American intersex rights activist
Sean Saifa Wall is an African-American researcher, and long-time advocate for
intersex rights .
[1] He is a
queer ,
transgender , and
intersex man of color and former president of
Interact Advocates for Intersex Youth .
[2]
[3] He approaches his work to end intersex oppression through an
intersectional lens.
[4]
Early life and career
Sean Saifa Wall has described growing up in the Bronx in the 1980s in a family with other intersex members. In an interview by
Pidgeon Pagonis , he describes how an uncle of his was forced to sleep outside on the porch of his hospital after a surgery, and how his intersex and black identities are inseparable.
[5] Drawing parallels, Wall has stated, "Although seemingly different subjects, they share the same common denominator, state-sponsored violence against marginalized individuals".
[6] Diagnosed with
partial androgen insensitivity syndrome , he was subjected to a gonadectomy at age 13, necessitating lifelong hormone replacement therapy.
[6]
Wall volunteered for
Gay Men's Health Crisis at age 14, prior to studying at
Williams College . He later travelled to Cuba with
Pastors for Peace , documenting the local health system.
[7]
Activism
Wall served as president of
Interact Advocates for Intersex Youth for three years.
[7] During that time, Interact filed a lawsuit, M.C. v. Medical University of South Carolina , in the County of Richmond, South Carolina, in partnership with the
Southern Poverty Law Center .
[8]
[9]
In 2015, Wall joined an international advisory board for a first philanthropic Intersex Human Rights Fund established by the
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice .
[10] He has also developed an art project entitled EMERGE.
[7]
As part of his advocacy work, Wall has been interviewed by
Nightline , in a segment where he also confronted his childhood surgeon,
[11]
BuzzFeed ,
[12]
[13] HuffPost Live,
[14] and written for
The Advocate
[3] and
Quartz .
[15] Wall spoke at TEDxGrandRapids in May 2015.
[16]
Personal life
Wall has written of being a former
Catholic .
[17]
Selected bibliography
Wall, Sean Saifa (November 8, 2016).
"Love, complexity and inter-sectionality" .
Intersex Day . Retrieved 2017-01-19 .
Wall, Sean Saifa (2015).
"Standing at the Intersections: Navigating Life as a Black Intersex Man" . Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics . 5 (2): 117–119.
doi :
10.1353/nib.2015.0046 .
PMID
26300141 .
S2CID
31637580 .
Wall, Sean Saifa (April 26, 2015).
"American surgeons are still mutilating children who don't look "normal" " .
Quartz . Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
Wall, Sean Saifa;
Davis, Georgiann (February 26, 2014).
"Op-ed: Hey, Fox News, Intersex Is Not A Punchline" .
The Advocate . Retrieved August 29, 2016 .
References
^ Jaffe, Nigel.
"Sean Saifa M. Wall '01 reflects on time as intersex activist" .
^ Wall, Sean Saifa (2015).
"Standing at the Intersections: Navigating Life as a Black Intersex Man" .
Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics . 5 (2): 117–119.
doi :
10.1353/nib.2015.0046 .
PMID
26300141 .
S2CID
31637580 .
^
a
b Wall, Sean Saifa;
Davis, Georgiann (February 26, 2014).
"Op-ed: Hey, Fox News, Intersex Is Not A Punchline" .
The Advocate . Retrieved August 29, 2016 .
^
"Celebrating Black History Month: Sean Saifa Wall – Intersex Campaign for Equality" . Retrieved 2019-04-27 .
^
Pagonis, Pidgeon (June 3, 2016).
"6 Things Intersex Folks Need to Know About How We Perpetuate Anti-Black Racism" . Everyday Feminism . Retrieved January 8, 2017 .
^
a
b Wall, Sean Saifa (November 8, 2016).
"Love, complexity and inter-sectionality" .
Intersex Day . Retrieved 2017-01-19 .
^
a
b
c
"About Sean Saifa Wall" . EMERGE . Archived from
the original on 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^ Southern Poverty Law Center (2013-05-14),
"Groundbreaking SPLC lawsuit accuses South Carolina, doctors and hospitals of unnecessary surgery on infant" ,
Southern Poverty Law Center
^
"Turning the Lens Inward: Sean Saifa Wall" .
Interact Advocates for Intersex Youth . October 15, 2014. Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^
"Introducing the Intersex Fund team at Astraea!" .
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice . Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. June 16, 2015. Archived from
the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-02 .
^ Murray, Ross (March 11, 2015).
"Intersex advocates correct and clarify Nightline news report" .
GLAAD .
^
"What It's Like To Be Intersex" .
BuzzFeed . March 29, 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^
"This Video Explains What It's Like — And What It Isn't Like — To Be Intersex" .
Mic.com . March 30, 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^ Bolles, Alexandra (April 22, 2014).
"VIDEO: Intersex advocates talk stigma, health care, & family support on HuffPost Live" .
GLAAD . Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^ Wall, Sean Saifa (April 26, 2015).
"American surgeons are still mutilating children who don't look "normal" " .
Quartz . Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^
"Theme: Constant / Change" . TEDxGrandRapids . Retrieved 2016-08-29 .
^ Wall, Sean Saifa (2018-02-13).
"Finding life through loss" . Scalawag . Retrieved 2024-02-04 .
External links