Steph Lum
Welcome to Issue 4 of YOUth&I, an intersex youth anthology that celebrates the creative works of young intersex people from around the world. YOUth&I is a publication by and for intersex people. In this issue, we are proud to share with you poems, song lyrics, prints, photographs, drawings and essays, including many translated works. YOUth&I actively welcomes pieces in languages other than English to ensure voices not heard as often can still be shared. We work with intersex contributors to translate their works and publish the original and its translation together so as not to lose their words and meaning.
People with intersex variations are often misunderstood. Particularly as young intersex people we are often told who we are, what our desires are and what we will want in the future. These things are assumed about us. Then our bodies are changed for us. Intersex people around the world are still routinely subject to non-consensual medical interventions, hormonal and surgical, to change our bodies to appear more normal – with the assumption of what is best for us. When performed without information, consent, and connection with other intersex people, we are forced into bodies to make other people more comfortable and told to act in a way they think we should live. We continue to fight for this to change by sharing our stories of who we are. My existence on its own is an act of resistance – IR-Is.
YOUth&I is based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri land, in Canberra, ACT, Australia. Since the last issue of YOUth&I, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has passed world-leading legislation to restrict medical interventions on intersex people (people with variations in sex characteristics) without consent. This represents a huge step forward in protecting our bodily autonomy, empowering us to make decisions over our own bodies, and recognising the importance of psychosocial support for us and our families. We hope that this legislation provides a model for other countries around the world, offers a chance for societies to learn, grow and include all people with variations in sex characteristics and other kinds of bodily diversity. I wanted to ensure that others like me wouldn’t have to endure the same struggles alone – Noor Alom.
This issue’s theme, Grow, captures this idea of learning and change. Learning about who we are, that other people like us exist, and learning from our experiences and those of intersex people around us to help us grow in new ways. Could I dare dream the thought, that this isn’t me? – Max Aurora.By learning how to live with our bodies in places that can treat us cruelly, we grow from these experiences and connections with others in new and sometimes unexpected ways. I am not a flower, but I can learn to treat myself like one. I can be exactly what I am and not have to apologise for the way I grow – Mouse. In this issue we also reflect on who we want to become and how we can get there. We take back our agency and create our own futures. Always remember that it’s never too late to do things right – Lee. This issue captures our different relationships with ourselves over time and embraces who we are and our intention for the future.
YOUth&I is also growing. We give our great thanks to Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA) who have generously funded this issue of YOUth&I. From an initial ACT government grant in 2019, to ongoing support from IHRA since then, YOUth&I is now an imprint of newly formed Orchid Paper Press, an independent publisher based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri land specialising in intersex stories. By sharing our stories, we make intersex people visible. Thank you to our translators for helping us elevate the voices of intersex people no matter where they live. And of course, thank you most of all to our young intersex people. Thank you for sharing your heart and your courage with the world.