Psyched that I asked the US gov’t to ban Intersex Genital Mutilation (IGM) here in the U.S. — as the Maltese government did there last week! 🙂 🙂 🙂 — and that I was able to discuss “interphobia”, in my interview in VICE:

“I often say we’re on the front lines of homophobia and transphobia, because whether or not we grow up to be LGBT, it’s assumed that we will, and there’s a false belief that these surgeries will stop that. So in a sense these surgeries are trying to prevent LGBT adults. They’re incredibly homophobic and transphobic as well as interphobic, and that’s why I really believe that we need to be included in the community….”

Also happy I got to give kudos to allies Silvan Agius​ & Ruth Baldacchino​, both formerly of ILGA Europe, for all their work in passing the long awaited legislation! The interviewer/author pulled some, in retrospect, overly doomsday concerns about the legislation’s potential limitations out of me, but I’m thrilled to have this issue get more attention in the press and thank VICE for doing so! 🙂

For those of you with time/interest, I make the following corrections to the piece:
1. I was one of 5 (not 3, as incorrectly implied in the edited piece) organizers of the 3rd International Intersex Forum in Malta.
2. The statement, “testes that turn out to be ovaries”, Is likewise inaccurate . they may have been attempting to refer to ovo-testis, a combination of ovarian and testicular tissue.
3. The omission that the law provides that the right to bodily integrity belongs to the child not the parents.

4. Silvan’s name is misspelled as “Slvn”. Grrrrr… sorry Silvan!!!

 

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