Intersex Day of Remembrance, also known as Intersex Solidarity Day, is an internationally observed
civil awareness day designed to highlight issues faced by
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 b ...
people. It marks the birthday of
Herculine Barbin, a French intersex person whose memoirs were later published by
Michel Foucault
Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...
in ''
Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite.''
History
The event appears to have begun on November 8, 2005, as Intersex Solidarity Day, following an invitation issued by Joëlle-Circé Laramée, then Canadian spokeswoman for
Organisation Intersex International
The Organisation Intersex International (OII) is a global advocacy and support group for people with intersex traits. According to Milton Diamond, it is the world's largest organization of intersex persons. A decentralised network, OII was founded ...
.
The Organisation invited organisations and groups and individuals to show solidarity by marking: the life of
Herculine Barbin, or discussing intersex genital mutilation, "the violence of the binary sex and gender system" and/or "the sexism implicit within the binary construct of sex and gender".
Observance
While
Intersex Awareness Day on October 26 appears to be celebrated more in English-speaking countries, particularly in North America, Intersex Day of Remembrance has been marked mostly in Europe. Some countries, such as Australia and South Africa, mark both events and the days between as "14 days of intersex".
Notable observances
In 2012, the
New South Wales Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
acknowledged the day.
Linda Burney
Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician and is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Barton since the 2016 federal election. She is Minister for Indigenous Australi ...
, a Member of the Legislative Assembly, also commended
Organisation Intersex International Australia
Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA) is a voluntary organisation for intersex people that promotes the human rights and bodily autonomy of intersex people in Australia, and provides education and information services. Established in 2009 and ...
as part of a motion noting the day.
In 2014, Literaturhaus Salzburg, Austria, is the venue for an Intersex Solidarity Day event. A similar event was held at
University of Salzburg
The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (state ...
in 2013. On Intersex Solidarity Day 2016,
OII Europe launched a new visibility website, InterVisibility.eu, with material on intersex in 23 European languages.
See also
*
Intersex Awareness Day
*
Intersex human rights
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals, that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies."
Intersex peo ...
References
External links
Intersex Day site
{{Intersex
Events about intersex
Civil awareness days
November observances
LGBT-related observances
Recurring events established in 2005