Rift emerges between minority groups

Rift emerges between minority groups

A rift has emerged among advocates for Australia’s sex and gender minorities, with the peak intersex advocacy group Organisation Intersex International (OII) Australia refusing to participate in the first national sex and gender diverse people’s rally on May 12.

OII Australia president Gina Wilson said the rally had misrepresented intersex needs by applying its demands to all “intersex, sex and/or gender diverse (ISGD) people,” when some did not apply to intersex people and, if applied to them, could be detrimental.

“The recent Canberra rally looked wonderful, but we have reservations,” Wilson said.

“Every single speech and all representations of intersex were made by transpeople. We think this is a grossly unbalanced representation of intersex people who, in the vast majority, live non-trans lives.

“Some of those who spoke to the rally, in our opinion, misrepresented intersex needs.”

Wilson was concerned that the rally had called for the full implementation of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Sex Files Report for “all ISGD people” when the Sex Files Report had not dealt with intersex issues.

According to Wilson, if intersex people were treated in the same way as transgender and transsexual people as recommended in the report then intersex people could find themselves having to submit to a gender recognition panel.

Another demand by the rally, “full Medicare funding for medical and psychological procedures needed by any ISGD people” did not apply because intersex people already had full access to free surgery, Medicare numbers for all procedures and PBS subsidies on most medications.

“The call for access to specialist healthcare is essentially a trans-objective,” Wilson said.

“We support that but, importantly, only as long as it doesn’t impose barriers on access to services by intersex.

“Close consultation with intersex and Australian intersex organisations might have seen a more balanced and inclusive list of demands that would achieve wide intersex support.”

Wilson has asked that organisations cease using the term ISGD as it implied intersex needs were the same as transsexual and transgender needs.

The Star Observer sought comment from rally organising group Still Fierce but none was forthcoming.

However in an individual statement a member of the Still Fierce collective, Indi Edwards, claimed Wilson’s criticisms amounted to bullying and said Still Fierce could advocate for intersex people because its membership included people who identified as intersex.

“Gina Wilson has no place telling people what to do,” Edwards said.

The group would not be complying with her request not to use the term ISGD but was willing to discuss her concerns.

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13 responses to “Rift emerges between minority groups”

  1. AIC will bring to an end all cosmetic genital surgery (with out informed consent) on intersex children within 5yrs.
    What has OII done for chidren born with atypical sex? Not much.

  2. I am classic CAH and can prove it from medical documents.As for OII Autralia I want nothing to do with them because of the way they attacked Professor A Dreger.
    JMB

  3. I note that Gina says that ‘…intersex people already had full access to free surgery, Medicare numbers for all procedures and PBS subsidies on most medications.’ However, in 2010 OII made submission on Intersex issues to the Australian Human Rights Commission in which they said that:

    ‘[The] Specific Needs for Intersex are.
    ‘For Medicare non sexed Medicare numbers so that, Intersex can have all of their anatomy considered irrespective of sex binary expectations.
    ‘For the TGA: to extend their research consideration to Intersex so that biologys [sic] other than male and female are considered when approving new drugs and allowing some for use only in a narrow sex binary sense. Sex hormones and hormone suppressors are two clear examples.
    ‘For PBS to allow the provision of subsidised of more bio identical hormones for those on various regimes of HRT … The proscribing [sic] of hormone suppressors such as Androcur to Intersex people is associated with being put on a list of people who might be possible criminal sex offenders. Androcur prescription regime should be expanded to include the possible proscribing of that drug to people on the basis of their Trans or Intersex.
    ‘Such off label proscribing [sic] has been taking place since the introduction of all of these drugs into Australia. That they have the desired effect and cause more good than harm is well known to experts in the field of Intersex and Trans. The data needs to be formalised and the allowable uses for those drugs expanded, urgently.’

    For Gina to turn around, a year later, and say, essentially, “it’s all good, we’re set” seems somewhat peculiar. I’m tempted to wonder if OII is cutting off its collective nose to spite its collective face.

