List of intersex people explained
List of intersex people should not be confused with List of people with non-binary gender identities.
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies".[1]
Intersex people have many different gender identities, and so there is no presumption that people on this list have any particular sex assigned at birth, nor any particular gender identity.
This list consists of well-known intersex people. The individual listings note the subject's main occupation or source of notability.
Notable intersex people
A
- Carlett Brown Angianlee, Naval officer, considered likely to be the first African American to undergo SRS.
- Eden Atwood, U.S. jazz musician, actor, and an advocate for the civil rights of people born with intersex traits.
- Kitty Anderson, Icelandic intersex activist who regularly engages in advocacy/policy work and is the co-chair of OII Europe.[2] [3]
B
- Karl M. Baer (1885–1956), German-Israeli author, social worker, suffragette and Zionist.[4]
- Nubia Barahona, a ten-year-old American girl murdered in 2011.
- Herculine Barbin, the 19th century memoirs of this French intersex person were published by Michel Foucault in 1980.[5] Barbin's birthday, November 8, is now observed as Intersex Day of Remembrance.
- Janik Bastien-Charlebois, Quebecois sociologist, researcher and activist.[6] [7]
- Max Beck, U.S. activist and participant in the demonstration on October 26, 1996, that led to the establishment of Intersex Awareness Day.[8]
- Aleksander Berezkin, Russian intersex immigrants activist with Klinefelter syndrome.
- Maddie Blaustein, American voice actor and comic creator known for her roles as Meowth in Pokémon and E-123 Omega in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, content creator for Second Life.[9]
- Tony Briffa, Australian intersex and human rights activist; world's first out intersex Mayor and first publicly elected out intersex person.[10] Current co-executive director of Intersex Human Rights Australia, and Vice-President and former President of the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia.
- Alec Butler, Canadian playwright and filmmaker.
C
- Mauro Cabral, Argentinian intersex activist, writer, co-director of GATE
- Jeff Cagandahan, a Filipino intersex human rights activist at Intersex Asia who successful appealed for a change of name and gender on his birth certificate.[11]
- Lady Colin Campbell, UK author and socialite.
- Morgan Carpenter, Australian intersex activist who created the modern intersex flag which features a purple circle and yellow background, he is the co-executive director of Intersex Human Rights Australia.[12]
- Eleno de Céspedes, a 16th-century intersex person in Spain.
- Dutee Chand, Indian athlete who successfully challenged IAAF regulations preventing her from running.
- Cheryl Chase, also known as Bo Laurent, U.S. intersex activist and founder of the Intersex Society of North America.[13]
- Hiker Chiu, founder of Oii-Chinese.
- Caroline Cossey, English model.
- Cary Gabriel Costello, U.S. associate professor of sociology and advocate for transgender and intersex rights.
- Roberta Cowell, British racing driver and pilot.
D
- Lisa Lee Dark, Welsh opera singer and voice actress.
- Georgiann Davis, U.S. sociology scholar and researcher on intersex issues.
- Vaginal Davis, U.S. genderqueer performing artist, painter, composer and writer.
- Fiore de Henriquez (1921–2004), Italian-British sculptor.
- Tiger Devore, U.S. clinical psychologist, educator on intersex issues since 1984, appears in the short film XXXY (2000).
- Foekje Dillema (1926–2007), Dutch track and field athlete.
- Arisleyda Dilone, U.S. Latina film director and actor.
- Betsy Driver, Mayor of Flemington, New Jersey; intersex activist and first intersex elected official in the United States.[14]
- Karl Dürrge (also known as Maria Dorothea Derrier: 1780–1835), Prussian intersex man and human subject in medical research.
E
- Lili Elbe (1882–1931), Danish painter; she was a transgender and intersex woman, and one of the earliest transgender women to receive sex reassignment surgery.
F
- Florian-Ayala Fauna, American artist, musician, and music producer.[15]
- Favorinus of Arelate (c. 80 - c. 160 AD), a Roman sophist and philosopher who flourished during the reign of Hadrian.
- Fernanda Fernández (1755–unknown), Spanish intersex person.
- Sir Ewan Forbes (1912–1991), UK noble, formerly Elizabeth Forbes-Sempill and 11th Baronet of Craigievar.
