Our submission to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

We thank the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their inclusion of  intersex people in their Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Comments and Suggestions on the Health and Health Research Needs, Specific Health Issues and Concerns for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Populations.  You can read our submission here: NIH Submission

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Europe adopts historic resolution on children’s right to physical integrity!

The Council of Europe is an an international organization which focuses on promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe, and is comprised of 47 member nations. On October 1st, 2013, it adopted a resolution on the protection of children’s rights to physical integrity which included intersex people. The Council of Europe’s Resolution 1952, “Childen’s right…

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Viloria in The Advocate on “Why We Need to Protect Intersex Babies”

We’re very pleased that The Advocate has shown a continuing interest in educating its many readers on intersex issues!  The essay not only educates regarding the discrimination and harm involved in non-medically necessary cosmetic genital surgery and sex reassignment of intersex babies (a.k.a. “Intersex Genital Mutilation”/IGM), but helps people understand and make important decisions about…

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Watch Hermaphrodites Speak! the first intersex documentary

“The problem is not with the [intersex] child, the problem is with the attitudes towards the child.” — Hida Viloria, 1996 “I know, from my experience of my very own body… the really wonderful sensitivity that I had before surgery, in terms of genital sensation, and the tremendous orgasms that I had before… so it’s…

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Your Beautiful Child: Information for Parents

Congratulations on the birth of your baby! This information addresses common questions and concerns regarding variations in sex anatomy, or intersex variations, to help you welcome your baby and make decisions that promote the health and well being of the entire family.   Updated 2024 One Sheet (with updated links, etc) YOUR BEAUTIFUL CHILD: INFORMATION…

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Petition on ending intersex female genital cutting in the US

We invite readers to sign this petition by Advocates for an Informed Choice in the US: Dear Secretary Clinton & Ambassador Verveer, February 6, 2013 marks the tenth annual International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). Cosmetic genital surgery is a practice of cutting girls so that they can fit cultural norms,…

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Reexamining Rationales of “Fairness”: An Athlete and Insider’s Perspective on the New Policies on Hyper­androgenism in Elite Female Athletes

OII global chair, Hida Viloria, and former Olympic athlete Maria Jose Martínez-Patino write in The American Journal of Bioethics on proposed policies by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the IOC relating to hyperandrogenism in women athletes (but notably not male athletes). Read full article Reexamining Rationales of Fairness An Athlete and Insider s…

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