    Lady Sappho
    OII-Australia and New Zealand/Review of Human Rights 2010/Submission on Intersex issues to the Australian-HRC – http://preview.tinyurl.com/6dblsql

  4. Oh great. A fight over who’s the most Intersex or who really represents the Intersex. There is NO organisation in Australia that represents all Intersex people, or even attempts to represent more than a dozen Intersex people. Personally I think both organisations are trying to improve our lot, and both obviously represent some Intersex people. But really, loosing it all in a fight over words pisses me off. If either claimed to be my representative, right now I’d tell them both to do a better job of it, get together and sort out your differences in PRIVATE before going public and showing such division to the media. But neither of them represent me. Lets get it very clear who represents me, I do. No one else. So that makes me the peak body for representing Intersex people in my area.
    So can we stop this talk of representing and peak bodies. Neither of them exist, and won’t until people start working together instead of working apart.
    Sorry for the grumble, but this polatrics (not the people involved though) really pisses me off. We don’t have the time or people to split our efforts. We need to show a united face.

  5. Tracie O’Keefe’s name comes up with astonishing regularity in a Wikipedia article using the term intersex in a phrase “to replace the umbrella terms transgender and sex and/or gender diverse in a more inclusive fashion”. And isn’t that statement a tautology anyway?

  6. Once again it needs to be pointed out that OII Australia is most certainly not a “peak intersex advocacy group” as claimed at the start of this article and OII most certainly has never stated nor claimed to be that or a peak organization of any kind. Where on the OII Australia website does it say that OII Australia is a “peak organization? for example? Nowhere. The reason is, simply, that it is not. Here is the wikipedia entry on what a “peak organization” is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_organisation

    Editor: The term “peak” is used in this context to convey that OII Australia is the only group that focuses solely on the rights and needs of intersex people in this country. Outside its use in Australian business language the term is generally considered to convey that something is at the top of its field or the primary vehicle for something.

  7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex,_Sex_and/or_Gender_Diverse_(ISGD)

    Intersex, Sex and/or Gender Diverse (ISGD)

    Intersex, Sex and/or Gender Diverse (ISGD) is a collective phrase, mostly used in Australia, designed to replace the umbrella terms transgender and sex and/or gender diverse in a more inclusive fashion.

    Definition

    ‘Intersex, sex and/or gender diverse (I.S.G.D.) people includes people who are intersex, transexed, transsexual, transgendered, cross-dressers, androgynous, without sex and/or gender identity or people with culturally specific sex and/or gender differences. No one person can be I.S.G.D., it is a phrase to describe a collective of groups of people.'[1]

    Need for a new term

    These groups of people have historically often been considered separate entities but this phrase collectively brings together all people who are atypical in their physiological sex and/or gender presentation.[2] The phrase does not incorporate sexuality and thus differs from acronyms such as LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed) and variants. In 2010, Dr Tracie O’Keefe presented a paper on the term at the GBLT Health in Difference Conference in Sydney, Australia[3], explaining that the previous commonly used term, transgender, often alienated the very groups it was intended to include.

    On May 26, 2010, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health(WPATH) issued a statement calling for the ‘de-psychopathologisation of gender variance’. In that statement, WPATH said that ‘the psychopathologlisation of gender characteristics and identities reinforces or can prompt stigma, making prejudice and discrimination more likely, rendering transgender and transsexual people more vulnerable to social and legal marginalisation and exclusion, and increasing risks to mental and physical well-being.'[4]. Dr Tracie O’Keefe uses the term ISGD, in part, to undermine the notion that there is something drastically psychologically wrong with ISGD people by the very nature of their existence.[5] Some ISGD groups may have medical conditions, for instance Androgyn Insensitivity Syndrome or congenital adrenal hyperplasia, but that does not lead to them being mentally incompetent[6]. This is a collective phrase of the people, not of the medicalisation of the existence of ISGD people.

    Shortly after the Health in Difference conference, the term ISGD was adopted by the campaigning group Sex and Gender Education (SAGE) Australia[7], to replace the phrase “sex and/or gender diverse” to help give this group more visibility. Dr Tracie O’Keefe is spokesperson for Sex and Gender Education (SAGE) Australia[8].

    Usage

    Since it was coined, this term has increased in popularity with a variety of groups and is gaining some acceptance in the mainstream.

    In June 2010, the Australian Human Rights Commission used the similar phrase ‘intersex or sex and/or gender diverse’ in a sentence in its Universal Periodic Review of Australia as the United Nations looked at Australia’s human rights performance.[9][10]

    On November 25, 2010, the Queensland group Freedom! Gender Identity Association Inc. made a submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission ‘Consultation: protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity’, recommending that ‘Federal anti-discrimination laws should limit use of exemptions to special measures to empower marginalised groups. We note that the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act has no specific exemptions for faith-based organisations in regard to sexual orientation. The same standard should be applied at a national level, and also in regard to intersex, and sex and/or gender diverse individuals.'[11]

    In “Addressing sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity discrimination – Consultation Report 2011”, the authors referred to submissions by SAGE Australia and Still Fierce[12] when they listed intersex, sex and/or gender diverse as one possible term which ‘participants suggested might be included in federal anti-discrimination law’ as part of their suggested ‘guiding principle [that] terminology should be kept as broad as possible with reference to the attribute that is being discriminated against rather than identities (which are always contested and exclusionary)'[13]. The SAGE Australia submission was prepared by Dr Tracie O’Keefe[14] The Australian Human Rights Commission report did not adopt the term; instead, the Commission uses the term sex and/or gender identity[15].

