International Intersex Awareness Day (IAD) began as a grassroots initiative in 2004 to help others learn about intersex people and their lives. This year a twitterstorm campaign is being launched aiming to make intersex stories rather than surgeries a worldwide trend on Twitter for one day. The campaign calls for everyone, intersex or not, to share a tweet using the hashtag #IntersexStories and help bring a positive message to the internet on 26 October. Due to the time differences between countries and the desire to activate Twitter, those tweeting from New Zealand are asked to do so in the prime time of 2pm Tuesday 27 October. The twitterstorm is lead by intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis who told GayNZ.com that International Intersex Awareness Day has grown immensely since its inception which consisted of a handful of intersex activists and a dream. Today the international day has grown to include talks, film screenings and other awareness events all over the world. “This year has been pretty big for our movement”, says Pagonis. “Malta passed the world's first comprehensive intersex protection law and the UN declared what often happens to us under the guise of medical care as human rights abuses. “With all the momentum we've seen, I wanted to come up with a new and grand way to mark the day that would raise awareness and allow anyone with access to the Web to participate.” Pagonis says the twitterstorm, which is a group of people simultaneously tweeting using the same hashtag, was inspired by successful campaigns run by their friends in Chicago. “That inspired me and I decided to create a twitterstorm for IAD with the goal of raising awareness and hopefully trending intersex worldwide to honour the day! As a documentary filmmaker I believe in the immense power that lies in the act storytelling and see twitter as a platform with the potential to allow intersex people, our family/friends and allies to tell their stories and reclaim the narrative back from the medical establishment. More information on how to participate and promote the event can be found here. Make sure to also check out the Intersexday website, the new hub promoting human rights events for Intersex Awareness Day and Intersex Day of Solidarity.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 19th October 2015 - 8:52am