Meeting - Melbourne 31st March 2007
We finally have a date for the 2007 meeting in Melbourne! The meeting will be held on Saturday 31st March from 8.30am to 5pm. For details on the venue please contact Tony Briffa.
Our special guest Clinician is Dr Sonia Grover (who is also an Honorary Life Member of the AIS Support Group Australia). I am sure it will be a wonderful meeting, and we're planning on having a very sociable barbecue lunch to break up the day and allow lots of opportunity to meet other people affected by AIS.
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Asian people affected by AIS and similar conditions - we'd love to help! (Jan07)
Over the years we've been contacted by a large number of people from all over Asia asking us for help. Unfortunately, it's often difficult to help people from such a far distance because we don't readily have all the contacts with medical staff and other affected families as we do in Australia and New Zealand. Nonetheless, we've now decided to make a concerted effort to help people in Asia and we need your help. If you have AIS or a similar intersex condition, or are a medical professional treating people affected by AIS or a similar condition, please contact us to be added to our database. It would be great if we can help start a number of support groups in Asia to help provide information and support to Asian families and individuals affected by intersex conditions.
Asian page - coming soon! (The AIS Support Group Australia will soon establish a section on this website dedicated specifically to people in Asia affected by AIS and similar conditions. If you can help with translating our fact sheets into an Asian language, please contact us.)
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Membership Details - Please help us keep in touch with you!
We urge all members and supporters to update their details with us before the end of 2006. We have had a number of email and postal addresses "bounce" mail in recent times.
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John Money - Dead at 84
My mother taught me if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In this case I'll try my best to bite my tongue..
"Dr" John Money is dead. He died last Friday (7 July 06) of complications with Parkinson's Disease. John Money conducted inhumane and unethical research on a little boy who had his penis burned off in a botched circumcision (the boy was an identical twin). When the boys' family went to John Money for help, he saw it as a wonderful opportunity to conduct an experiment about gender - raise the boy with the burned off penis as a girl, the other twin as a boy, and see what happens. He claimed the 'girl' was happy with her gender assignment and that it proved his theory that kids are born gender-neutral, and the way kids are socialised makes them male or female.
Even though John Money had evidence of the experiment's failure, John Money fraudulently claimed his research was a success and that it proved his theory. As a consequence, John Money ruined the lives of a Canadian family (the twin boys ended up committing suicide), and the many thousands of children with intersex conditions who have been treated as a result of his recommended treatment paradigm.
For more information on so-called "Dr" John Money, please google the "John/Joan" case or "David Reimer" and read John Colapinto, As Nature Made Him; The Boy Who was Raised a Girl (1999).
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Ironically, Transsexual groups are mourning Dr Money's death. This is just another fundamental difference between our two groups.
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Brisbane meeting AUGUST 2006
The AISSGA is holding
a members' meeting this August. Please contact the support group office on 
for more
information.
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Brisbane information evening for parents of children with CAH or AIS.
The Mater Children's Hospital (Brisbane) is kindly presenting an information evening for families with children diagnosed with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS).
It will be held on the evening of 15th September 2004. Please contact the AISSGA for more information.
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Tony Briffa responds to doctors in Nature Magazine (April 2004)
Click here to read Tony's response regarding irreversible, non-therapeutic treatment on children with intersex conditions.
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MELBOURNE
Support Group Meeting & AGM.
The next national support group meeting will be held in Melbourne on
22-23 November 2003.
Members will receive more information shortly. Anyone interested can contact the AISSGA office for more information.
SYDNEY
Support Group Meeting.
The next support group meeting will be held in Sydney on 19th July
2003.
Members will receive more information shortly. Anyone interested can contact the AISSGA office for more information.
AISSGA response to the erroneous claims made by some transsexual groups following Re: Kevin.
To read the AISSGA's full response to these claims, click here.
Expressions
of Interest Sought-
New North American Support Group for People with AIS and Similar Intersex
Conditions.
Some of our North American members wish to establish a North American Chapter of the
AISSGA. Please contact the AISSGA if you would like to be involved.
