thank you so much Tiffany thank you
everyone small thank you for joining us
for our first talk of the day and before
we start our conversation I’d like to
introduce you to our audience here
you’re a registered social worker a
Chinese medicine practitioner yep
clinical hypnotherapist based here in
Hong Kong and you hold a master’s in
gender studies from the Chinese
University of Hong Kong as well in 2010
you founded an advocacy group called
beyond the boundary knowing and concerns
intersects and your active activism
includes working with other intersex
people throughout Asia and worldwide
concerning the rights of intersex people
you came out publicly as intersex in
2015 and acknowledged as the first
person ever in Hong Kong to do that and
you’ve spoken at the United Nations and
lobbied governments worldwide about the
rights of intersex people in particular
seeking to stop genital normalisation
surgeries on intersex children stop
violence towards intersex people and
educate the public about the existence
of intersex people it’s more welcome so
much welcome to the TEDx ten however
stage thanks for being here thank you
this is my honest so I’m guessing from
the poll Tiffani that actually for many
people this may be their first
opportunity to understand what intersex
means and there may be some confusion as
well there’s a lot of acknowledgment in
the public in society about lesbian gay
bi transgender communities queer but
sometimes I intersex is included in that
group small you’re an intersex person
but as you’ve explained to me intersex
is not the same as LGBTQ so can you
explain to the audience for us help us
to understand what intersex is it is not
the same intercessor and LGBTQ
in that sense people upon with the SAS
carrot arrested that’s do not fit to the
typical binary notions of male and
female bodies it includes the variations
of the genitals testes offerees and also
the chromosome patterns some intersex
people bond with the ambergris genitals
some intersex people born with both male
and female genitals
now GPT kill issue is talking about
their mental status
but the intercessor is talking about our
biological status intersex is about just
the variations in a human so a person
might look female but have mostly male
anatomy or a person might develop both
male and female genitals or they have
they’re born with a reproductive and a
Anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical
binary definitions male female yeah
and I’m I’m thinking that as part of
that discovery that really brings up
issues around identity self-identity and
I know that you as intersex that at the
status you also have your own gender
identity you identify as female mm-hmm
share with us your journey about
discovering and uncovering that gender
identity my body is biological
intercessor but about my identity
identity myself and SS and also the
Indus as female but since before I try
my best to perform decimal to meet the
expectation from my parents but it is a
very difficult time for me in my life
but now I’m being myself I’m being the
intercessor and I intersect female I
enjoy the life I try my best to help the
people in my career
in my work and also try to contribute to
the society
I feel happy every day now I proud to be
a NSS my proud to be like the SS woman I
hope you don’t mind me sharing that you
were born here in Hong Kong
in 1965 and of course at that time there
was even smaller understanding than
there than there is today about what
intersects really means how did you
discover your intersects when I was 36
years old I went to a body check in the
hospital the doctors found that I have
the uterus and also the what inner
inside my body
36 before you discovered you how to
uterus and vagina I don’t know it’s good
for it and then they found that I am an
intersex person with an torturing
insensitivity syndromes it means in my
body I have the male chromosome and also
had a male hormone past ourselves on my
body do a lot upset the stimulation from
the mem hormone so I vomit immigrants
genitals and also developed the body
more females but it it is quite good for
me when I found that my mentor says but
since before my parents asked me to be a
boy they took me to the hospital
I have experienced over 20 times genital
surgeries on my body
the daughters try to help me to look
like more like a boy and I think we’ve
seen up on a screen a photo of you small
from when you were in kindergarten as a
little boy but it is quite a very
suffering experience on my childhood and
it is not just my story and all that
they have so many
as people also have the same sorry same
experience like me yeah I mean 20-plus
surgeries as a very young child
performed what you’re talking about is
without your consent and this is this
still happens today I mean intersex
children are largely given a binary
definition or Anatomy through surgery
through those kinds of decisions
but this has recently changed in a
couple of countries Malta and Taiwan
Taiwan as recently as October am i right
yes yes yeah this year and they’ve
prohibited surgeries on children
intersex children under the age of 12
