• WHAT:
  A visible challenge to Concealment-Centered medical protocols that believe early cosmetic surgeries on genitals is more important than honest discussion of the facts.
• WHEN:
  Friday, September 26th
  6:30am until 9am
  
  • The timing coincides with a scheduled surgery on a child whose body may not qualify as normal according to medically defined parameters. This surgery is being performed by a well-known pediatric urologist that may be "viewed from a central location at CCMC".

    This surgeon's main interests involve genital surgeries on intersex children. On Thursday, September 25, this particular surgeon is doing UConn Grand Rounds with pediatric urology residents called : "Feminizing Genitoplasty and Total Urogenital Mobilization". The vast majority of these surgeries are purely cosmetic in nature.

• WHERE:
  Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
  In front of the Main Entrance (the "glass ball")
  282 Washington Street
  Hartford, Connecticut 06106
  • Directions: http://www.ccmckids.org/Directions/index.html
• WHY:
  One in 2,000 people are born with medical conditions that result in congenital anomalies of the reproductive and sexual system. A person with an intersex condition is born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia, or an internal reproductive system that is not considered "standard" for either male or female. Surgical ‘correction’ has been the standard of medical care for over 50 years, but the protocol has come under intense scrutiny as many adult survivors voice their outrage of what was done to them as children. In hospitals across the United States, 5 children each day are subjected to nonconsensual cosmetic genital surgeries. CCMC is representative of every hospital that facilitates genital mutilation of infants and children whose lives will forever be physically and emotionally scarred with shame, secrecy and isolation.
• WHO WILL BE THERE:
  • People that believe a child should be allowed to grow in the bodies they were born with.
  • People that understand the importance of self determination and bodily integrity.
  • Survivors and patient advocates that support a new patient-centered protocol.

Logistics:

Please see our guidelines for making this a successful action. (word doc)

We are planning a peaceful, educational demonstration. Our methods will include flyers given to passerbys, and people entering the hospital on this day. We will also be carrying signs expressing our dismay. A noise permit is in the process of being secured. A gathering permit is not required as long as we do not block access and keep moving on the public sidewalk outside the hospital.

Due to our limited funding and the the urgency of this action, we are asking participants to bring their own signs. Please see our suggested signage page for recommended slogans to use on your signs.

This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to publicly show their support against intersex genital mutilation (IGM)

The goal of this peaceful action is to bring enhanced and increasing public attention to what is occurring to the five intersex children a day that undergo IGM. It's also a great way to get the attention of people who may live their entire lives not knowing this travesty is still happening in their city, and in this country and world.

Please sign-up for our discussion list for late-breaking news concerning this event and to organize rideshares if necessary.

We expect a very large turnout and hope to see you there. Please bookmark this page for any updates between now and Friday, September 26, 2003.

A Publicity Flyer To Post On Your Campus and Elsewhere:

• Friday's Child (pdf)

Can't Attend? You can still help:

Even if you are unable to attend, you can show your support by making a tax-deductible donation of any size to help us fund the costs that will be incurred. A donation now will be an investment towards helping us end intersex genital mutilation. You can even make an immediate donation online. We would also like to videotape this historic event for archival purposes and if you can help us out with purchasing a much needed videocamera, we would be especially grateful. Taping an event such as this event will help us further our educational outreach now and in the future.

Here's what some of our supporters around the country are saying.

Are you part of the media?

Please see our media release.

Need to learn more about IGM?

Bodies Like Ours is primarily an international peer-support organization for intersex individuals, their families, loved ones, and allies. We work closely with many other intersex organizations, including the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) ISNA is primarily a policy and advocacy organization. We have several PDF's you can download and print to familiarize yourself with the issues surrounding intersexuality. More educational material can be found at the website of the Intersex Initiative.

Our common goals include changing the medical protocol that recommends early genital surgery for intersex babies, and eliminating the shame, secrecy and isolation that surrounds intersexuality and all of those affected by it.