#tatenda ngwaru

[simbistardis]

I was born intersex. It is a condition in which a child is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. I came to America seeking asylum because the condition made me a target in my country, where being associated with the LGBTQ community is illegal and could get you killed. There, people are bullied into remaining in the closet. They can never reveal their true identity, leading many to commit suicide or endure the endless pain and feeling of constant rejection.

After college, I moved South Africa, where I knew I could probably find a doctor who would understand. I did. He confirmed that I was intersex. That led me back to Zimbabwe, where I started running an organization for intersex and transgender people called True Identity. I wanted to join the fight for equality for people like me. At first, I started secret support groups because such advocacy was still illegal. I began receiving funding and tried to create a dialogue between the community and transgender and intersex people. I wanted to foster understanding and awareness. I wanted more people to see it as normal—because people like me are normal. That didn’t stop me from being physically and emotionally abused for doing that kind of work. Sometimes, the police would raid our offices. Sometimes, people would say: “You are an abomination to the culture. You are the reason we don’t get rain. You are a taboo.”

America didn’t welcome me; it didn’t even understand me. Americans don’t know what intersex means. That includes many within the LGBTQ community, the community where I was supposed to find empathy and love. And it includes the black community. Most of the intersex people I’ve met in America are white. Intersex people are not celebrated in communities of color. We are not represented on their platforms, in the media or anywhere else. It hurt even more after I found out about intersex infants here who are forced to undergo unwanted surgeries that violate their bodies. When those children grow up, they will have felt robbed, as though their body, their voice, was stolen from them before they could even speak.

As a black woman who is an intersex, immigrant asylum seeker, it feels as though America was built to silence me. Though I’m allowed to work now, the asylum process takes years and I can’t visit my parents until that is resolved. And I miss them dearly. But I have work to do here. Ignorance and hate and stigmatization will not stop me. I represent too many voiceless human beings who live with unbearable pain. I will persevere. I will use that pain to build beauty, to show others the struggle is worth it. I will keep speaking to remind other immigrants that they are not alone. I will keep speaking so that any woman, or any man, who society tells to be ashamed will know that nothing can ruin their spirit, that they can conquer the world.

I'm an Intersex Black Woman. My Voice Matters. Listen. By Tatenda Ngwaru for QWear Fashion (2019)

[intersex-support]

Intersex Resources: Books, Art, Videos

Here's a list with some resources to learn about intersex community, history, and politics! These include some academic sources and some community sources. I'd love to add sources in other languages and that focus on countries besides the United States, so if anyone has recommendations, please let me know. Continually updating and adding sources.

Reading list:

Intersex History:

"The Intersex Movement of the 1990s: Speaking Out Against Medical and Narrative Violence" by Viola Amato.

Hermaphrodites with Attitude Newsletters.

Jazz Legend Little Jimmy Scott is a Cornerstone of Black Intersex History By Sean Saifa Wall

"Hermaphrodites with Attitude: Mapping the Emergence of Intersex Political Activism" by Cheryl Chase

Chrysalis Quarterly: Intersex Awakening, 1997.

"What Happened at Hopkins: The Creation of the Intersex Management Protocols" by Alison Redick.

Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex by Elizabeth Reis.

Intersex Politics

“A Framework for Intersex Justice.” Intersex Justice Project

"Creating Intersex Justice: Interview with Sean Saifa Wall and Pidgeon Pagonis of the Intersex Justice Project." by David Rubin, Michelle Wolff, and Amanda Lock Swarr.

"Intersex Justice and the Care We Deserve: ‘I Want People to Feel at Home in Their Bodies Again." Zena Sharman.

Critical Intersex edited by Morgan Holmes.

Envisioning African Intersex: Challenging Colonial and Racist Legacies in South African Medicine by Amanda Lock Swarr.

"Intersex Human Rights" by Bauer et al.

Morgan Carpenter's writing

"I Want to Be Like Nature Made Me: Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on Intersex Children in the US." by Human Rights Watch.

