Gina Wilson

Gina Wilson is an intersex activist, born in Victoria, Australia in 1952. She was the founding president of Organisation Intersex International Australia.

Activism

Gina Wilson founded Organisation Intersex International Australia in 2009 and remained as president of the organisation until stepping down on 1 September 2013. She was succeeded by Morgan Carpenter^[1][2] and has since returned as Vice-President.^[3] She has also been a member of the board of the National LGBTI Health Alliance^[4][5][6] and Lidcombe, New South Wales branch president of the Australian Labor Party.^[7][8]

In her work at Organisation Intersex International Australia, Gina Wilson played an important role in improving access to healthcare, inclusion of intersex people in anti-discrimination legislation, and Wilson played a leading role in moves to protect people on the basis of "intersex status" in anti-discrimination law, and inclusion in aged care.^[9][10]

Selected published work includes:

• "Testimony of an Intersex Person" in the Equal Rights Trust journal Equal Rights Review.^[11]

• Appearance in the 2012 documentary Intersexion and in a national campaign by Beyond Blue, titled Stop, Think, Respect, in the same year.^[12][13]
• A TEDx Sydney talk in 2010.^[14]

Anti-discrimination legislation

Wilson has played a leading role in moves to protect people on the basis of "intersex status" in anti-discrimination law, appearing before a Senate inquiry.^[15] Interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald, Wilson spoke about how initial proposals for intersex inclusion in federal legislation were inappropriate as they classed intersex as a gender identity.^[16] Writing in the Equal Rights Trust journal Equal Rights Review, Gina Wilson wrote, "Legislators initially did not have a clear understanding of what intersex was, but having given evidence to Senate Committees and spoken with legislators individually we are hopeful that intersex will be a protected attribute under the Bill."^[11]

A Senate of Australia inquiry into anti-discriminination legislation supported the approach of Organisation Intersex International Australia and "intersex status" was added to the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013, which passed into law on 1 August 2013.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Bodily autonomy

Wilson has called for "normalising" surgeries on intersex infants to end, saying that such interventions should only take place when a child is able to provide informed consent.^[21] In comments on Intersex Awareness Day 2012, Wilson said, "At a fundamental level homophobic bigotry, intolerance and ancient superstitions underpin contemporary mistreatment of intersex people. Intersex people are subjected to forced gendering and surgical alterations to our bodies to "disappear" our differences in a society that regards difference in sex anatomy as deeply suspicious."^[22]

Interviewed by Andrew Bock in The Age, Wilson expressed concern about the use of prenatal screening to terminate intersex foetuses.^[23]

Mental health and access to healthcare

Gina Wilson took part in a national mental health campaign by Beyond Blue, titled Stop, Think, Respect, including in a Real Life Story video.^[12][13] The organisation has also called for the removal of intersex people from definitions of gender identity disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual, saying "The assumption is that the birth assignment must be right. The doctor is never at fault, it's the poor intersex person who is wrong, who then gets carted off to a psychiatrist to try and 'fix' us."^[24]

Wilson also played a role in efforts to improve access to Medicare services.^[25][26]

Concern over identification documents and third gender

While welcoming federal guidelines on recognition of gender,^[27] Wilson has expressed concern about misrepresentation of intersex issues by some trans groups^[28] including the instrumentalisation of intersex in moves to create a third gender category, warning of "far-reaching unintended consequences".^{[29][30][31][32]}

Recognition

Gina Wilson was a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Community Individual Award, 2013. The Commission describes the award as one of "the two most vigourously contested categories for the 2013 Australian Human Rights Awards"^[33][34] commenting that, "Gina Wilson is the founder of Organisation Intersex International (OII) Australia, and was its president until September 2013. Her intersex advocacy work has been ground-breaking, helping to achieve authentic and appropriate inclusion in anti-discrimination legislation."^[35]

Wilson was also nominated for a Community Hero "Honour Award" in 2011.^[36]

References

External links

• Organisation Intersex International Australia