Intersex Awareness Day, 2019

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Saturday 26 October is Intersex Awareness Day 2019, and we’ve got events, posters, videos, memes and more for you to share. We’ll update this page regularly in the lead up to the day itself. Watch out for hashtags like #iad2019

Local events

Flag raising at Hobsons Bay, Victoria. Photo: Tony Briffa
In front of the Victorian Arts Centre tower, lit in intersex colours
Flag raising. Photo: Paul Byrne-Moroney
Williamstown Town Hall, lit up. Photo: Tony Briffa

Public and invitation events for Intersex Awareness Day 2019 in Australia include:

Public and invitation events for Intersex Day of Solidarity on 8 November 2019 include:

  • 7 November in Canberra: Intersexstravaganza! @ SpringOUT. “Join AGA on Intersex Day of Solidarity for an informational evening of intersex stories, wisdom, and creativity, led by local Canberra activists and talent. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it’ll change your life”. 6-7:30. Venue TBA.

New international resources

Great new local resources

Support our work – download and share a prospectus to fund the work of national intersex-led organisations in Australia.

Share high-quality resources like publications, videos and articles developed in our region.

YOUth & I publication, on a wooden table, accompanied by a cup of coffee

YOUth & I

A new Australian publication by intersex youth, edited by Steph Lum and created in Canberra with the support of the ACT Capital of Equality program. YOUth & I tells the stories of intersex youth, by intersex youth, in their own ways and without mediation. This resource is highly recommended.

Posters and social media images

Share our new posters and social media content – these can be downloaded and printed at work or home:

We also have square versions to share on social media:

Articles, leaflets and briefing papers

  • Reach Out Australia have published excellent new pages, created by people with intersex variations: Understanding What It Means to Be Intersex (for youth) and Supporting an intersex teenager (for parents and guardians)
  • The federal Department of Health has published a new page on mental health support. It’s good, but it also highlights the importance of peer support without linking to intersex organisations that provide peer support and systemic advocacy, because we are not federally funded. Help us change this!
  • We also have our own content for allies, parents and workplaces, including pages that can be shared online and downloadable/printable resources – check out each page for details.
  • We encourage meaningful inclusion of the issues faced by intersex people, and recognition of our diversity as a population. Consider sharing our briefing papers on bodily integrity, eugenics, discrimination, identification documents, forms, research, sport, education and detention. We also have a style guide and information on intersectionality. These briefing papers have all been updated this year.
  • The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists magazine, O&G Magazine, published an article at the end of last year on What do intersex people need from doctors?
  • Give copies of these leaflets and briefing papers to your MPs, doctors, medical schools, hospitals and places of work.
  • More resources will be added here over coming weeks, as new content and resources are published worldwide to mark Intersex Awareness Day.

Videos and animations

Steph Lum gave a short TED-style talk at Women Deliver 2019 earlier this year. It’s available with English, French, Polish and Russian subtitles and a Spanish translation:


 
Rochelle Oh has created a wonderful short animation:


 
The ABC has broadcast an episode of You Can’t Ask That, available in iView, and also on Youtube ($)


 
If you want something long, academic and in-depth, Morgan Carpenter gave a one-hour lecture to the Kirby Institute at UNSW earlier this year.

The history of the day is just as relevant today

Intersex Awareness Day marks a demonstration outside a medical conference in Boston, USA, where clinicians justified early forced and coercive medical practices.

Forced and coercive medical practices are now regarded by human rights institutions as human rights violations, including as harmful practices.

Consider how your organisation can show support for the intersex movement in our region. Consider affirming the Darlington Statement, the community consensus platform for our region.

  • Later this year, the Australian Human Rights Commission will publish a report on protecting the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions.
  • The Victorian government’s Department of Health and Human Services is engaged in a consultation process.
  • The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute is engaged in a project primarily focused on gender recognition, but also considering how intersex bodies are treated by medicine.
  • Engagement by Australian governments is particularly poor in NSW, and frequently limited or absent elsewhere. Can you help?

Consider how you can encourage your State and Territory governments to work directly with intersex-led organisations.

Donate to an intersex-led organisation, us or AISSGA.