Blog Spotlight: Full Frontal Activism - Intersexed and Awesome

Full Frontal Activism: Intersexed and Awesome is a blog written by a 25 year old intersex activist who seeks to create awareness about the intersex community, people and issues.

Open Forum: (LGBTI) The Intersexual Intersection?

In recent years there has been a growing movement to add intersexuality to the growing LGBT acronymn with some approving and disapproving of such a measure. Intersex refers to a series of medical conditions in which a persons genetic sex (chromosomes) and phenotypic sex (genital appearance) do not match, or are somehow different from the "standard" male or female. Most intersex babies are genitally mutilated and either never find out or discover that doctors changed their birth sex later in life. Some of these individuals identify as male or female, and some elect to transition to the gender they feel more comfortable with while others identify their gender as being intersex and are fully comfortable being in between or neither male nor female.

The contention over whether intersex should be lumped into the broader LGBT spectrum is causing controversy in both camps. There are those who argue that intersex is a medical and biological issue separate from the issues faced by other queer people. There also are those who argue that gay and transgender identity is not simply psychologically based, but also has roots in our biological makeup. Common to all of these identities is that we are neither hetero nor cisnormative and we all have to come to terms with ourselves, whether it be coming out to others or to ourselves about who we really are. We all also face discrimination on the basis that we do not fit the standard mold of gender, sex, and sexuality.

Does the nature versus nurture debate even matter when it comes to who is included in the sexual and gender diversity spectrum? Do you feel there are similarities between some aspects of the intersex and other LGBT communities or are they so far apart that they must be considered separate social and political issues?

Intersex Solidarity Day - 11/08/09

November 8th is Intersex Solidarity Day. In honor of the day please make the commitment to educate yourself about intersexuality and to promote intersex activism to others.

I'd also like to encourage this post to be about what it means to stand in solidarity with the intersex community, whether you are intersex or not, what we can do to be advocates and allies?

Other topics for possible discussion as suggested by the official Intersex Solidarity Day are The life of Herculine Barbin, intersex "normalization" treatments without consent, the violence of the binary sex and gender system, the sexism implicit within the binary construct of sex and gender.

Please sign the Solidarity with the Intersex Community Petition

Intersex Awareness Day (10.26.09)

Oct 26th marks the 5th annual celebrate intersexual awareness day! Today is the (inter)national day of grass-roots action to end shame, secrecy and unwanted genital cosmetic surgeries on intersex children.

What is intersex?
Intersex refers to a series of medical conditions in which a child's genetic sex (chromosomes) and phenotypic sex (genital appearance) do not match, or are somehow different from the "standard" male or female. About one in 2,000 babies are born visibly intersexed, while some others are detected later. The current medical protocol calls for the surgical "reconstruction" of these different but healthy bodies to make them "normal," but this practice has become increasingly controversial as adults who went through the treatment report being physically, emotionally, and sexually harmed by such procedures.

Beside stopping cosmetic genital surgeries, what are intersex activists working toward?
Surgery is just part of a larger pattern of how intersex children are treated; it is also important to stop shame, secrecy and isolation that are socially and medically imposed on children born with intersex conditions under the theory that the child is better off it they didn't hear anything about it. Therefore, it's not enough to simply stop the surgery; we need to replace it with social and psychological support as well as open and honest communication.

What's so significant about October 26?
On October 26, 1996, intersex activists from Intersex Society of North America (carrying the sign "Hermaphrodites With Attitude") and our allies from Transexual Menace held the first public intersex demonstration in Boston, where American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference. The action generated a lot of press coverage, and made it difficult for the medical community to continue to neglect our growing movement. That said, events related to Intersex Awareness Day can take place throughout October and does not necessarily have to be on the 26th.

Ideas for Action:

Pamphlets for organizing intersex awareness day.

Click here to print out some articles to leaflet on intersexuality

Get some friends together and rally/demonstrate in front of a hospital or medical school demanding an end to genital mutilation!

Show a film or invite a guest speaker to speak about IS issues.

Learn more and get active with the Intersex Initiative.

A Call for Intersex Writers to Share Experiences

The Board of Organization Intersex International (oii) is planning a book, to be written by intersex people about their own lives. Proposals are sought from individuals who are born with a variety of IS conditions.

Chapters can be about:
1. Your stories, your words, your voices, your lives.
2. How you feel current gender theory affects the intersex condition you were born with.

Writers may need to do some research, especially for the second chapter. Although this is not a formal academic exercise, where writers do refer to books, theories or incorporate quotations, but they will need to provide some form of reference so that when the book is edited these can be assimilated using a formal referencing system.

Those who want to contribute should put their proposals (say, a couple of hundred words) into an e-mail and send it to joanne.proctor@gmail.com

Submissions will be evaluated by a small panel who will select which proposals to include for publication. Chapters may be co-authored. Anyone who wants to protect their anonymity can do that by clearly saying so. There is no reason for people to feel they cannot contribute for fear of being outed or identified!

This exercise is not restricted to OII members. All intersexed people are invited to submit a proposal. People of all cultures and all languages are welcome.

For more complete writer’s guidelines or more information click here.

H/T to Queer Stuff People Need to Know.