Australian Medical Association definition of Intersex
The Australian Medical Association has provided a definition of intersex in their 'Sexual Diversity and Gender Identity' policy. They state:
"A person with an intersex condition is born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia or an internal reproductive system that is not exclusively either male or female. This word replaces hermaphrodite."
They have also openly supported the medical and biological fact that transsexualism is NOT in intersex condition.
Definition of Intersex now in Legislation!
People with intersex conditions had a major victory in the ACT recently when the definition of Transgender was changed to remove people with intersex conditions, and, for what we believe is a world first, include a definition of intersex in legislation. The ACT (ALP) Government, with the support from the Democrats and Greens, passed the following definition of intersex in the Legislation Act 2001 (ACT):
‘An intersex person is a person who, because of a genetic condition, was born with reproductive organs or sex chromosomes that are not exclusively male or female.’
Click
here for the full article.
March
2003 dAISy now out!
Please go to our newsletter page to download.
ACT
Law Reform
The AISSGA has submitted a detailed paper about law reform for people with
intersex conditions in the ACT.
Paper: "Discrimination against people affected by intersex conditions in the ACT".
NSW
Anti-Discrimination Board Forum
The President of the AISSGA (Tony Briffa) has been invited to speak on behalf of
the intersex community at the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board forum on "The
Neglected Communities" at Parliament House on 25th February
2003. Tony will detail the AISSGA's submission to the NSW Law Reform
Commission which is available here.
For more information about the forum, please refer to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board website.
- Paper: "Discrimination against people affected by intersex conditions in NSW".
- Summary of the presentation by the AISSGA.
Intersex
film in Aussie Film Festivals
Intersex Exposition: Full
Monty, a short film (7 minutes) made by Shorona, a
Melbourne-born, Sydney/San Francisco-residing intersex person will be screening
soon in both Melbourne and Sydney Queer Film Festivals. The documentary is
about a Jewish Australian who performs at a lesbian strip club in Sydney and
'comes out' as Intersex (naked) during the performance. It was produced and
directed by the performer themselves.
Sydney screening: ‘Intersex Exposition: Full Monty’ will be screening as part of the Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival 2003 on Wednesday 19th February at 5:15pm
Melbourne screening: ‘Intersex Exposition: Full Monty’ will be screening as part of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2003 on Wednesday 19th March at 8:30pm.
Queensland
Discrimination Laws Hurt Those With Intersex Conditions!
The Queensland Government passed their 'Discrimination Law Amendment Bill' without
consulting those with intersex conditions even though this Bill adversely
affects us. The Government has attempted to give us assurances in the
Parliament that this Bill does not affect us however, so we will wait to see how
the Bill is implemented and interpreted.
This Bill is particularly offensive because it details the issuing of transgender birth certificates for children with intersex conditions which will prevent them from marrying when they grow up.
The New AIS & Similar Conditions Brochure.
The AIS Support Group Australia launched it's new brochure on AIS and similar conditions at a seminar at the Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne recently, by presenting copies to Prof. Milton Diamond and Assoc. Prof. Garry Warne.
To see a pdf version of these brochures, click here.
Gynaecological
Awareness Forum
VIVA LA VULVA
An awareness raising afternoon for women about female genital health and
sexuality
Thursday 28 November 2002, 2.00pm to 5.00pm at Yvonne Bowden Auditorium, Royal
Women's Hospital, 132 Grattan Street Carlton
COST $17/12 concession (Refreshments included)
Topics and speakers
Maggie Kirkman (chair) Introduction
Tanya Bohl - Female genital anatomy and ailments
Diane Perry - Loss, pain and sexuality
Alexa Rosengarten - Wholeness and intimacy
Panel: includes speakers, Kath Mazzella and Stella Heley.
Organised by:-
GAIN Gynaecological Awareness Information Network, www.gynsupport.com
Key Centre for Women's Health
in Society,
University of Melbourne
Absolutely Women's
Health, Royal Women's
Hospital.
Enquiries & Booking: 8344 4333 (Key Centre for Women's
Health in Society)
For catering purposes it would be helpful if bookings were made, but paying on
the day is quite acceptable.
International
Conference on Sex and Gender.
