"#MyIntersexStory": OII Europe book of personal accounts

Our friends in OII Europe have published an excellent illustrated book of personal accounts of intersex people living in Europe. The book contains 15 testimonies by people with lived experience and their families, illustrated by intersex artist Ins A Kromminga. The book also contains a text by intersex scholar and sociology professor Janik Bastien Charlebois on the importance of first-person accounts.

Janik states:

“Intersex first-person accounts are at the forefront of intersex activism, along with intersex-made essays and academic articles. This book embodies this. We hope that these first-person accounts, in providing the tools or hermeneutical resources for understanding intersex experiences and perspectives, will help overcome internal exclusion and ensure intersex people’s right to decide what to do with their own bodies and lives.” 

Illustrator Ins A Kromminga, Awareness Raising & Campaigns Officer of OII Europe, states in their foreword:

“In combining the texts with images this brochure provides an additional non-textual layer of reflection, rest, and stimulus. Telling our stories is an emotional endeavour, can be a challenge, and definitely is a huge step out of invisibility. Deciding on what and how much we want to share with the world is part of reclaiming dignity, integrity, autonomy in our lives, our human rights, and it’s also about recognizing beauty in our lives.”

OII Europe board member Irene Kuzemko states:

“The power of first-hand intersex experiences and stories allows people to learn what our community is going through on a personal level and often can make a bigger impact than just unnecessary surgery statistics. The fact that there are people of all ages sharing their traumas and stories in this book show us that intersex human rights violations have been happening for far too long. It’s time to listen to the intersex community and join us in our fight for our human rights.”

Download

Download a PDF copy of the book for free at https://www.oiieurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/testimonial_broch_21-21cm_for_web.pdf

Read the press release by OII Europe.