…n, president of OII Australia, welcomed Tony saying that, I warmly welcome Tony Briffa to OII Australia and in becoming a member of OII Australia to the broader international activities of OII. Tony is a well-known and long-time activist for intersex rights. Tony has also had much wider engagement on broader community issues in the role of Mayor of Hobson’s bay. Tony’s roles as both a respected activist and an administrator bring signi…
…e Commonwealth government to give further consideration to the evidence of Tony Briffa regarding intersex rights and intersex marriage and to how these issues can be addressed. We thank the Committee for these welcome statements. A dissenting report by Tasmanian Labor Senator Carol Brown also made reference to the same comments, indicating her support. A dissenting report by the Australian Greens recommended removal of “gender specficityR…
…e and Bonnie Hart, is released. It includes segments with Chris Somers and Tony Briffa. 2011 X marks the spot 3-5 September 2011: Gina Wilson participates in the first International Intersex Forum, in Belgium. October 2011: We write on improved access to “X” passports. Members of OII Australia know Alex Macfarlane, the first recipient of an Australian “X” passport, first reported in 2003. 19 December 2011: Labor becomes the…
…rsex people and marriage equality as outstanding issues for our community. Tony Briffa: People that are intersex like me are a combination of male and female. We were just born that way. That’s what nature made us. And we should be able to be recognised as a combination of male and female if we want to. Monique Schafter: Councillor Tony Briffa, former Mayor of Hobsons Bay, Victoria, was born intersex. Doctors made the decision the family sho…
Rachel Cook in MCV/Gay News Network interviews Tony Briffa in a great extended review of Tony’s life and work, published today. On finding out about Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and taking testosterone: At the age of 29, (after she had been in a straight marriage with a man for two years from 19 to 21 and after coming out as a lesbian at 26), Briffa was told the truth about her condition. “I had some idea about what had happened,…
Tony and Manja speak on marriage equality at a rally in Melbourne, 2014. Tony Briffa, our Vice President, is getting married to Manja today in council chambers in Dunedin, NZ. Tony is a Councillor and former Mayor of Hobsons Bay, Victoria. We share Tony and Manja’s excitement! We hope that today is beautiful for both Tony and Manja and we wish them heartfelt best wishes for a wonderful future together. Love and hugs from everyone in OII Aus…
…airs will become our joint Executive Directors as of 1 December 2016. Both Tony Briffa and Morgan Carpenter will be contracted part time on systemic advocacy, health and human rights work for Australians with intersex traits. A key initial task will be to develop a business plan for the organisation, but we also expect both Morgan and Tony to increase our availability, our visibility and our engagement in Australia and internationally. We would li…
Tony Briffa writes on becoming mayor of Hobsons Bay, Victoria. Tony Briffa has written for the Intersex Day Project on becoming the world’s first openly intersex elected public official. In 2009 and 2010 I was elected to the position of Deputy Mayor, and in 2011 I was elected Mayor. I am currently an elected Councillor. This all means that I became the first publicly ‘out’ intersex person elected to office anywhere in the world, but it wasn…
…nternal testes. Rather than go through the process familiar to many gay and lesbian people of coming out to oneself and then others, Briffa had to be told about being intersex by someone else. Tony Briffa talks about disclosure in this interview by Benjamin Riley of the Star Observer newspaper. More information Read the interview at the Star Observer…
…y proud Malta is the first country to stand up and put a stop to it,” says Tony who was born with Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Tony discusses the mental health impact of early surgical intervention, and the need to recognise all kinds of intersex gender identities – including both ‘M and F’ for Tony. More information Calleja, Claudia. “‘Healthy Hermaphrodite’ Is Both Man and Woman.” Times of Malta. 16 February 2015. O…
…e Morgan Carpenter was elected to the role of president in 2013 and joined Tony Briffa as co-chair from November 2015. A founding director, Morgan was diagnosed late, followed by multiple so-called “normalising” surgeries. Morgan wrote our submissions to Senate inquiries on anti-discrimination legislation, and involuntary or coerced sterilisation, and also participated in hearings on those inquiries. Morgan participated in the first intersex exper…
…ay Territorian, Sunday Times and the Sunday Tasmanian. It’s based on Tony’s own words, and we’re proud of Tony for doing this! It’s a challenge living in a society that’s divided so clearly into men and women. But I feel very comfortable having accepted my true self and that I’m not male or female, but both. I’ll continue to live as “Tony” but I’m now at a point in my life where I can cel…