Top model Hanne Gaby Odiele reveals she was born intersex

A top model has revealed she was born intersex - meaning her sex characteristics do not fit typical definitions for male or female bodies.

Hanne Gaby Odiele, a 29-year-old Belgian who has taken to the catwalk for Chanel and Prada among others, told USA Today she was opening up to break taboos.

Many people who fall into the category of intersex, as defined by the United Nations, often feel stigmatised and unable to talk freely about their status.

She said: "It is very important to me in my life right now to break the taboo.

"At this point, in this day and age, it should be perfectly all right to talk about this."

The UN estimates up to 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits - about the same percentage as the number of redheads in the world.

The issue has come under public scrutiny in sport, with several ruling bodies issuing controversial guidance.

Some research has suggested that a handful of athletes have undergone surgery to alter their bodies after being identified as being intersex.

Ms Odiele said she wants to highlight the consequences of surgery on children, which she says often takes place without consent in a misguided effort to make a youngster appear more typically male or female.

"I am proud to be intersex," she said, "but very angry that these surgeries are still happening."

She was born with a trait known as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) which means a woman has the XY chromosomes more usually found in men.

Ms Odiele also had undescended testes inside her body and medical staff told her parents that if she did not have them removed she might get cancer or fail to develop into "a normal, female girl".

She said the biggest problem linked to the trait is the trauma intersex people suffer because of doctors' attempts to make them undergo surgery.

Experts say surgery can result in the need for hormone replacement treatments and other physical consequences.