ShoutOut to our LGBTQ+ Role Models: Intersex Folks
/This is the last post in our series where we ShoutOut to our LGBTQ+ role models. You can read ShoutOuts to Lesbian and Queer Woman, Gay and Queer Men, Bi folks, Trans folks, Pan people, and Ace people! This blog is a ShoutOut to the incredible Intersex heroes who enrich our lives.
Written by a Intersex ShoutOut volunteer and amazing human who will be anonymous for this post. Here are their icons:
ShoutOut marching in Dublin Pride 2019 with Intersex Pride Flags
As an intersex person, it can be difficult to meet others - never mind find intersex icons to admire. Hopefully after you’ve read this though, you’ll realise that intersex people a pretty awesome group! There are many incredible intersex people to admire, here are only a few.
Hanne Gaby Odiele
Hanne Gaby Odiele is a Belgian model who publically came out as intersex in 2017. Since then, she’s been a vocal advocate for the intersex community - partnering with InterAct, and raising awareness through interviews with major publications like Teen Vogue and The Times (U.K.). In these interviews, she’s raised crucial points
It’s also just pretty cool to have an intersex person be such a beauty icon! Odiele has appeared on the cover of Vogue and Revue de Modes and booked some of the industry's most lucrative campaigns, including those for Balenciaga, Vera Wang, and DKNY Jeans.
Caster Semenya
Semenya is a double Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion runner over 800m. However, since her rise to world champion in 2009, her gender, and possible advantages in her biology due to an intersex variation, have been under the microscope. The International Association of Athletics Federations proposed a rule to restrict the level of testosterone permitted in female runners in events between 400m and a mile - a proposal Semenya unsuccessfully challenged.
Arguably the most important part of the case? Sport has traditionally been divided into male and female categories, but Semenya’s case highlights that because of elite intersex athletes, it may be an artificially binary distinction.
Emily Quinn
Emily describes herself as a ‘ballsy intersex activist who uses humor and storytelling to create a more welcoming world for people who don’t fit in a box.’ Ballsy indeed, given she rose to prominence when she came out on MTV! She uses her YouTube channel and any other platform she can get (such as her Ted Talk to raise awareness of intersex issues and to generally show people that it’s okay to be different.
Pidgeon Pagonis
Pidgeon is an activist on behalf of not just intersex people, but also marginalised communities more generally. They are a youth advocate with InterAct, a YouTuber and even sell intersex - positive merch. Possibly most notable, they’re known for railing against normalising surgeries being carried out on intersex infants in their native Chicago. Pagonis was even one of nine LGBT artists honoured as an Obama White House Champion of Change in 2015.
Kimberly Zieleman
Kimberly is the Executive Directly of InterACT, an organisation which advocates for children born with intersex traits. She is a fearless leader to the world of Intersex human rights, especially for young people. As an intersex woman, Kimberly has written a memoir called XOXY which we have preordered and can’t wait to read!
