Raising Our Voices
October 26, 1996, marks the anniversary of the first public demonstration by intersex people in the United States. Members of the now-defunct Intersex Society of North America and their allies arrived in Boston, MA, at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics. They demonstrated and shared their pain in a very public way, denouncing non-consensual infant genital surgeries and demanding the medical industry take notice. Doctors dismissed the activists as a vocal minority in a 1997 New York Times article covering the intersex action. The tides are slowly changing.
TODAY, intersex people and our allies are following in their footsteps, organizing in cities around the U.S. and around the world. https://interactadvocates.org/intersex-awareness-day/
People of interest include:
Betsy Driver organized the first Intersex Awareness Day that took place in 2004. It was two people and an email exchange. The period between October 26th and November 8th (Intersex Solidarity Day) is intersex Awareness. https://intersexday.org/en/origin-intersex-awareness-day/
Max Beck participated in the protest in Boston at the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) convention. Please read his testimonial here: https://isna.org/books/chrysalis/beck/
We hope you have found these posts informative and increased your understanding of what Intersex is and how you can help advocate for change. People who are Intersex have a very high rate of mental illness and are at a higher risk of suicide. Here are the links to help connect with others:
https://interactadvocates.org/
These posts are available on the Rainbow Wellness Collective website at https://www.rainbowwellnesscollective.org/blog