can you talk to us about why this change
is so important for your community
absolutely it is very important for the
in this as people when the parents
haven’t assessed baby they feel so
worried because the medical system told
them does they got a baby with the
illness disabled for disorders of sex
development so the medical establishment
classifies them as being disordered or
ill yeah so the parents will talk the
baby to the daughters and the total will
try to help the baby fix the problem but
the baby will also experience the
genital surgeries so terrible experience
like me so we are talking about the
children do not lead to experience about
their surgeries if they born with
healthy body when now term motor and
Taiwan they prohibit the genital
surgeries father in the cell children
under 12 years old it is a very strong
message to the world please do no harm
for the interest troodon let them grow
up healthy let them have the right to
choice their gender their body and their
life it is talking about the individual
autonomy it is talking about the human
right for decision making my body
belongs to myself nobody had the right
to do something on me it’s humph only
this your message about personal
autonomy and individual decision-making
is a really powerful one and it’s
something that I know you’ve lobbied and
worked with the United Nations on can
you tell me more about your work with
the United Nations particularly focused
on human rights and children’s rights
yes
United Nation is the highest mechanism
in the world protecting the human right
intersex people so intersex people also
one other human and here in Texas issue
also the human right issue also the
woman issue also the children issue
mysterious lung of the country have the
registration system for the illnesses
people so no one know that
how many intersex people are existing in
the world so the countries don’t
actually recognize the existence there’s
because there is male and there’s female
in the population there’s no intersex
recognition yeah and also low and low
debt how to concern and provide a
surface body there’s people from the
aspect of the United Nations they
estimate
Iran Co pom five percent to 1.7 percent
of the global populations may be there
in versus people and say in one a 1 in
700 newborn baby maybe have one in the
SS baby
it is about the populations of the
people have the red hair but most of
intersex people are experiencing the
violence danger and the discriminations
you know the nation is the leader for
the human right
they have concerned the LGBTQ issue over
years so we intersect other ways when
two United Nations asked them concern in
the sassage’ to in 2015 United Nation
identifed fight identified the gendered
and misses the region genital surgery is
father in the says children are torture
and in the intersects our last day or
two tau 2015 you know the nation send
strong announcement to the world ask the
government’s poor hipot and mystery
surgeries for the indices Troodon edge
urgency and then read in the sensitive
ways we work so hard
bring that announcement to the world ask
the Cattleman’s please pothead
during the SS people in your countries
we are so happy now Melton and Taiwan
being the first country concerning
important ting the intersex people we
want we hoped in the future more and
more countries in Hong Kong to potted in
the sense people and stopped any genital
surgeries for the indices children I
think it really hit home for me when you
talked about this statistic of 1 in 700
verse is about the rate of of intersex
baby’s birth the same as having red hair
I mean that’s an incredible statistic
you and you think about the visibility
of people with red hair versus
people who are intersex you know
communities small we’re so fortunate to
have you here with us today help us
better understand the work that you’re
doing internationally and also about the
concerns and the rights of intersex
people do you have any final words for
us what would you like our audience to
really take away from our conversation
at the first I later send a very
important message to the parents
happiness s baby prints not your baby
Prince not your trial as they don’t do
any surgeries on their body let them
grow up healthy let them have the right
to make a decision about their gender
about the body and please don’t cure any
feelings if the tottered tell you this
is the intersex feeders they have the
rights to be alive
they have the right come to the world
enjoy your love and I like to send love
to the intercessor young people please
don’t give up try to do your best to
overcome the difficult enjoy your life
just being yourself and maybe try to
contribute to the society you women you
will be one day get a recognition from
the society so many intersex people in
the world are experiencing the danger
violence and discrimination and also the
non-consent genital surgeries I will
night to ask all the peoples and abused
here please concern in the sense people
and please send your love and support to
the intersex people and their family
we’re leaving around you we are here thank you
