We’ve had interviews like this piece, by Prospekt Magazine. Telling our personal stories is always challenging, bringing old wounds back to the surface. Alexander Berezkin, the interviewee in this article by Tatiana Kondratenko about intersex people in Russia, is to be congratulated. The problem with interviews like this is that Alexander’s story is incidental to…
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Every few years, the UN Committee against Torture reviews the performance of member states against the obligations of the Convention Against Torture. In June this year, OII Australia made a submission to the Committee to help it prepare a “List of Issues Prior to Reporting”, for the government to respond to. The Committee has now…
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The Family Court has recently published a decision on the sterilisation of a 5-year old child and, unfortunately, it reveals that: earlier genital surgery that “enhanced” her genitals without Court approval was viewed without concern, and with no evidence of necessity. The idea of “enhancing” the genitals of an infant or young child is disturbing….
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Witnessed by members and representatives of the South Australian LGBTI communities, on 1 December, the Hon. J Weatherill, Premier of South Australia put the following motion to the House of Assembly: 1. That this house recognises that many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community members have been discriminated against by South Australia’s legislation….
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With kind permission from both author and journal, we are pleased to share a paper by Aileen Kennedy entitled “Fixed at birth: Medical and legal erasures of intersex variations”, published earlier this year by the UNSW Law Journal. There is complicity between the medical and the legal construction of variations of sex development as pathological…
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Finding out you have an intersex variation can be a surprise! It doesn’t mean you’re alone. There are heaps of us out here with different intersex variations.
Body shaming is an intersex issue, perhaps even more than any other issue. This post intersperses quotations about intersex infants and children with quotations about the bodies of public figures.
Raising Rosie is a new book for parents of children born with variations of sex characteristics, written by Eric and Stephani Lohman, parents of a girl with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. When their daughter Rosie was born, Eric and Stephani Lohman found themselves thrust into a situation they were not prepared for. Born intersex – a…
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Much of the reporting on some women athletes participating in the Rio Olympics is insupportable. It makes assumptions about their bodies, sex, gender identity and expressions that is deeply concerning. Much reporting fails to acknowledge the lack of scientific evidence for body policing by sporting institutions, and the deep personal cost of such assumptions, which…
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The intersex population is far more diverse than commonly understood. This page presents details based on a 2015 independent Australian sociological survey.
OII Australia co-chair Morgan Carpenter has been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Reproductive Health Matters. Here is the article abstract: Intersex people and bodies have been considered incapable of integration into society. Medical interventions on often healthy bodies remain the norm, addressing perceived familial and cultural demands, despite concerns about necessity, outcomes, conduct and…
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The sponsorship of LGBTI events by IVF businesses raises ethical issues not just about the elimination of intersex traits, but also about the nature of community and comprehension of issues relating to intersex bodily diversity.
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