Cripping Intersex by Celeste E. Orr.

"From ‘Intersex’ to ‘DSD’: A Case of Epistemic Injustice" by Ten Merrick.

"Did Bioethics Matter? A History of Autonomy, Consent, and Intersex Genital Surgery." by Elizabeth Reis.

Intersex Community

"Normalizing Intersex: Personal Stories from the Pages of Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics." edited by James DuBois and Ana Iltis.

Hans Lindhal's blog.

InterACT Youth Blog.

Intersex Justice Project Blog.

"What it's like to be a Black Intersex Woman" by Tatenda Ngwaru.

Intersex Inclusive Pride Flag by Valentino Vecchietti.

The Interface Project founded by Jim Ambrose.

Intersex Zines from Emi Koyama

Teen Vogue's Intersex Coverage

YOUth& I: An intersex youth Anthology by Intersex Human Rights Australia

Intersex OwnVoices books collected by Bogi Takacs.

Memoirs:

Nobody Needs to Know by Pidgeon Pagonis.

Inverse Cowgirl by Alicia Roth Weigel

XOXY by Kimberly Zieselman

Fiction:

Icarus by K Ancrum.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Video/Audio

Every Body dir. Julie Cohen.

Hermaphrodites Speak! 1997.

Liberating All Bodies: Disability Justice and Intersex Justice in Conversation.

"36 Revolutions of Change: Sean Saifa Wall."

Inter_View: An Intersex Podcast by Dani Coyle

Hans Lindhal's Youtube channel.

What it's Like to be Intersex from Buzzfeed.

Emilord Youtube channel

I'm intersex-ask me anything from Jubilee

What it's like to be Intersex-Minutes With Roshaante Andersen.

Pass the Mic: Intercepting Injustice with Sean Saifa Wall

Art

"Hey AAP! Get your Scalpels Off Our Bodies!" 1996.

Ana Roxanne's album Because of a Flower.

Intersex 1 in 90 potraits by Lara Aerts and Ernst Coppejans

Anyone can be Born Intersex: A Photo-Portrait Story by Intersex Nigeria.

Pidgeon Pagonis "Too cute to be binary" Collection

Juliana Huxtable Visual Art

Koomah's art

Please feel free to add on your favorite sources for intersex art, history, politics, and community !

[tigerrsmn]

To close out Black History Month TIGERRS is celebrating Tatenda Ngwaru. Tatenda is an immigrant from Zimbabwe and an intersex woman. She founded True Identity, the first intersex activist organization in Zimbabwe, and was the subject of the documentary ‘She’s Not A Boy’.

[queerafricans]

Intersex and African

Tatenda Ngwaru (Zimbabwe)

Santiago Mbanda Lima (Angola)

Julius Kaggwa (Uganda)

Nthabiseng Mokoena (South Africa)

Sharon-Rose Khumalo (South Africa)

Caster Semenya (South Africa)

Babalwa Mtshawu (South Africa)

Francine Niyonsaba (Burundi)

Annet Negesa (Uganda)

[flyandfamousblackgirls]

October 26th is Intersex Awareness Day! 

[nakedmonkey]

Had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Tatenda Ngwaru for Shondaland.com We talked about Pride, what that means for intersex people, and how the LGBTQ community could stand to be a little more inclusive. If you have a few minutes, please read :) 

[logotv]

Tatenda Ngwaru, Intersex Activist

If you could send a message to a former version of yourself, what would you write?

LGBT celebrities and activists in conversation with the most important individuals from their pasts—themselves.