The International Foundation of Androgynous Studies (IFAS) is hosting an
international conference on Sex and Gender in Perth at the end of
October. Key note speakers include Prof. Milton Diamond and Tony
Briffa. Please refer to the IFAS website at http://www.ifas.org.au
for more information.
Seminar
- Prof. Milton Diamond presentation and the launch of the AIS Support Group
Australia Brochure on AIS.
Prof. Milton Diamond is kindly presenting a talk on his AIS research to
the members of the AIS Support Group Australia on 20th October.
The AISSGA is also using this night as an opportunity to launch its brand new brochures about AIS and similar conditions. These brochures are the result of a long term project for the AISSGA. All medical professionals who have reviewed the content of this brochure are very supportive of it, so they will hopefully be willing to distribute them to their patients.
This event is only open to members of the AIS Support Group Australia and invited guests. For more information and to register, please email Tony Briffa. (Note: Registrations for this event must be received by 18 October.
National
AIS Support Group Meeting.
The next support group meeting will be held in Melbourne on the weekend
of the 16th and 17th of November 2002.
Members will receive more information with the next dAISy. Please contact the AISSGA office for more information.
Should the Family Court Approve Genital Surgeries on Children with Intersex Conditions?
Statement of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
March
2002 dAISy distributed.
If members have not received their copy of March 2002 dAISy, please
contact the office.
National
AIS Support Group Meeting.
The next support group meeting will be held in Brisbane on the weekend of
the 18th and 19th of May 2002.
Please contact the AISSG Australia for further information.
Good Medicine Magazine (Australia) Article on Intersex.
The April 2002 edition of Good Medicine Magazine has a very good article about intersex conditions, including AIS. Written by Dr Gillian Eastgate with considerable input from Dr Andrew Cotterill, amongst other things the article is encouraging of joint efforts between the medical profession and the AISSGA. Good Medicine Magazine appeals to a wide readership and this article is a significant step towards increasing wider understand of intersex conditions. There is a glossary at the end of the article that has good, easy to understand explanations of various intersex conditions. Tony Briffa's story appears as a side bar to the main article and full contact details for the AISSGA are also included.
Inquiry into the Protection of Human Genetic Information.
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is conducting an inquiry on behalf of the Commonwealth regarding the protection and use of human genetic information. As a group concerned with genetic variations, this has many important implications for people living with intersex conditions for current and future generations. We urge all members to participate in the community consultations, and to submit private comments to the ALRC.
The ALRC's website is located at http://www.alrc.gov.au .
(Click here for the full submission by the AISSGA)
Victorian Health Minister's Discussion Papers on Intersex Health.
The Victorian Health Minister has a Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health (MACGLH) which also includes a Transgender and Intersex sub-committee. Tony Briffa, the President of the AIS Support Group Australia, is the person representing the intersex community on that sub-committee.
The MACGLH has now finalised it's discussion papers and they have been released for public comment. Tony would appreciate receiving feedback on these papers from anyone affected by intersex conditions and invites them to send comments to him and the official contact as listed on the MACGLH website.
If anyone is interested in participating in the intersex community consultation, please contact Tony for further details.
The url for the MACGLH is http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/phd/macglh/index.htm .
AISSGA November 2001 Conference Overview now out!
Family
Court of Australia Judgment on the Validity of a Transsexual Marriage
On 12 October 2001, in the
Family Court of Australia at Sydney, The Honourable Justice Chisholm found that
a marriage between Kevin, a man of transsexual background, and his wife
Jennifer, was legal for the purposes of the Marriage Act (File No: SY8136 of 1999 refers).
The validity of the marriage had been challenged by the office of
the Federal Attorney General on behalf of the Commonwealth
of Australia. The
judgment recognised Kevin’s identity in society as a man and that he should be
legally considered male for the purpose of marriage as a reflection of that
identity.
The
judgment has generated much interest, however, some have misinterpreted
comments made by Chisholm J. as a ruling that transsexualism is a form of
intersex when in fact the judgment draws clear distinctions between the
conditions.
Read the AISSGA's
media release regarding this issue here.
To read our archived news (prior to October 2001) click here.