    It has been adopted by Still Fierce[16], the Sydney based collective of intersex, sex and/or gender diverse people. Dr Tracie O’Keefe was the media officer for a rally held by Still Fierce[17]. It has also been adopted by the Scarlet Alliance, the Australian sex workers collective[citation needed].

    ISGD was used as an overview phrase at the Queer Collaborations Conference at Wollongong University [citation needed] and in January 2011 the New South Wales Greens Party used the phrase in its final draft Human Rights Bill for New South Wales.[18] In the ACON (AIDS Council of New South Wales) hosted ‘Forum To Focus On Transphobia’ on 18 May 2011, one of the topics covered in discussion was “a new term ‘intersex, sex and gender diverse (ISGD)’.”[19]

    Controversy

    The intersex organisation, OII Australia (Organisation Intersex International Australia Limited), objects to the term ISGD, seeing it as an attempt to “erase the word intersex and intersex people altogether.”[20] OII Australia also states that it regards the term “introduced by Tracie O’Keefe” as “a way of pursuing political objectives that have little to do with the reality of most intersex lives”[21]. Following the use of the term in an article in the Star Online, OII Australia issued a response which stated, in part, that:

    “OII Australia rejects the terminology ISGD as not being truly inclusive of Intersex and as an appropriation of Intersex for what is essentially a Trans agenda. ISGD is Including Intersex in yet another unwanted umbrella term without wide intersex inclusion or consultation. Only individuals with no knowledge of Intersex or the struggle for Intersex rights over the last twenty years would contemplate attempting to rename and realign us in the same way the medical profession did in 2006 with disordered terminology that likewise misconstrued Intersex.”[22].

    International Intersex, Sex and/or Gender Diversity Day

    The first International Sex and/or Gender Diversity (SGD) day was celebrated on the 26th April 2010[23]. ISGD groups were encouraged to meet together in union and solidarity at picnics or social gatherings.

    National Rally

    On 11 May 2011, Still Fierce and other supporting organisations called Australian ISGD people, their families, and their allies together for a national rally outside Federal Parliament in Canberra to demand legal equality before the law for all ISGD people. ‘About 180 people gathered on the lawns of Parliament House, Canberra … for Australia’s first ever national rally by intersex, sex and/or gender diverse (ISGD) people.'[24]. Dr Tracie O’Keefe was the media enquiries representative for the rally and Still Fierce[25]

  8. Still Fierce Sydney’s membership is diverse, and includes people who identify as intersex, some of whom spoke at the national rally in Canberra.

    The hope of introducing a broad acronym like SGD (Sex and/or Gender
    Diverse) was that it would provide a space for all people who fall
    outside of traditional sex-gender binaries, including intersex, trans, genderqueer, butch women, femme men, genderpirates, androgynous, questioning…. And a space for anyone who experiences discrimination, harassment, mistreatment or violence based on their sex and/or gender embodiment or expression. We hoped to create a sense of community between all those who are left out, leftover, marked as deviant, or pathologised by mainstream, limiting, and ultimately restrictive, traditional understandings of sex and gender. We acknowledge that this
    project – finding common ground whilst respecting and celebrating
    differences, promoting a sense of solidarity without erasing the needs of specific groups – is difficult, constantly under construction, and always open for debate and renewal.

    Still Fierce Sydney adopted the use of ISGD (Intersex, Sex and/or
    Gender Diverse), replacing SGD (Sex and/or Gender Diverse), in order to acknowledge the long history of erasure and invisibility
    experienced by intersex people. Still Fierce believed that including Intersex within the collective acronym would signal our commitment to representing those whose experiences and lives are marginalised, silenced or erased. We acknowledge that some members of the intersex community outside of Still Fierce have felt this to be, on the contrary, an act of appropriation. In addition there are members of Still Fierce who have a preference for SGD as the most relevant descriptor for Still Fierce. The use of the term
    ISGD is currently under review by the collective, and a decision will be reached in the coming weeks. This review is not a simple process, as we have to consider the sustained critiques we are receiving, whilst at the same time we also need to respect and value intersex voices from within the collective.

