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Intersex Activism in the United States
Intersex activism began in the 1980s with support groups meant to help intersex people, and has developed into so much more, while continuing to work on that original goal. Intersex activist groups have a large amount of varying goals and/or practices that constitute their activism, and some of these groups do not even consider themselves activist organizations. Though the actions and goals taken by these organizations vary, they all make up a group that works for intersex people.

Support Groups
Support groups are organizations created particularly to bring intersex people together to support one another. The purpose of these groups is often not focused on impacting people outside of the group as much as it is making people inside the group feel comfortable. For example, one such group is AIS DSD Support Group, on organization founded to bring people with androgen sensitivity disorder together. Founded in 1996, AIS DSD was originally a “friendship and correspondence” that focused on education and advocacy. These groups serve large populations, working to support intersex people, as well as their friends and family. The very first support group of its kind was developed in 1987 to support people with Turner’s syndrome, and that organization now serves thousands of members throughout the United States. These various groups still exist today, often differing from intersex activist organizations based on their goals. These groups also may or may not consider themselves intersex activist groups as these organizations “all seek to improve the lives of those born with intersex traits”, but the way they do so “vary according to how they understand the gender structure and conceptualize its relationship to the problems associated with intersex traits”. Thus, the distinction of who belongs under the category of intersex activism group is contentious.

The Intersex Society of North America
In 1993, Cheryl Chase (now known as Bo Laurent) created the Intersex Society of North America, or ISNA. According to Chase, the goal of the ISNA was to “create a community of intersex people who could provide peer support to deal with shame, stigma, grief and rage as well as with practical issues such as how to obtain old medical records or locate a sympathetic psychotherapist or endocrinologist” The desire to create the organization came from Chase’s own experiences as an intersex person, including feeling frustration at the surgeries that had been performed on her body without her consent. Thus, one of the long-term goals of the ISNA was also to “change the way intersex infants are treated”. In contrast to support groups, the purpose of the ISNA was to challenge the medicalization of intersex, rather than seeing it as a medical pathology. Specifically, the ISNA wanted to “destabilize more effectively the heteronormative assumptions underlying the violence directed at our bodies”1. Thus, ISNA as a political group began a new type of intersex activism group. ISNA was disbanded in 2008, citing troubles with actually accomplishing their missions: “we ﬁnally have consensus on improvements to care for which we have advocated for so long, but we lack a consistent way to implement, monitor, and evaluate them. ” The ISNA also faced problems with perceived personal bias when dealing with medical institutions. Medical personal and doctors argued that they “only offer anecdotal evidence, which has no validity when compared to scientific studies”. After the ISNA closed its doors, many of its members and collaborators moved on to work with Accord Alliance, an organization developed in 2008.

Intersex Initiative
Developed out of Portland, Oregon by a former intern for ISNA, Intersex Initiative, or II, is a group with varied advocacy interests. For the most part, II focuses on bringing awareness of intersex people into to the mainstream public. They accomplish this goal through several projects, including their Media Center, which is a catalog of intersex issues previously raised in the media. They also do work for Intersex Awareness Day, and provide a list of examples of intersex within popular culture.

Accord Alliance
Founded in 2008, Accord Alliance, or AA. According to their website, AA’s mission is to “promote comprehensive and integrated approaches to care.” On their website, this group promotes the consensus Standard of Care that was developed in 2006 by a group of intersex activists and experts. They work to advance a model of care for intersex people that relies on education, advocacy, and treatment that is best for the intersex person in the long run. They offer tools for teaching about intersex in the classroom, as well as videos and information for those trying to learn about intersex on their own.

InterACT
Interact Advocates for Intersex Youth is an organization founded in 2006 to promote rights for intersex people, particularly intersex children. They use “innovative legal and other strategies to advocate for the human rights of children born with intersex traits. ” InterACT developed out of Advocates for Informed Choice, another organization that worked alongside ISNA, with a more legal focus. InterACT advocates for the creation of legislation that allows intersex children to choose their own surgeries once they are old enough, rather than when they are infants. The group’s website offers information on policy, legislation, and research related to intersex people. They also offer information on intersex legal cases, particularly the M.C. v Aaronson case that was settled in 2017.