Alex Jürgen (born September 7, 1976) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

activist. Jürgen was the first person in Austria to receive a birth certificate and passport with

legal recognition of non-binary gender Multiple countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender classifications. These classifications are typically based on a person's gender identity. In some countries, such classifications may only be available to intersex people, born with ...

after having fought for it in court.

Life

Alex Jürgen was born intersex in a hospital in

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...

and was assigned male at birth by the doctors. His parents gave him the name Jürgen. Two years later, doctors advised his parents to socialize him as a girl from then on because of an underdevelopment of his male sex characteristics. His first name was changed to Alexandra, through a medical intervention his penis and his inner testicles were removed.

Elisabeth Scharang Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS Elizabeth, HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * Elisa ...

shot a documentary film about him and his fight for recognition of intersexual people in Austria. The film was released in 2006 as ''Tintenfischalarm'' and had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Alex Jürgen was one of the first people in Austria to openly talk about their intersexuality and advocate for intersex rights. In 2014, Jürgen founded the intersex rights organisation Verein intergeschlechtlicher Menschen Österreich (VIMÖ) and was an active member until 2018. Since then, he is an honorary member. From 2016 on, together with the lawyer Helmut Graupner from the human rights organisation Rechtskomitee Lambda he issued a complaint at the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

in order to get a non-binary sex entry in his passport and birth certificate. In June 2018, the Constitutional Court confirmed that a third option needs to be introduced, referring to article 8 of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurgen, Alex 1976 births Living people Intersex non-binary people Austrian LGBT rights activists Intersex rights activists Non-binary activists 21st-century Austrian LGBT people Castrated people