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October 26 is the first annual Intersex Awareness Day, the (inter)national day of grass-roots action to end shame, secrecy and unwanted genital cosmetic surgeries on intersex children. October 26 has been selected as the anniversary of the first public demonstration by intersex activists and allies at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics back in 1996. The action generated a lot of press coverage, and made it difficult for the medical community to continue to neglect our growing movement. Eight years later, activists and allies are renewing the public pressure on the medical community to encourage them to change the way they treat intersex.
Earlier this month, Boulder County Public Health became the first public agency to officially recognize October 26 as the Intersex Awareness Day. BCPH is sponsoring a public event to raise awareness of intersex in conjunction with the GLBT Resource Center and other groups at University of Colorado (see IAD website for the full listing of scheduled events across the country).
In addition to recognizing the date, the Boulder County Board of Health resolved to support "the efforts of this day to promote social awareness and understanding toward intersex individuals, to address the invisibility and stigma attached to intersexuality, and to educate the medical community about the critical nature of full disclosure for parents of intersex children and non-surgical treatment options for intersex infants."
Meanwhile, Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Tom Ammiano introduced a resolution proclaiming October 26 as the Intersex Awareness Day to the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. In an impassioned speech, Supervisor Dufty noted: "I do believe that this is groundbreaking work, and these are difficult issues. And I think things have evolved and changed but I think as the government we have an opportunity to create greater awareness and understanding and I think this is one of these issues I think we should be supporting." The Board of Supervisors is expected to endorse the resolution on its October 26 meeting.
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In Portland, Intersex Initiative is hosting the Intersex Film Night at Portland State University campus on October 28 (note the date--it's scheduled two days after the official IAD). The event will be held in Room 290 of the Smith Memorial Union from 7-9pm, and is open and free to everyone.
Here is the program for the night:
"Hermaphrodites Speak!" (1996). The first-ever documentary by and about intersex individuals that started it all. Filmed at the historic retreat for adults who grew up with intersex conditions, in which participants share their stories with each other--and with viewers--for the first time. 30 min.
"XXXY" (2000). Short yet highly emotional film in which two intersex individuals discuss their experiences of growing up with shame, secrecy and unwanted surgeries. 12 min.
"Mani's Story" (2003). A powerful documentary from New Zealand that follows intersex activist Mani Mitchell's journey to meet her U.S. counterparts as she shares recollections from her life history of treacherous early childhood to self-acceptance and reconciliation. 60 min.
"Born Queer: dear doctors" (2003). A spoken word piece that deals with issues of identity, survival and self-representation juxtaposed with the montage footage from a porn shoot involving the artist and others. 5 min.
The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Women's Studies at Portland State University.
Posted by Emi on Oct 25, 2004