Top fashion model Hanne Gaby Odiele recently spoke about her intersexuality in the hopes of breaking the taboo concerning the condition. Intersex people are those born with both male and female sex characteristics.

According to USA Today, Belgian model Hanne Gaby Odiele was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). Odiele, who is 29-years-old and from Kortrijk, Belgium, said that the issue is close to her heart and that she wants "to break the taboo" attached to being intersex.

The model is one of a handful of high-profile celebrities who have talked about their intersexuality. Odiele shared, "At this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this." Based on data from the United Nations, at least "1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits."

Odiele wanted to give a voice to other young intersex individuals who are often forced to undergo medical procedures "in a misguided effort to make a child appear more typically male or female." The model is proud to be intersex, but she is "very angry that these surgeries are still happening."

When she was a young girl, Odiele had "internal, undescended testes" and was told by her parents that if she did not undergo surgery to have her testicles removed, "she could develop cancer." She underwent the surgery when she was 10-years old, and at 18, Odiele underwent another procedure known as vaginal reconstructive surgery.

The BBC has also revealed that Odiele's husband, model John Swiatek, is "incredibly proud" of his wife's decision to talk about her intersexuality and the importance of sexual health. Swiatek shared, "I am very impressed with her decision to advocate for intersex children in order to give them an opportunity to make up their own minds about their bodies, unlike the lack of options and information Hanne and her family (and many others) were given."