Astraea interview with Morgan Carpenter: "Designing intersex history"
As part of a series of eventing to mark the 10th anniversary of the Intersex Human Rights Fund at Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Astraea has published an interview with Morgan Carpenter on the intersex flag.
A bold design
Astraea remark:
Created in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter, an intersex man based in Australia, the intersex flag was intentionally designed to stand out, communicate values important to intersex communities, and be used widely and freely. The intersex flag has a simple design: a bold purple circle on a bright yellow background. The circle represents many things, including wholeness and bodily autonomy, while the colors yellow and purple both represent the strength and diversity of intersex communities while avoiding all references to gender.
Expressing our values
Morgan talks about the origins and intent of the flag, and the limitations of symbols, while reflecting a desire to construct an image that would convey a set of values:
The flag design tries to address other questions, such as how can I convey this notion that we should be able to make our own decisions about our own bodies and identities? How do I talk about bodily autonomy? How do I talk about bodily integrity?
I think having a symbol that works for us, one that is about our own values, has helped the movement grow. It’s an emblem of our wholeness.
The Intersex Human Rights Fund
The Intersex Human Rights Fund has provided vital resourcing for intersex-led organisations across the world. The fund was the first donor to both of InterAction's two founding organisations, Intersex Human Rights Australia and Intersex Peer Support Australia. There are significant limitations on grant size, but it remains crucial to the organisation.
Thank you to Casey, who interviewed Morgan for Astraea, and thanks to Astraea for inviting this contribution to mark the fund's anniversary.
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