTok came into my life
9:11
And I loved that. And I kind of blew up from there
9:15
because nobody had really seen someone my size do dances that average people do
9:22
Thank you. I'm good. Yeah, I'm good. I see all these jalapenos
9:28
I'm going to slide these to the side and eat them proportionately. Thank you
9:32
You know what? Is it all right if I excuse myself for just a moment? Sure, go ahead. Give me just a moment
9:35
I'll be right back. I love the fact that he's a musician because that means we would connect on a creative level
9:42
and be able to talk about it, which we already were. Like, everything seemed to flow, like, very well
9:48
I think we're having a good conversation. Like, he's funny, he's smart, very talented, very handsome
9:55
So, I'm happy. Hey, hey, I am back. Hey, I am back
10:00
You didn't miss me too much, did you? Just a little bit. So, that's it
10:05
You were talking about the height. I need to ask some questions. Yeah. This is my first time. So, do you mind if I ask questions
10:10
No, go for it. Okay, first and foremost. Yes. how do you consider and you use the words to talk about yourself Because I don want to come in here and disrespect you Okay okay I appreciate that So I mean first and foremost like my name Jonna That who I am I love it But I do have dwarfism
10:28
Okay. And, like, little person is fine, just not the M word. Yeah
10:32
I'm sure you know. Yeah. Midget is very derogatory and it has a lot of negative contact to it
10:38
So when people say, oh, that's a little person, like, yeah, I am a little person
10:43
that is accurate but I'm also just a person and a human being like everyone else I'm black so I
10:49
know there's words that you can't say you know what I mean I'm trying to make sure that's how it
10:53
like same relation I guess you know so I understand it's the same thing with when big
10:59
yeah no I think if you have been around it in a negative way then you don't really want to hear
11:05
it which the world is pretty negative all around so you know you learn something every day and I
11:12
was told and I live by if you're not earning you should be learning you know what I mean so if
11:16
anything I appreciate you for educating me yeah of course was I attracted to him yes I was attracted
11:22
to him yes um I like that he was tall and good style he surprised me because it was so like
11:31
easy to talk to him all right so what's up we about ready to go yeah let's do it okay let's make moves
11:36
I don't know, it just seemed very genuine. So, yeah. I was surprised to see that she was three foot
11:43
You know what I mean? I'm not even going to lie. I'm six foot one. So to see her actually stand up next to her, I was like, okay, I see what's going on
11:49
How was the date? I think it went great. I liked it. It was great
11:53
Yeah, yeah. It was a beautiful experience. I'm happy. Totally, totally. I think my favorite part was me just really being nervous
11:59
As somebody who does performances and stuff like that, like talking over her and stuff, like, damn, bro, chill
12:05
You know, so that was like just different for me, but I enjoyed it. It was a great time
12:11
Let's go. I'm down. Let's make it happen. Yeah, let's make it happen. I'm with it. Yeah. I already said we shooting videos
12:17
You dancing what's up? I think the biggest thing that I've learned today was to just go with the flow and like every experience
12:23
That is given to you is gonna help you learn something about yourself. So might as well just jump on it and I'm glad I did
12:35
Tourette's is a neurological condition that causes a person to have vocal and physical kicks
12:46
I have never been on a blind date, so this is my first
12:50
We are dressed and ready to go. Here's my outfit. Do I look cute
12:56
The ideal reaction would just be like, okay, thank you for telling me or no, that's fine
13:01
Not, oh my God, you have Tourette's? Hello. Hi, how you doing? Good thing
13:09
You're boring. I have never been on a blind date, so this is my first
13:16
My name's Monica, I'm 20 years old, and I live in Sydney, Australia
13:21
Tourette's is a neurological condition that causes a person to have vocal and physical tics
13:28
F*** you. I hate it. Love you. Love you, too. Growing up with traps was pretty interesting. I was diagnosed when I was seven. It's been
13:38
both negative and positive. We are dressed and ready to go. Here's my outfit. Do I look cute
13:47
I'm excited to go on a date with a girl because I'm kind of sick of men and I love female energy
13:54
My name is Leela. I'm 25 years old. I've never been in a blind date before. So in terms of
14:00
that I don't really have very high expectations. I'm gonna up. Hello
14:10
How are you? Nice to meet you, Monica. See you later. Like your tattoos
14:17
Thank you. I was almost gonna wear my docks, but then I thought, because it's so hot. Yeah
14:23
Yeah, nah. They're too heavy. Nah, yeah. But I have the same pair. Nice
14:28
They're like powerful. Would you like some more water? Oh, yes, thank you. You're welcome
14:34
So, are you from Sydney? Do you think I am? No. No
14:39
How long have you been here? I've been here for like three months. Nice. So that's, yeah
14:44
Nice. Just getting to know everything. Yeah. I've been working mostly. Yeah
14:48
Nice. Are you? I grew up in, like, Sydney all my life
14:53
So, yeah, it's kind of home. F*** you. I also wanted to let you know that I have Tourette's, so sometimes I have vocal and physical tics
15:03