- Sara Forsberg (born 1994), Finnish singer, songwriter, and television presenter[16]
- Crystal Frasier, American artist and game designer, and also a trans woman.[17] [18]
G
- River Gallo, Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, model, and intersex rights activist.
- Dan Christian Ghattas, German activist, historian and author of Human Rights between the Sexes, a first international comparative study of the human rights of intersex people and executive director of OII Europe.
- Gottlieb Göttlich (1798–unknown), German medical research subject.
- Seven Graham (born 1969), activist, comedian, filmmaker and playwright, and drug addiction counsellor.[19]
- Sarah Gronert, German tennis player.
- Sally Gross (1953–2014), South African intersex, anti-apartheid and Israel/Palestine human rights activist; secured first mention of intersex in anti-discrimination law.
H
- Thomas(ine) Hall, a person of indeterminate gender in 17th-century colonial Virginia.
- Bonnie Hart, Australian multi-disciplinary artist and president of the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia.
- Phoebe Hart, Australian filmmaker and director of Orchids, My Intersex Adventure, a 2010 auto-biographical documentary.
- Miriam van der Have, Dutch activist, co-chair of OII Europe and director of Nederlands Netwerk intersekse/DSD.[20] [21]
- Francis Heaulme, a French serial killer with Klinefelter syndrome.
- Morgan Holmes, Canadian activist, professor of sociology and author of several books on intersex including Critical Intersex.[22]
- Juliana Huxtable. U.S. artist and writer.
J
K
- Julius Kaggwa, award-winning Ugandan activist.
- John Kenley, pioneering U.S. theatrical producer.
- Stefan Kiszko, British man falsely imprisoned for the murder of Lesley Molseed.
- Ewa Kłobukowska, Polish sprinter.
- Emi Koyama, Japanese-American internist at Intersex Society of North America, co-founder of Intersex Awareness Day, and sex worker and trans feminist activist.
- Anton Kryzhanovsky, Russian intersex rights activist and sound designer, open about living with ovotestis.
- Irene Kuzemko, Russian-Ukrainian intersex activist.
L
M
- Gopi Shankar Madurai, Indian, one of the founding members of Srishti Madurai and Intersex Asia, also the first openly intersex and genderqueer person appointed in the public office with a position in par with Under Secretary to Government of India.[25] [26] [27] [28] Ex-Hindu Monk.[29] [30]
- Aprilio Manganang, an Indonesian volleyball player, reassigned male after retirement.
- Alex MacFarlane, first known holder of an Australian passport with an 'X' sex descriptor.
- Gabriel J. Martín, Spanish gay and intersex psychologist and author.
- Maria José Martínez-Patiño, a Spanish hurdler who was dismissed from competition in 1986 for failing a sex test.
- Santiago Mbanda Lima, the first publicly-visible intersex activist in Portugal.
- Sheena Metal, U.S. talk-show host.[31]
- Mani Mitchell, New Zealand intersex activist, researcher/presenter of the movie Intersexion.[32]
- Nthabiseng Mokoena, South African intersex activist.
- Iain Morland, British author and music technologist.
- Esther Morris Leidolf, U.S. activist and founder of MRKH Organization,[33] and author of The Missing Vagina Monologue.[34]
N
O
P
- Pidgeon Pagonis, U.S. intersex artist and activist, nominated as a 2015 Whitehouse LGBT Champion of Change.[39]
- Dee Palmer, formerly David Palmer, English composer and keyboardist, best known for membership in Jethro Tull.
- Pinki Pramanik, Indian track athlete.
- Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American military commander thought to have an intersex trait.
R
- Kristian Ranđelović, Serbian and Balkan intersex and transgender activist.
- Heinrich Ratjen (also known as Dora Ratjen) (1918–2008), German athlete.
- Jemma Redmond (1978–2016), Irish biotechnologist and innovator.
- Esan Regmi, Nepali intersex human rights activist.
- Veronique Renard, Dutch author and visual artist.
- Ana Roxanne, American musician and singer.
- Eliana Rubashkyn, Colombian, New Zealand pharmacist, activist and gender refugee.
- Mark Errin Rust, Australian serial sex murderer.
S
- Sa Bangji, Korean intersex person.
- Erik Schinegger, alpine skier.
