Human rights at a time of instrumentalisation and backlash
I have a new book chapter out, on the anti-gender/anti-trans backlash and its impact on intersex organising. The entire book is peer-reviewed and available free (open access).
Page last reviewed 9 January 2023
Intersex variations comprise a set of innate biological characteristics. The bodies of people with intersex variations are routinely subjected to medical interventions intended to make them function or appear more typically female or male, reinforced through a modern clinical construction of intersex traits as “disorders of sex development.” For nearly thirty years, an intersex movement has challenged these interventions. Since 2013, the international human rights system has supported demands for an end to forced and coercive medical practices driven by social and cultural norms, and for access to resourced peer and family support, and redress. Few jurisdictions have yet to adequately meet these demands. Over this period, an LGBT movement and an opposing anti-gender movement have instrumentalized claims about the existence and categorization of intersex people in a dehumanizing debate. Human rights bodies, scholars and advocates can help to address these circumstances by attending to the specific circumstances of intersex people, disentangling misconceptions, and focusing attention on practical reforms to implement human rights protections.
Big thanks to the editorial team, especially Sofia Gruskin, for their help and support.
Read the paper (open access), courtesy of Bloomsbury Collections.