everyone small thank you for joining us
for our first talk of the day and before
we start our conversation I’d like to
introduce you to our audience here
you’re a registered social worker a
Chinese medicine practitioner yep
clinical hypnotherapist based here in
Hong Kong and you hold a master’s in
gender studies from the Chinese
University of Hong Kong as well in 2010
you founded an advocacy group called
beyond the boundary knowing and concerns
intersects and your active activism
includes working with other intersex
people throughout Asia and worldwide
concerning the rights of intersex people
you came out publicly as intersex in
2015 and acknowledged as the first
person ever in Hong Kong to do that and
you’ve spoken at the United Nations and
lobbied governments worldwide about the
rights of intersex people in particular
seeking to stop genital normalisation
surgeries on intersex children stop
violence towards intersex people and
educate the public about the existence
of intersex people it’s more welcome so
much welcome to the TEDx ten however
stage thanks for being here thank you
this is my honest so I’m guessing from
the poll Tiffani that actually for many
people this may be their first
opportunity to understand what intersex
means and there may be some confusion as
well there’s a lot of acknowledgment in
the public in society about lesbian gay
bi transgender communities queer but
sometimes I intersex is included in that
group small you’re an intersex person
but as you’ve explained to me intersex
is not the same as LGBTQ so can you
explain to the audience for us help us
to understand what intersex is it is not
the same intercessor and LGBTQ
in that sense people upon with the SAS
carrot arrested that’s do not fit to the
typical binary notions of male and
female bodies it includes the variations
of the genitals testes offerees and also
the chromosome patterns some intersex
people bond with the ambergris genitals
some intersex people born with both male
and female genitals
now GPT kill issue is talking about
their mental status
but the intercessor is talking about our
biological status intersex is about just
the variations in a human so a person
might look female but have mostly male
anatomy or a person might develop both
male and female genitals or they have
they’re born with a reproductive and a
Anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical
binary definitions male female yeah
and I’m I’m thinking that as part of
that discovery that really brings up
issues around identity self-identity and
I know that you as intersex that at the
status you also have your own gender
identity you identify as female mm-hmm
share with us your journey about
discovering and uncovering that gender
identity my body is biological
intercessor but about my identity
identity myself and SS and also the
Indus as female but since before I try
my best to perform decimal to meet the
expectation from my parents but it is a
very difficult time for me in my life
but now I’m being myself I’m being the
intercessor and I intersect female I
enjoy the life I try my best to help the
people in my career
in my work and also try to contribute to
the society
I feel happy every day now I proud to be
a NSS my proud to be like the SS woman I
hope you don’t mind me sharing that you
were born here in Hong Kong
in 1965 and of course at that time there
was even smaller understanding than
there than there is today about what
intersects really means how did you
discover your intersects when I was 36
years old I went to a body check in the
hospital the doctors found that I have
the uterus and also the what inner
inside my body
36 before you discovered you how to
uterus and vagina I don’t know it’s good
for it and then they found that I am an
intersex person with an torturing
insensitivity syndromes it means in my
body I have the male chromosome and also
had a male hormone past ourselves on my
body do a lot upset the stimulation from
the mem hormone so I vomit immigrants
genitals and also developed the body
more females but it it is quite good for
me when I found that my mentor says but
since before my parents asked me to be a
boy they took me to the hospital
I have experienced over 20 times genital
surgeries on my body
the daughters try to help me to look
like more like a boy and I think we’ve
seen up on a screen a photo of you small
from when you were in kindergarten as a
little boy but it is quite a very
suffering experience on my childhood and
it is not just my story and all that
they have so many
as people also have the same sorry same
experience like me yeah I mean 20-plus
surgeries as a very young child
performed what you’re talking about is
without your consent and this is this
still happens today I mean intersex
children are largely given a binary
definition or Anatomy through surgery
through those kinds of decisions
but this has recently changed in a
couple of countries Malta and Taiwan
Taiwan as recently as October am i right
yes yes yeah this year and they’ve
prohibited surgeries on children
intersex children under the age of 12
can you talk to us about why this change
