I'm posting this here because there may be some folks in the tri-state area interested in attending. If you think the focus on intersex is incorrect, you are msot welcome to attend and make your voice heard. Heck, you can even come and protest it outside.

Legal Perspectives on Intersex Focus of Upcoming Symposium In NYC

Bodies Like Ours News Release

February 10, 2005
Immediate Release

Further information:
Betsy Driver
Bodies Like Ours Director
betsydriver@bodieslikeours.org
908-212-4662

Julie Zando-Dennis
Cardozo Women's Law Journal, Editor-in-Chief
212-790-0239

Legal Perspectives on Intersex Focus of Upcoming Symposium

An international gathering of intersex advocates, scholars, and legal professionals will come together in New York City this month to discuss the nascent intersex movement. The Cardozo Women's Law Journal – Bodies Like Ours Symposium on Intersex Education, Advocacy, and The Law takes place February 22-23, 2005, at the Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. The groundbreaking symposium will examine the legal and ethical issues surrounding the medical treatment of intersex and the advocacy movement.

Intersex refers to a series of medical conditions in which a child's chromosomes and genital appearance do not match, or are somehow different from "standard" male or female. About one in 2,000 children are born visibly intersexed, while others are detected later. The current medical protocol calls for the surgical "reconstruction" of these different but otherwise healthy bodies and occasionally, hormonal treatment to make them "normal" and "socially acceptable". This practice has become increasingly controversial as more adults who went through the treatment report being physically, emotionally, and sexually harmed by these procedures and in the past few years has exploded with controversy, awareness, and rapid change.

According to Julie Zando-Dennis, Editor-in-Chief of the Cardozo Women's Law Journal, "The symposium will explore the rapid growth of the intersex movement, the past and present medical and social treatment of intersex, and how the legal profession is reacting to it." Peter Trinkl, Board Chair of Bodies Like Ours said, "For too long, people with intersex have had their basic human rights violated and this event is an important step in recognizing that."

The San Francisco Human Rights Commission is expected to independently release, "A Human Rights Investigation into the Medical 'Normalization' of Intersex People - A Report of a Public Hearing by the Human Rights Commission of the City & County of San Francisco" prior to the symposium and is likely to be a timely topic of discussion among the presenters and attendees coming from at least five countries.

The symposium is free and open to the public. Members of the public are asked to RSVP by calling 212-790-0239. Please call ahead for media credentialing.

Further information about the symposium is available at http://www.intersexsymposium.org

Bodies Like Ours – Cardozo Women's Law Journal Symposium on Intersex Advocacy, Education, and The Law

February 22, 2005 1-6pm

February 23, 2005 9-6pm

Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University

Moot Court Room

55 5th Avenue (12th St)

New York City

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Founded in 2002, Bodies Like Ours provides peer support and information for people born with intersex conditions. Our mission includes elimination of the shame and secrecy of intersex births through education, awareness, and community. Bodies Like Ours is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Hunterdon County, NJ.

To learn more about Bodies Like Ours, please visit our website at http://www.bodieslikeours.org.

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