- Scout Schultz, a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia, U.S., who was shot dead by police on September 16, 2017.[40]
- Caster Semenya, South African 800 m Olympic gold medalist.[41]
- Edinanci Silva, Brazilian judoka and gold medalist in the woman's half-heavyweight division at the Pan-American games.[42]
- Dawn Langley Simmons (1937 or 1922 to 2000), English author and biographer.
- Jim Sinclair, autism rights activist.[43]
- Witold Smętek, Polish athlete and record holder.
- Salvador Sobral, Portuguese singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for Portugal.
- Georgina Somerset (née Turtle) (1923-2013), first openly intersex person in the UK; active in the media from the mid-1960s.[44]
- Anick Soni, award-winning British Asian intersex activist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
- Santhi Soundarajan, Indian athlete.[45]
- Pedro Spajari, Brazilian swimmer.
- Levi Suydam, 19th century U.S. intersex person.
T
- Bogi Takács, Hungarian poet and writer.
- Alexander (Alex) Thornton, U.S./Italian marine scientist, educator, and activist founder of Pride in Polar Research (PiPR).
V
W
X
Z
Notes and References
- United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Free & Equal Campaign Fact Sheet: Intersex. 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071043/https://unfe.org/system/unfe-65-Intersex_Factsheet_ENGLISH.pdf. 2016-03-04.
- Web site: Kitty Anderson . . 2017-01-31 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20161221003329/http://oiieurope.org/oii-europe-board/mtl_3189/ . 2016-12-21 .
- Web site: Amnesty International. Understanding the 'i' in LGBTI. 2017-01-31. October 25, 2016. Amnesty International. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170131175015/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/10/intersex-awareness-day/. January 31, 2017.
- Web site: Karl M. Baer: The first person in the world to undergo sex-change surgery . June 10, 2020 . Pata Queens . May 19, 2021.
- Foucault, M. & Barbin, H. (1980) Herculine Barbin – Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth Century Hermaphrodite, New York, Random House.
- News: Bastien-Charlebois. Janik. My coming out: The lingering intersex taboo. Montreal Gazette. August 9, 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160827184147/http://montrealgazette.com/life/my-coming-out-the-lingering-intersex-taboo. August 27, 2016.
- Web site: Valenza. Alessia. Sanctioned sex/ualities: The medical treatment of intersex bodies and voices. October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161011101711/http://ilga.org/an-introduction-to-sanctioned-sexualities-the-medical-treatment-of-intersex-bodies-and-voices/. 2016-10-11.
- Web site: When Max Beck and Morgan Holmes went to Boston . Holmes . Morgan . Morgan Holmes . 17 October 2015 . Intersex Day . 2015-10-24 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20151020004238/http://intersexday.org/en/max-beck-morgan-holmes-boston-1996/ . 20 October 2015 .
- Web site: Madeleine Blaustein. IMDb. 2019-03-08.
- Web site: Intersex Mayor Elected in Australia . Advocate.com . December 9, 2011 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110024705/http://www.advocate.com/news/daily-news/2011/12/09/intersex-mayor-elected-australia . November 10, 2013 .
- Web site: International Commission of Jurists . International Commission of Jurists . 2017 . Republic of the Philippines v. Jennifer Cagandahan, Supreme Court of the Philippines, Second Division (12 September 2008) . International Commission of Jurists . March 19, 2021 .
- Web site: It's time to defend intersex rights . Morgan . Carpenter . . 15 November 2013 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20161031170214/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-15/carpenter-its-time-to-defend-intersex-rights/5093966 . 31 October 2016 .
- Weil, Elizabeth (September, 2006). What if It's (Sort of) a Boy and (Sort of) a Girl? The New York Times Magazine.
- News: NYC Pride march to honor intersex New Jersey mayor . Reyna . Rikki . New York Daily News . 26 June 2019 . September 10, 2019.
- Web site: Cory . Perla . Spotlight: Uncertain . . Buffalo Public Media, LLC . August 17, 2016 . 14 April 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160826201121/http://www.dailypublic.com/articles/08172016/spotlight-uncertain . 26 August 2016 .
- Web site: Sara Forsberg kertoo olevansa intersukupuolinen. Finnish. 27 October 2023. Ilta-Sanomat. Kantola. Iida.