is so important for your community
absolutely it is very important for the
in this as people when the parents
haven’t assessed baby they feel so
worried because the medical system told
them does they got a baby with the
illness disabled for disorders of sex
development so the medical establishment
classifies them as being disordered or
ill yeah so the parents will talk the
baby to the daughters and the total will
try to help the baby fix the problem but
the baby will also experience the
genital surgeries so terrible experience
like me so we are talking about the
children do not lead to experience about
their surgeries if they born with
healthy body when now term motor and
Taiwan they prohibit the genital
surgeries father in the cell children
under 12 years old it is a very strong
message to the world please do no harm
for the interest troodon let them grow
up healthy let them have the right to
choice their gender their body and their
life it is talking about the individual
autonomy it is talking about the human
right for decision making my body
belongs to myself nobody had the right
to do something on me it’s humph only
this your message about personal
autonomy and individual decision-making
is a really powerful one and it’s
something that I know you’ve lobbied and
worked with the United Nations on can
you tell me more about your work with
the United Nations particularly focused
on human rights and children’s rights
yes
United Nation is the highest mechanism
in the world protecting the human right
intersex people so intersex people also
one other human and here in Texas issue
also the human right issue also the
woman issue also the children issue
mysterious lung of the country have the
registration system for the illnesses
people so no one know that
how many intersex people are existing in
the world so the countries don’t
actually recognize the existence there’s
because there is male and there’s female
in the population there’s no intersex
recognition yeah and also low and low
debt how to concern and provide a
surface body there’s people from the
aspect of the United Nations they
estimate
Iran Co pom five percent to 1.7 percent
of the global populations may be there
in versus people and say in one a 1 in
700 newborn baby maybe have one in the
SS baby
it is about the populations of the
people have the red hair but most of
intersex people are experiencing the
violence danger and the discriminations
you know the nation is the leader for
the human right
they have concerned the LGBTQ issue over
years so we intersect other ways when
two United Nations asked them concern in
the sassage’ to in 2015 United Nation
identifed fight identified the gendered
and misses the region genital surgery is
father in the says children are torture
and in the intersects our last day or
two tau 2015 you know the nation send
strong announcement to the world ask the
government’s poor hipot and mystery
surgeries for the indices Troodon edge
urgency and then read in the sensitive
ways we work so hard
bring that announcement to the world ask
the Cattleman’s please pothead
during the SS people in your countries
we are so happy now Melton and Taiwan
being the first country concerning
important ting the intersex people we
want we hoped in the future more and
more countries in Hong Kong to potted in
the sense people and stopped any genital
surgeries for the indices children I
think it really hit home for me when you
talked about this statistic of 1 in 700
verse is about the rate of of intersex
baby’s birth the same as having red hair
I mean that’s an incredible statistic
you and you think about the visibility
of people with red hair versus
people who are intersex you know
communities small we’re so fortunate to
have you here with us today help us
better understand the work that you’re
doing internationally and also about the
concerns and the rights of intersex
people do you have any final words for
us what would you like our audience to
really take away from our conversation
at the first I later send a very
important message to the parents
happiness s baby prints not your baby
Prince not your trial as they don’t do
any surgeries on their body let them
grow up healthy let them have the right
to make a decision about their gender
about the body and please don’t cure any
feelings if the tottered tell you this
is the intersex feeders they have the
rights to be alive
they have the right come to the world
enjoy your love and I like to send love
to the intercessor young people please
don’t give up try to do your best to
overcome the difficult enjoy your life
just being yourself and maybe try to
contribute to the society you women you
will be one day get a recognition from
the society so many intersex people in
the world are experiencing the danger
violence and discrimination and also the
non-consent genital surgeries I will
night to ask all the peoples and abused
here please concern in the sense people
and please send your love and support to
the intersex people and their family
we’re leaving around you we are here thank you
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