surgery was performed to cement his life as a boy. >> the testicle that was actually removed when i was a year old, it had formed somewhere between a testicle and an ovary. >> joseph wasn't told of the surgery or his condition. not until he was an adult. he spent his childhood confused and isolated. >> i remember i used to pray every year before school would start, i'd be like, oh, dear god, please let me fit in this time. please let me fit in. you know, like hopefully somehow things would have changed over the summer. it will be a new lease on life the next year, and i'd have friends. i'd fit in, and everything would be normal. but it never quite worked out that way. >> puberty only compounded his painful existence. >> when i was 12 years old, my chest grew. i grew breasts, you know. not huge ones. kids would tease me. why do you [ muted ]? and i'd be very embarrassed. >> despite all of this, joseph