- Frasier . Crystal . AmazonChique . 1332844168008273921 . November 28, 2020 . I mean, I'm trans and intersex, and I want my perspective to be considered. Trans people are valid and socialization arguments are 99% bullshit . en . April 29, 2021 . https://twitter.com/AmazonChique/status/1332844168008273921 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129003022/https://twitter.com/AmazonChique/status/1332844168008273921 . November 29, 2020 .
- Frasier . Crystal . Dan Arndt . Time Travel, Punching Klansmen, And The Queer RPG Agenda: A Chat With Crystal Frasier . The Fandomentals . April 14, 2020 . ...I’m not proud of it, but I went stealth for a long time after I transitioned...I ended up coming out when I was working for Paizo.. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120030647/https://thefandomentals.com/a-chat-with-crystal-frasier/ . January 20, 2021 . April 29, 2021.
- Web site: The IoS Pink List 2011 . . 23 October 2011 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120404230657/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/the-ios-pink-list-2011-2374595.html . 4 April 2012 .
- Web site: Voeg een I toe aan LHBT: intersekse uit de onzichtbaarheid . van der Have . Miriam . . August 1, 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20171111042640/https://www.parool.nl/binnenland/voeg-een-i-toe-aan-lhbt-intersekse-uit-de-onzichtbaarheid~a3708650/ . November 11, 2017 .
- Web site: Intersex Activism to the Fore During UN Advocacy Push . . Cianciotto . Jason . December 24, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20161223062615/http://gaycitynews.nyc/intersex-activism-fore-un-advocacy-push/ . December 23, 2016 .
- Holmes M. (2002). Rethinking the Meaning and Management of Intersexuality. Sexualities, 159–180."
- Nguyễn Khắc Thuần (1998), Việt sử giai thoại (History of Vietnam's tales), vol. 8, Vietnam Education Publishing House, p. 55.
- Web site: The Hong Kong intersex campaigner who's tearing down barriers . Chan . Heyling . May 8, 2017 . South China Morning Post . May 19, 2021.
- News: Intersex person to contest from Madurai North. Staff Reporter. 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180104125109/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/intersex-person-to-contest-from-madurai-north/article8539185.ece. 4 January 2018. The Hindu. 2016-04-29.
- News: 3rd gender gets a new champion in Tamil Nadu poll ring - Times of India. . 22 April 2016 . 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160530223418/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections-2016/tamil-nadu-elections-2016/news/3rd-gender-gets-a-new-champion-in-Tamil-Nadu-poll-ring/articleshow/51935940.cms. 30 May 2016.
- News: Intersex candidate alleges harassment - Times of India. . 10 May 2016 . 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002142004/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Intersex-candidate-alleges-harassment/articleshow/52197962.cms. 2 October 2016.
- Web site: This intersex person is contesting TN polls, 'ze' wants to change your mind on sexual minorities. 24 April 2016. 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170406231632/http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/intersex-person-contesting-tn-polls-ze-wants-change-your-mind-sexual-minorities-42103. 6 April 2017.
- Web site: One Who Fights For an Other. The New Indian Express. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160924062152/http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/One-Who-Fights-For-an-Other/2015/04/13/article2756559.ece. 2016-09-24.
- Web site: At 19, Ze Came out of the Closet. Today, Ze Is Helping the LGBTQIA Community Live with Dignity.. 27 November 2015. 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161228200406/http://www.thebetterindia.com/39178/gopi-shankar-lgbtqia-rights-srishti-madurai/. 28 December 2016.
- Web site: Reid-Smith. Tris. The LA radio host who came out as intersex and why no one gossiped. Gay Star News. 2016-08-20. July 18, 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160529170339/http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/la-radio-host-who-came-out-intersex-and-why-no-one-gossiped180713/. May 29, 2016.
- Web site: Website of Mani B Mitchell, Wellington, New Zealand . 5 September 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130512065857/http://www.manimitchell.com/ . 12 May 2013 .
- Web site: Esther Morris Leidolf - Our Bodies Ourselves . . 2015 . Our Bodies Ourselves . 2015-05-27 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150528033500/http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/about/contributors/esther-morris-leidolf/ . 2015-05-28 .
- 10.1300/J236v10n02_05. 0891-7140. 10. 2. 77–92. Leidolf. Esther Morris. The Missing Vagina Monologue … and Beyond. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy. July 17, 2006. 216116836.
- Book: Archibald, Malcolm. Atamansha: the Story of Maria Nikiforova, the Anarchist Joan of Arc. Black Cat Press. Dublin. 2007. 978-0-9737827-0-7. 239359065. 8–9.
