.jpg)
Intersex Awareness Day
- annefay36
- Oct 26
- 2 min read
Written By Dustin Lowrey
Sunday, October 26th is Intersex Awareness Day, a day to celebrate intersex people and advocate for their right to make informed choices about their own bodies.
Intersex people are born with natural variations in their sex characteristics — such as anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, or reproductive organs — that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. These variations are a normal part of human diversity and occur in an estimated 1.7–2% of the population — that’s as common as having red hair. (Source: health.vic.gov.au)
Unfortunately, intersex people have long faced unnecessary and non-consensual medical procedures intended to “normalise” their bodies. These surgeries — such as clitoral reductions, gonad removals, or genital reconstructions — are often performed on infants or young children who cannot consent. These surgeries are still performed today in Brisbane. They are not medically essential and can lead to lasting harm including loss of sensation, infertility, urinary complications, chronic pain, and lifelong trauma. (Source: interACT via the FHRC)
Intersex advocacy groups and human rights organisations have called for an end to these procedures until individuals are old enough to make their own decisions. They stress that intersex variations are not defects, but natural expressions of human diversity. Raising intersex children without surgical intervention allows them to grow up and decide for themselves who they are and how they wish to live.
Currently, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is the only jurisdiction in Australia with laws protecting intersex people from non-consensual medical interventions. Advocates hope other states and territories will follow their lead to ensure full bodily autonomy and legal protection for all Australians with intersex variations.
Intersex people belong to every community — across all cultures, faiths, and genders — and deserve the same respect, autonomy, and dignity as anyone else.
Let’s use Intersex Awareness Day to amplify their voices, challenge outdated medical practices, and reaffirm that everyone deserves to live freely and fully in the body they were born with.
Comments