Read Tatenda’s full letter http://logo.to/2ySJ04A

[ah17hh]

What It's Like To Be Intersex

What It's Like To Be Intersex After undergoing surgery for a hernia, Tatenda Ngwaru's doctor reported that the patient, who was being raised as a boy, had an ovary. Co-directed by Robert Tokanel and Yuhong Pang, "She's Not a Boy" is a home run of a short doc. June 8, 2019 at 07:10PM via Digg https://www.youtube.com/watch?utm_source=ifttt&v=eEXpeq-38Sw

[baudenavegacoes]

http://ift.tt/2yXskJt História publicada às October 9, 2017 at 11:47AM; armazenada aqui às October 10, 2017 at 05:01PM

[76crimes]

Being intersex is normal, says Zimbabwean activist

Being intersex is normal, says Zimbabwean activist

Society needs to shed its ignorance of intersex people, says Tatenda Ngwaru, a Zimbabwean intersex and trans activist currently working in the United States.

Tatenda Ngwaru (Zimbabwean intersex & trans activist)

In a three-minute educational video put together by ‘The Root,’ a U.S.-based Afrocentric online magazine, Ngwaru briefly explained the facts about being intersex, shared her story about…

[simbistardis]

"As a black woman who is an intersex, immigrant asylum seeker, it feels as though America was built to silence me. Though I’m allowed to work now, the asylum process takes years and I can’t visit my parents until that is resolved. And I miss them dearly. But I have work to do here. Ignorance and hate and stigmatization will not stop me. I represent too many voiceless human beings who live with unbearable pain. I will persevere. I will use that pain to build beauty, to show others the struggle is worth it. I will keep speaking to remind other immigrants that they are not alone. I will keep speaking so that any woman, or any man, who society tells to be ashamed will know that nothing can ruin their spirit, that they can conquer the world."

- Tatenda Ngwaru, I'm an Intersex Black Woman. My Voice Matters. Listen. for QWear Fashion (2019)

[intersex-support]

hello! i newly figured out i am intersex, however i haven't been able to find much content talking about intersex experience, history or community, when i first realized i was queer originally i found a lot of content like that and found it helpful, and i was wondering if there's any recommendations you might be willing to give about any content on being intersex or intersex creators who you think people should know about!

Hey!

This ask honestly made me really happy, because when I was searching for people and resources to share with you, I realized how much stuff has been created in the past 5 years. When I was diagnosed as intersex, I felt like there was so much less stuff than there even is now, so it makes me really happy to know there is more stuff, even if it's still hard to find.

Some of the things I've put on this list are outdated or might include perspectives that I don't completely love, but might include important historical context. It is also a very US centric and English language centric resource, although I have linked to organizations in other countries and would love if people added on recommendations to intersex resources in a variety of languages. As always, take what resonates with you and leave behind the rest!

Books:

Cripping Intersex by Celeste E Orr

Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex by Elizabeth Reis

XOXY: A Memoir by Kimberly Zieselman

Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word) by Thea Hillman

In September, Alicia Weigel is releasing her memoir Inverse Cowgirl.

In August, Pidgeon Pagonis is releasing their memoir, Nobody Needs to Know.

Fiction books:

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Intersex #ownvoices books, collated by Bogi Takács

Films:

Every Body directed by Julie Cohen is in theaters right now, and will eventually be on streaming services.

Ponyboi directed by River Gallo

Intersexion directed by Grant Lahood

Articles + misc:

Hermaphrodites with Attitude newsletter-content note for h slur and some other outdated language. Very important history though <3

Jazz Legend Little Jimmy Scott Is a Cornerstone of Black Intersex History by Sean Saifa Wall

What it's like to be a Black intersex woman by Tatenda Ngwaru

9 Young People on How They Found Out They Are Intersex by Hans Lindhal

Teen Vogue's series of intersex interviews

After years of protest, a top hospital ended intersex surgeries. For activists, it took a deep toll by Kate Sosin

Intersex Awareness Day: A Demonstration that Inspired a Movement

Normalizing intersex: Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics

Music-Ana Roxanne

Youth&I-intersex youth zine

Juliana Huxtable-Visual Art

Youtube channels:

Emilord-videos about AIS and surgery.

Jubilee Intersex video

Hans Lindhal-videos on a wide variety of intersex topics.