    Still Fierce Melbourne has adopted SGD instead of ISGD at its meeting last weekend. SGD is an inclusive term that seeks to bring together all sex and/or gender diverse people and that includes those who are intersex and wish to be part of the national Still Fierce movement for equal rights for all.

  9. OII Australia welcomes statement by Still Fierce! Melbourne

    by Organisation Intersex International Australia Limited on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 5:00pm

    OII Australia warmly welcomes Tuesday’s statement by Still Fierce! Melbourne, and that collective’s adoption of language that more closely reflects its composition, expertise and goals.

    Both organisations are working to create social and political change for our communities, and we share many common goals. We must continue to recognise and be respectful of our differences, and share our concerns and experience.

    Members of OII Australia have engaged in constructive dialogue with Still Fierce! Melbourne and we expect that, from this new starting point, we can work together for mutual benefit and build a stronger case for real change.

    The Still Fierce! Melbourne statement can be read here: https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_195648087132139&view=doc&id=215906151772999

  10. Funny – now even the organisers have apologied.
    Tracie and norrie of course soldier on with their “you’re either with us or against us’ attitude

    A STATEMENT FROM STILL FIERCE! MELBOURNE – JUNE 7, 2011
    After discussions with Organisation International Intersex Australia (OII) and Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group (AISSG), Still Fierce Melbourne would like to formally annouce that as of 7th of June 2011, we will be using the term “Sex and/or Gender Diverse” (rather than “Intersex, Sex and/or Gender Diverse”).

    We formally apologise to all individuals and organisations that have felt offended by the use of ‘ISGD’ and ask for your trust in our aim to move forward in respect and solidarity. Still Fierce Melbourne would like to thank those from OII and other individuals and organisations who have been vocal about their position regarding our previously terminology – this has obviously been an effort on your part and we thank you for the patience and understanding you have shown to Still Fierce Melbourne and are grateful for the lessons we have learnt along the way.

    Our exact goals and mission statement are yet to be determined but we are made up of and welcome people who may identify as transsexual, transgender, trans*, intersex, tranny, genderqueer, cross dressers, butches, femmes, femme fags, fagettes, girlfags, boydykes, bois, trans men,trans women, gender non-specific trans* people, tranny dykes, transfags, gender pirates, androgynes, neutois, dandies, flappychaps, fancy gentlemen, gentlefags, unicorns, beasts, monsters, drag kings and queens, bearded ladies, ladyboys, dandy campers, gender outlaws, gender pirates, girly boys, princess boys, tomboys, cissies, androgynous, sinadrogynus (without sex andgender identity), people with sex and/or gender culturally specific differences. This list is constantly updated and is not exhaustive.

    We are keen to form alliances and engage in dialogue with other groups of sex and/or gender activists and look forward to building a relationship based on respect and support in the future.

    In solidarity,

    Still Fierce Melbourne

  11. Gina, i remember seeing you at the human rights commissions consultations made to inform their report and recommendations. So, you have issue with the outcome, but you and many other intersex people were consulted, and you just don’t get to decide what’s right for every other intersex person. Andrew, good to see the Star finally give some report of the first ever national rally for ISGD equality in Australia, if not very timely, better late than never hey. But please, consider what’s best vented therapeutically, and what’s appropriate for page 3 of a newspaper.

  12. Oii was invited to speak at the rally several times but they spit the dummy and refused to take part. Well if you don’t turn up blame yourself. Recently oii has been asked to attend talks but they spit the dummy again. Shall we use the intersex tape measure Gina to determin you are real and those of us who are intersex that spoke at the rally are fakes? Your intersex needs are not my intersex needs.

    Last week you claimed on your facebook that ISGD people had scared you out of your home, despite non of them knowing where you lived, and you where afraid of violence. People urged you to report it. Two weeks early you appeared at ACON with the Commissioner of Police urging intersex people to report threats of violence. Why have you not? You said a lawyer advised you not to. Seems pretty bad advice to me. Are sure they are a lawyer? Is there more than one kind of faking going on in you life.

    What a scary world you live in. Boggy men and fake intersex people who aren’t in your gang. Thank goodness I’m not you. We do ISGD in soldarity. You are welcome to join us at any time but grown ups only please.
    Tracie O’Keefe SAGE