May 12th, 1992. Geraldo Rivera on his namesake talk show bring us the story of a hermaphrodite trans-sexual who spoke to his kids prior to surgery.
“You see, Denise, who was Dennis, was born…with both female and male sexual organs…”
We learn the story first from the kids Rachel and David about their support for dad’s decision. David talks about losing his father and the uncomfortable emotions that entails. Denise herself fills us in on the details of life and what led to operations. Rachel, the daughter, closes the segment detailing how she doesn’t use the word Dad anymore, just parent, with profound insight from such a youngster.
While sexual identity based surgeries are more common in 2026, those born as a hermaphrodite continue to be quite rare.
This day, Geraldo’s television history.