What's It Like To Be Intersex? | Minutes With | UNILAD

What It's Like To Be Intersex As/Is

Pass the Mic: Intercepting Injustice with Sean Saifa Wall

Intersex Organizations:

Link to org list

People/orgs to follow:

Sean Saifa Wall

Alicia Weigel

River Gallo

Hans Lindhal

Fàájì/funk

Jahni

Justin Tsang

Intersex Awareness (fabulous direct action organizing in the US-keep an eye out cause we're gonna do more this year!)

Liat Feller

Jubilee

Crystal Hendricks

Mari Wrobi

Intersex people, please feel free to add on more resources, art, writing, and people that you like!!

[simbistardis]

As the years passed, the child that Betina and Isaiah were raising as a son began to express that she was, in fact, a girl. Betina remembers Tatenda begging to wear a dress to school, rather than the shorts and shirt that made up the school uniform for boys. Tatenda explains: “I grew up in a society where women behave a certain way and men behave a certain way and there’s no gray area. As soon as I knew how to differentiate genders, I knew I was a girl. It was instinct. When I started school, people would laugh at me because I walked like a girl. And I thought, how am I supposed to walk? I am a girl.” Tatenda’s parents encouraged her to hide her femininity and try to fit in as a boy.

Tatenda feels lucky that her parents didn’t have the money to take her to a doctor who might have removed some of her female anatomy. “They would have taken away what’s mine,” she says. “They would have robbed me of that choice. I would tell the parents of any intersex child to wait until that child is old enough to speak for themselves to tell you who they are. There was a time when my parents really discouraged me from being who I am, and that weighs on them so heavily now.” It wasn’t until, as a teenager, Tatenda traveled on her own to South Africa to see a doctor and find out what was happening to her body that her parents realized their error. “After they read documents from a doctor that explained who I am, things gradually started getting better,” she says. “I hadn’t spoken to my parents in a year, and they asked me to come home. They said, ‘You are our daughter. We love you. We accept you. And we’re sorry for how we dealt with this before.’ The universe slowly started being kind to me, and it gave me back my family.”

When Tatenda realized that she was no longer safe in Zimbabwe, she moved to the United States. She was only 20 years old. “My family was robbed of me in an instant,” says Tatenda. “The life that I had built was taken away from me. My freedom, my home, all the love that I had ever known, was taken from me. I came here and had to start from scratch,” she recalls. “My father is the love of my life, and the fact that I couldn’t see him made me cry every day. But I decided that if I had to make all of these sacrifices, that I was going to succeed in living my life as myself, and to be a voice for intersex people. That gave me hope.” 

At this point, all Tatenda wants is to help raise awareness about intersex people. She recently starred in a short documentary, called She’s Not a Boy, which aims to show viewers the unique hurdles that intersex people face. She also runs her own website on intersex visibility and shares her experience with publications like��Vogue. But Tatenda feels like she hasn’t scratched the surface when it comes to educating the public about the intersex experience: “Even within the LGBTQ community, a lot of people don’t know what intersex means. I sometimes feel like the ‘I’ in LGBTQIA stands for invisibility. We don’t have a platform in the community. How can we expect kindness from outside the LGBTQ+ community when we don’t express kindness to one another?” That’s a big part of the reason why Tatenda wants to tell her story. “The trans community has gotten a lot of attention over the past few years, and that’s wonderful. I just want intersex people to have a seat at the table, too.”

This Intersex Woman Had To Flee Her Home Country — Now She Wants the World To Know Her Story by Emily Pinto for Kate Couric Media (2022)

[queerafricans]

LGBTQ and Zimbabwean: Bulelwa Madekurozwa, Tatelicious Karigambe-Sandberg, Charmaine Bingwa and Tatenda Ngwaru

[flyandfamousblackgirls]

Intersex activist Tatenda Ngwaru shares her story of living in the margins as a Black Intersex Woman seeking asylum in the United States.