If you just ignore it, it'd be great. But if you're going to ask me any questions, you're like, f***
15:08
I still remember the first moment I got my first tic. I was literally in school walking down the stairs, and I felt this urge come out of my neck
15:18
and I needed to make this sound. It was like, boh. I had to go, boh
15:22
And I had to say it. And just for the whole day, I just needed to say it
15:27
So I yeah just went home to my mum told her and she just took me to the GP And the GP was like it a cough I actually wasn diagnosed for two years because there was like no awareness
15:39
I'm familiar with it. When I was a kid, they used to think I had Tourette's as well. Really
15:44
Because I have really shaky hands. Like a finger. Ever since I've been a really small kid. Interesting
15:51
And so they ruled it out like pretty early on though. I already know. I was misdiagnosed. Yeah
15:56
So yeah, so no worries. Thank you. Yeah, I thought I'd let you know earlier because I like to let people know earlier
16:04
That's good. Have you had really bad experiences? I have. I started an awareness page because of all my crappy experiences. Yeah
16:12
So people in the street, some people are so rude. Yeah, I'm sorry to hear that
16:17
Stuff like that. Yeah, like I can imagine. What do you do for work? I work as a waitress at a restaurant
16:23
Is it a fancy restaurant? fancy restaurant. So I'm dressed as a penguin. A what? As a penguin. Like I like to call it. Like I have to wear like a whole suit and everything. I thought you were actually dressed as a penguin. No, I always say that and then people are like, are you? How about you? I work with kids. So I work in after school care. I love kids. Really? Yeah, just do it. Just get paid to play sport. So you said the misdiagnosis? Even like when I would speak publicly, I would have like a trembling voice. Yeah, like shake it
16:54
People just interpreted it in weird ways like they thought I was being nervous a lot of the times like now
16:59
I hear oh like are you an addict are these like withdrawal symptoms and I'm like no
17:06
So yeah, so yeah, that's like the opposite of me because I have
17:12
Territus been diagnosed with a cough. I just had like another question about your condition. Yeah
17:17
Do you feel when you have a tick like yeah, are you aware of it
17:21
Yeah, so it's like a sneeze so you can like feel a build-up coming. Yeah, and then let it out
17:27
Yeah, so I know when I'm gonna do I can even hear the word before it comes. Yeah, so my brain's like say
17:34
Yeah, like I know the word before it's gonna come. Yeah, yeah You're boring. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom if that's right. Yeah, no worries
17:43
It's going pretty good very smooth and she was so chill my treats
17:48
That is a model response everyone. Personally I'm still warming up just because I'm a little picky but I feel the
17:56
conversation's really nice we're on the same page chill. Actually I was gonna ask also about your dating experience
18:05
Yeah, it's a lot to impact. So I've been in one long-term relationship and the others have just been like seeing people
18:16
I have been in previous relationships. Tourette's has actually helped me in these relationships
18:22
because I use it as a little tool when I meet someone. So when I say I have Tourette's, from the get-go
18:28
how they react really establishes the type of person they are. So it can show the accepting people, non-judgmental people
18:38
or the people who you completely don't want to associate with. I kind of use it as a tool
18:43
How they react tells me about them straight away. Oh yeah, of course. That, like, judgmental or not
18:48
That makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much
18:53
I've always wanted to talk about my experiences online, but I just felt like people would
18:59
hate me or judge me, but I've actually found, like, a really nice community and people are
19:04
so lovely. I've kind of noticed that now that you're, I guess, more relaxed and we're, like, both
19:10
both of us are more at ease. Maybe your tics are less noticeable or less frequent
19:15
So does like nervousness have an impact on your tics or like frequency and stuff
19:21
Yeah, so nervousness does. I was like, oh, how is she gonna react
19:25
I haven't even seen it. I was like, it's time. So you're jittery on a lot of tics
19:29
But now when like easier and you're fine, it's chill. It's actually the same with my thing
19:33
with my hands and like the voice. So you're not shaking? Because I was like, yeah, whatever
19:38
I think it's all of your time today, though. It's lovely. Thank you very much, yeah. I have fun
19:42
Good meeting you. It was good. I think I went really smooth, good conversation, good chat
19:48
Did you have fun, Mama? Yeah, same. I also really thought it was very natural
19:52
For me, personally, it was just connecting on the same level without conditions and relating to it
19:59
I thought Monica was very nice. Very, very nice. I think she's very pretty, and that's a good start, I guess
20:06
Would you guys like going on another day again? Like, would you say, cover gang and other touring
20:11
I would hang out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This dating experience has just taught me a lot about be yourself
20:19
Don't dim your light because you attract the right people. And there's always good people out there
20:26
And to never let your disability get in the way of dating
20:38
Thank you
#Discrimination & Identity Relations
#Human Rights & Liberties
#Romance