- Book: Velychenko, Stephen. 2011. State building in revolutionary Ukraine. Toronto. University of Toronto Press. 978-1-4426-4132-7. 958581429. 288.
- Web site: Model Hanne Gaby Odiele reveals she is intersex. . 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123193337/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/01/23/model-hanne-gaby-odiele-reveals-she-intersex/96622908/. 23 January 2017.
- Web site: один . Номер . Бурятский лучник полжизни провел в чужом теле . 2022-05-30 . gazeta-n1.ru . ru.
- Web site: Champions of Change. 2015-12-05. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170120190811/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/champions. National Archives. whitehouse.gov. 2017-01-20.
- News: 82. Lieberman. Hallie. The Trigger Effect. The Atavist Magazine. 2018-08-31. August 29, 2018.
- News: The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes. The New York Times. 2016-06-28. Padawer. Ruth.
- News: The gender trap . Guardian . 2008-07-30 . 2009-08-21 . London . Emine . Saner . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130902123914/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/30/olympicgames2008.gender . 2013-09-02 .
- Sinclair, Jim (1997). Self-introduction to the Intersex Society of North America. Jim Sinclair's personal website. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- Somerset, G. T. (1992) A Girl Called Georgina – Over the Sex Border, London, The Book Guild.
- 10.4103/2230-8210.102980. 23226629. 3510954. 2230-8210. 16. 6. 873–5. Kalra. Sanjay. Kulshreshtha. Bindu. Unnikrishnan. AmbikaGopalakrishnan. We care for intersex: For Pinky, for Santhi, and for Anamika. Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2015-12-01. 2012. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180104125109/http://www.ijem.in/text.asp?2012%2F16%2F6%2F873%2F102980. 2018-01-04. free.
- Web site: Critical Sexology. 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001505/http://criticalsexology.org.uk/. 2 February 2017.
- Web site: The Local. Intersex person sues clinic for unnecessary op. February 27, 2015. 2015-12-21. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151214092025/http://www.thelocal.de/20150227/intersex-person-sues-doctors-for-unwanted-op. December 14, 2015.
- Web site: Christiane Völling: Hermaphrodite wins damage claim over removal of reproductive organs . Zwischengeschlecht . August 12, 2009 . 2015-07-20 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150705201148/http://zwischengeschlecht.org/pages/Hermaphrodite-wins-damage-claim . July 5, 2015 . Zwischengeschlecht .
- Web site: German Gender-Assignment Case Has Intersexuals Hopeful. Deutsche Welle. 12 December 2007. DW.COM. 2015-12-21. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222145816/http://www.dw.com/en/german-gender-assignment-case-has-intersexuals-hopeful/a-3000902. 22 December 2015.
- Web site: Groundbreaking SPLC lawsuit accuses South Carolina, doctors and hospitals of unnecessary surgery on infant . . May 13, 2013 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215223633/https://www.splcenter.org/news/2013/05/14/groundbreaking-splc-lawsuit-accuses-south-carolina-doctors-and-hospitals-unnecessary . February 15, 2016 .
- Web site: Beyond Two Genders. 1 January 2008. 23 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170421054738/http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2008/01/beyond-two-genders/. 21 April 2017.
- Web site: Gender Spectrum . Interview with Rabbi Rueben [sic] Zellman ]. YouTube . October 7, 2018 . August 1, 2018.
- News: Madison . Alex . Music center launches genderqueer chorus . Bay Area Reporter . October 7, 2018 . August 1, 2018.
- Web site: McNamara. Brittney. Why Doctors Should NOT Perform Surgery on Intersex People Without Consent. Teen Vogue. 2017-08-05. July 26, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170806062753/http://www.teenvogue.com/story/intersex-surgeries-study-2017. August 6, 2017.
- News: Rein. Lisa. Intersex applicants face passport discrimination, says lawsuit seeking option other than 'M' or 'F'. 1 December 2015. The Washington Post. 27 October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151209170342/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/27/intersex-applicants-face-passport-discrimination-says-lawsuit-seeking-option-other-than-m-or-f/. 9 December 2015.
- News: Intersex activist Dana Zzyym sues US State Department after having passport application denied. 1 December 2015. ABC News. 26 October 2015.