Intersex Bashing on Fox Network

House is a popular medical drama that can be seen on the Fox Network. The program recently featured a storyline about an intersex child. The terms "shemale" and "freak of nature" were used to make reference to the child. The House character is usually seen as offensive and other characters are disapproving, and while the shows effort to discuss intersex issues is important, this sort of language is unacceptable as it perpetrates misunderstanding and violence against intersex and gender variant people.

Demand that Fox stop bashing sexual and gender minorities, and to provide more positive and accurate depictions of intersex people.
askfox@foxinc.com

Organization Spotlight: Intersex Initiative

Intersex Initiative is a Portland, Oregon based national activist and advocacy organization for people born with intersex conditions. It was founded by Emi Koyama, a multi-issue social justice activist and former intern at Intersex Society of North America (2001-02).

Blog Spotlight: Intersex Pride

Intersex Pride is a blog with a wealth of information for the intersex community, allies, and those looking to learn more. It offers a queer perspective on issues such as gender, sexuality, and political viewpoints.

"The Missing Vagina Monologue"

In response to an earlier entry calling for V-Day to discuss the "Missing Vagina Monologue" for intersex people, Esther Morris Leidolf emailed me her segment on gender vision about MRKH. It is a beautiful description of her experience, and how people in the medical community need to reconsider their understanding of people who are intersex.

Australian Government Urged to Consider Intersex Classification

The Australian government is being urged to consider altering their forms to be inclusive of intersex people.

"Australia's human rights office is pushing the federal government to allow some people to classify themselves as a third gender, intersex, for legal documents and procedures.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission issued a paper titled "Sex Files -- The Legal Recognition of Sex: Proposed Reform" to transgender advocates across the country. The paper proposes the third gender classification to be included on legal documents such as drivers licenses and passports. The report was released in September, according to the agency's website, but the news media were not made aware of it until last week, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Sex and Gender Education Australia, a transgender advocacy group, says forms should include "other" as a fourth option, allowing some not to identify as any sex.

The paper defines intersex as people who "cannot or do not identify as either male or female" and choose to be "identified on their birth certificate and passport as intersex." Additionally, those who cannot or choose not to have gender reassignment surgery would "not be automatically ineligible to request a change in their legal sex." (Advocate).

For detailed information on the proposal by the Human Rights Commission click here for their post on "sex files".

Also, join us in contacting officials of the Parliament of Australia to act to ensure that intersex people are recognized by the government.

Click here to email the Prime Minister and here to email select representatives of the federal government.

Celebrate Intersex Awareness Day!

Oct 26th marks the 5th annual celebrate intersexual awareness day! Today is the (inter)national day of grass-roots action to end shame, secrecy and unwanted genital cosmetic surgeries on intersex children.

What is intersex?
Intersex refers to a series of medical conditions in which a child's genetic sex (chromosomes) and phenotypic sex (genital appearance) do not match, or are somehow different from the "standard" male or female. About one in 2,000 babies are born visibly intersexed, while some others are detected later. The current medical protocol calls for the surgical "reconstruction" of these different but healthy bodies to make them "normal," but this practice has become increasingly controversial as adults who went through the treatment report being physically, emotionally, and sexually harmed by such procedures.

Beside stopping cosmetic genital surgeries, what are intersex activists working toward?
Surgery is just part of a larger pattern of how intersex children are treated; it is also important to stop shame, secrecy and isolation that are socially and medically imposed on children born with intersex conditions under the theory that the child is better off it they didn't hear anything about it. Therefore, it's not enough to simply stop the surgery; we need to replace it with social and psychological support as well as open and honest communication.

What's so significant about October 26?
On October 26, 1996, intersex activists from Intersex Society of North America (carrying the sign "Hermaphrodites With Attitude") and our allies from Transexual Menace held the first public intersex demonstration in Boston, where American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference. The action generated a lot of press coverage, and made it difficult for the medical community to continue to neglect our growing movement. That said, events related to Intersex Awareness Day can take place throughout October and does not necessarily have to be on the 26th.

Ideas for Action:

Pamphlets for organizing intersex awareness day.

Click here to print out some articles to leaflet on intersexuality

Get some friends together and rally/demonstrate in front of a hospital or medical school demanding an end to genital mutilation!

Show a film or invite a guest speaker to speak about IS issues.

Please click the link for more info on Intersex Awareness Day.

"I'm 80% Girl, 20% Boy" - Intersex Documentary

One of our readers kindly emailed to let me know they were doing a documentary on an intersex person named Adele.

Maxx Ginnane (Director) emailed me with this:
"I am now making a full length film about intersex, including the stories of what is happening to the babies born visibly intersex and gender variant children as they grow up and approach puberty. There's currently still a debate in the medical community about how these young people should be treated. I'm seeking the input of doctors, parents, and of course, other intersex people in this project. If you would like to get in touch, my address is palya@hotmail.com"

Below is a clip of the film and a little bit of info about the documentary:

When Adele was born they couldn't tell if she was a girl or a boy. A series of childhood genital operations 'corrected' her into a boy but as she grew up it became apparent a mistake had been made. Now at 29 Adele is trying to transition into a woman, only to find she belongs somewhere in between. 1 in 2000 babies are born like Adele and she asks if it isn't time to make room in our society for more than two genders.