Intersex Awareness Day
Intersex Awareness Day is an internationally observed awareness daydesigned to highlight human rights issues faced by intersex people
History
The event marks the first public demonstration by intersex people in North America, on October 26, 1996, outside the venue in Boston where the American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference.[2][3] Intersex activists fromIntersex Society of North America were Morgan Holmes and Max Beck,[4][5] alongside allies from Transexual Menace including Riki Wilchins.[4] The group demonstrated carrying a sign saying "Hermaphrodites With Attitude".
The commemoration day itself began in 2003[5][7] with the establishment of a central awareness raising site by Betsy Driver and Emi Koyama.[5] A central awareness raising site was later re-established in 2015 by Morgan Carpenter with support from Open Society Foundations.
Observance
Intersex Awareness Day is an international day of grass-roots action to end shame, secrecy and unwanted genital cosmetic surgeries on intersex children.[2][9] The day also provides an opportunity for reflection[10][11] and political action.] Between October 26 and November 8, intersex organizations try to bring attention to the challenges intersex individuals face, culminating in the Intersex Day of Remembrance[3] on the birthday of Herculine Barbin, also sometimes known asIntersex Solidarity Day.
Notable observances
On Friday 25 October 2013, the day before Intersex Awareness Day that year, the Australian Senate published a report on an inquiry titled the Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia. On 11 November 2014, the New South Wales Legislative Council in Australia passed a motion marking Intersex Awareness Day and calling on the State government to "work with the Australian Government to implement the recommendations" of the 2013 Senate committee report.
For Intersex Awareness Day 2014, the Senate of the German Land of Berlin issued a statement calling for self-determination for intersex people.[18] Also in 2014, the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, held a visibility event on intersex issues.
In 2015, institutional events included the launch of an Intersex Human Rights Fund by Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice,[20] and a motion submitted to New South Wales Legislative Assembly in Australia by Greens MP Jenny Leong.[21] A historic lawsuit was filed by The Intersex Campaign for Equality (aka OII-USA) Associate Director Dana Zzyym, who announced that they, along with their representatives from Lambda Legal, the U.S.'s oldest LGBT legal rights organization, are suing the United States Department of State for legal gender recognition on their passport as someone who is neither male nor female.[22] Zzyym was born intersex and identifies as non-binary and is seeking accurate federal gender recognition as such.[23] Buzzfeed reported that over 4.2 million people saw personal stories posted on social media in an action coordinated by activist Pidgeon Pagonis.
| Intersex Awareness Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Intersex community, LGBT communities & allies |
| Type | International |
| Date | October 26 |
| Next time | 26 October 2016 |
| Frequency | annual |
0 Comments