Books and selected journal articles on intersex issues, including fiction, peer-reviewed papers, and biographies.
In the second half of 2013, OII Australia participated in a ground-breaking study by Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE) and American Jewish World Service (AJWS) on funding for trans* and intersex community and human rights work. The study, The State of Trans* and Intersex Organizing, was published in December 2013 and the results are…
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We’ve recently seen a book by Alyssa Brugman, entitled “Alex as Well”. We believe that the author has confused intersex with non-binary identities, like genderqueer or bigender. This is often a sign of poor research, or the use of intersex as a mere plot device. Additionally, the depiction of cultural and linguistic minorities is a…
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There are no firm population figures for people with intersex variations, due to stigma, misconceptions, lack of accurate recording of data, arbitrary definitions, and ideological values.
Given a time extension for the Senate Inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation, and also a rapidly changing context due to new information, national and international developments, we took the opportunity to make a concluding submission to the Senate Committee on Community Affairs. The terms of reference for the Inquiry explicitly include the sterilisation and…
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We have made a fourth submission to the Senate Inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities, and intersex people, and it has now been published by the Senate. This submission, as with previous supplementary submissions, presents or analyses new information not available at the time of earlier submissions. It follows publication of…
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I loved this book. It vividly captures the effects of secrecy and shame on an intersex adolescent, and a family in crisis. It’s compassionately and beautifully written, from the perspective of six key characters: Max the protagonist, his brother, parents, doctor and friend. Unlike Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex, which manages to convey the impression that intersex…
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If you’re a new parent of an intersex child, or if you’re planning a pregnancy, or you’ve recently discovered that your child has an intersex variation, this page provides support information and resources.
Our submission to the Senate Inquiry on the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013 has just been published. While not as comprehensive as the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill, which seemingly could not generate sufficient support this side of an election, we welcome the tabled Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual…
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Download our full response document as a PDF On 27 February the Victorian Health Department published an important new medical decision-making framework for the treatment of intersex infants, children and adolescents. It has taken us some time to draft a full response, due in large part to work preparing submissions for the Senate Inquiry on…
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The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture issued a statement on 1 February 2013 in Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez recognising that intersex people have been subject to non-consensual medical normalisation treatment, and calling for an end to forced sterilisation, forced hormone…
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This paper was updated in September 2013, with a new final “impact” section that reflects the discontinuation of “SGD” and “DSG” terminology by the National LGBTI Health Alliance and many other organisations. We recommend browsing the Videos, Audio and Personal Stories sections of this website to gain familiarity with the diversity of intersex identities, genders,…
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Sociologist and intersex person Cary Costello has just published a great blog post at the Intersex Roadshow on how educational and scientific texts about a hermaphrodite fish are affected by the world view and beliefs of the writer. A central issue that makes life hard for intersex people is invisibility. Most people are unaware of…
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