Yesterday, White House officials Jennifer Klein, Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the Gender Policy Council, and Chiraag Bains, Deputy Assistant to the President for Racial Justice and Equity, as well as Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Rachel Levine, hosted the first-ever White House roundtable with intersex advocates. The roundtable celebrated Intersex Awareness Day, which promotes dignity, visibility, and equal rights for the millions of people in America and around the world who are born with variations in physical sex characteristics.
Participants discussed the invisibility, stigma, and discrimination that far too many intersex Americans continue to face. They discussed the toll that non-consensual medical interventions and surgeries performed on intersex children often have on people’s mental and physical health. Participants also discussed the importance of advancing health equity and full equality for intersex Americans, including investing in research, securing non-discrimination protections, and advancing their visibility. Finally, participants highlighted the strength and resilience of the intersex rights movement and recent progress in advancing intersex equality at the state level.
The administration officials thanked participants for their advocacy and courage. They reiterated that the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to advancing justice, opportunity, and safety for intersex Americans. And they highlighted a new resource released today by the Department of Education on protecting the rights of intersex students.
Participants in today’s roundtable included:
- Katharine Baratz Dalke, MD
- Bria Brown-King
- Mo Cortez
- Georgiann Davis
- River Gallo
- Niki Khanna
- Jahni Leggett
- Niki Khanna
- Koomah
- Mary Mihevic, MSW
- Pidgeon Pagonis
- Sean Safia Wall
- Scout Silverstein
- Suegee Tamar-Mattis, DO
- Justin Tsang
- Hida Viloria
- Alicia Weigel
- Kimberly Zieselman
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