Intersex Solidarity Day

Intersex Solidarity Day has been celebrated on November 8th every year since 2005. November 8th is the birthday of Herculine Barbin, an intersex person whose memoir was made famous through translation by Michel Foucault. On this day in particular, society is called upon to collectively focus on equal rights for intersex people. Let's listen to intersex people, support their work, and consider them in our activism!
What does intersex mean? Intersex people are people whose physical characteristics are not exclusively male or female. Gender-assigning medical interventions are still performed on these bodies, which are not necessary, but are only there to adapt the bodies to a "two-gender norm". These people also experience discrimination again and again in everyday life. Intersex Solidarity Day aims to draw attention to these human rights violations and to move away from the taboo of the existence of different gender identities and to acknowledge that there are more genders than "female" and "male."

Dissertation with recommendations for action

Victoria Englmaier's dissertation deals with whether and how intersexuality is dealt with at Austrian universities. Supportive measures for an appropriate handling of intersexuality, which she identified in her work, are clear contact persons, a low-threshold possibility to change name and gender entry, gender-inclusive wording - for example in e-mails -, the correct use of pronouns, safe spaces such as toilets and locker rooms, and a general questioning of the gender dichotomy.

On October 25th, 2022, Victoria Englmaier and Luan Pertl from VIMÖ (Verein Intergeschlechtliche Menschen Österreich) held a workshop on the topic of "Shaping diversity together". After a short input about legal basics on the topic and what implications this has for companies, the participants were divided into two groups, each to exchange ideas on the question "How can we stand in solidarity together?”
At IMCKrems, Victoria Englmaier, as the person responsible for gender and diversity, is also the contact person for all questions related to the topic of intersex.