Opinions
Breaking binaries and advocating for intersex justice in Southern Africa
Movement embraces intersectionality and affirms people’s multiple identities
A transformative movement is gaining momentum in Southern Africa, a region known for its diverse cultures and traditions. This movement challenges gender norms and advocates for the rights and dignity of intersex individuals. This article explores the vital concepts of breaking binaries and intersex justice in Southern Africa, where cultural nuances and a rapidly developing fierce spirit of activism reshape the landscape of gender diversity and sexuality.
The world is quickly changing, and with it comes an increasing recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion. In the past, many people have looked at the world in terms of binaries — Black and white, male and female, homosexual and heterosexual. However, this way of thinking is limiting and does not reflect the diversity that exists in our communities. Breaking these binaries and embracing diversity and inclusion is crucial to creating a fair and equitable society by recognizing and protecting all these diversities.
Intersex intersectionality
Intersex justice is a social and human rights movement that advocates for the rights, dignity and well-being of intersex individuals. It is also a political movement making political statements since in the broader context of identity politics and the recognition that vulnerable and marginalized communities have historically been subjected to social, political and legal discrimination. When gender-diverse people dare to express their identities openly (and using the plural term for identity here intentionally because, using the theory of intersectionality, everyone has their own unique identities and experiences), it can be seen as a form of resistance and a statement against the systemic discrimination and oppression they may face.
Intersex people are born with variations in their sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female. Intersex people often face stigma, discrimination, medical interventions without informed consent and societal violence. Inclusive binaries and intersex justice are significant issues in Southern Africa, as they intersect with the region’s traditional, cultural, social and legal aspects. In many parts of Southern Africa, intersex persons are often frowned upon, hidden or even believed to be a curse and killed.
As we work on intersex awareness, though annual commemorations such as #IntersexAwarenessDay, there is a solid need to reject stereotypes that lead to discrimination and prejudice. Breaking binaries embraces intersectionality and affirms that people have multiple identities that intersect and interact with one another.
Several Southern African customs have a long-standing relationship with gender and sex, associated with male and female and masculinity and femininity and there is no in-between; males are expected to masculinize, and females are supposed to feminize. The push for inclusive binaries challenges these traditional gender norms and promotes a more inclusive understanding of human diversity.
Gender norms and it has influenced societies
Gender norms have profoundly influenced Southern African societies, shaping cultural, social, and economic dynamics for centuries, and this has also impacted modern gender norms in our communities. Gender norms can be defined “as social principles that govern the behavior of girls, boys, women and men in society and restrict their gender identity into what is considered to be appropriate,” a definition also very limiting and binary based with little consideration and acknowledgement of the diverse gender spectrum.
Gender norms, a social construct, were often prescribed specific roles and responsibilities for men and women, and we have been inaccurately taught in history, moral education and social studies lessons in schools that in the past, men were traditionally seen as hunters, warriors and providers, while women were responsible for domestic tasks, childcare and subsistence farming.
These roles have reinforced gender-based inequalities in access to resources and economic opportunities that we experience today in a somewhat progressive modern society. Gender norms typically grant more decision-making power to men, and they often hold leadership positions within the community. This practice continues as men’s voices are prioritized in governance and social development matters, which has resulted in the exclusion of women from participating in important decisions that affect their lives and communities, and this is even worse for gender-diverse persons and they do not satisfy the bias “male” and “female” category.
The unequal power dynamics enforced by society’s gender norms have contributed to higher levels of gender-based violence. Domestic violence and harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation have persisted in some Southern African communities due to these norms. Intersex persons have not been spared from genital mutilation as some have undergone “gender reappropriation” surgeries as infants. There is a growing push in advocacy and legislative reform to protect intersex minors from unconsented gender surgeries as this is a choice that should be for them to make. The influence of gender norms has further influenced healthcare service delivery as sexual and reproductive health and rights development have been limited and not inclusive and accessible for intersex persons. This limitation has resulted in a lack of bodily autonomy for intersex people. Being gender-diverse has many excluded intersex people from essential fundamental health services such as family planning and mental well-being.
Another aspect influenced by gender norms is inheritance rights. Many African societies are built in a cisgender patriarchal system, and because of this, inheritance and property rights have been structured in a way that favored male heirs. This has often left women and girls without access to land and resources, making them economically vulnerable and dependent on male relatives.
The result of not conforming and fitting into mainstream male or female gender identity often left intersex persons excluded, facing stigma, discrimination and prejudice from various packets of society. Efforts are being made to raise awareness about intersex issues, promote inclusivity, challenge discrimination and prevent the invisibilization of intersex voices and identities. Intersex justice organizers work to ensure intersex individuals are recognized, respected and provided with the support and care they need while fighting against harmful practices and discrimination.
Efforts and promoting intersex rights and justice in Southern Africa
Promoting intersex rights and justice in Southern Africa has become an increasingly important focus for advocacy and human rights organizations in recent years.
Human rights organizations, such as the Southern Africa Litigation Center, are actively involved in legal advocacy for gender-diverse individuals and work to challenge discriminatory laws and practices, and supporting strategic litigation that promotes the rights of gender minority and gender-diverse people in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Regional organizations such as Iranti and Gender DynamiX advocate and provide training and educational resources to healthcare professionals, religious and cultural leaders, policymakers, and the public. These advocacy initiatives aim to enhance understanding and sensitivity regarding intersex issues and collaborate with other human rights organizations to foster a more inclusive and accepting society.
Legal and policy developments on intersex rights in Southern Africa
Legal and policy developments related to intersex rights in Southern Africa have gained momentum in recent years, reflecting a growing recognition of the need to protect the rights of intersex individuals. Additionally, the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women, a progressive human rights instrument, requires state parties to take specific measures to end violence against women regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Furthermore, the Protocol calls for the ending of genital mutilation and the promotion of bodily autonomy and reproductive health choices of women, including intersex women.
In South Africa, the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act as amended in 2005 interprets the definition of “sex” to include intersex persons; therefore, intersex persons are protected from unfair discrimination, harassment and hate speech and promote equality for intersex persons.
In 2014, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted Resolution 275, which protects against violence and other human rights violations against persons based on their actual or imputed sexual orientation and gender identity. Resolution 275 expresses grave concern about increasing violence and other human rights violations, including murder, rape and assault experienced by sexual and gender minorities. It calls upon states to stop such violence and take appropriate measures to ensure adequate remedies for victims.
Botswana made significant progress in 2017 by recognizing the rights of transgender and intersex individuals to change their legal gender markers on official documents. This ruling by the court was a crucial step towards recognizing the diversity of gender identities and would pave the way for the protection of gender-diverse persons. In many Southern African countries, such as Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia, intersex persons can legally change their name and sex on birth certificates to suit their preferred gender identity per the national registration acts.
In 2022, the Zimbabwean government adopted two recommendations at the country’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on gender minorities, which were to protect intersex minors from unconsented operations surgeries and violations of bodily integrity and to strengthen efforts to address violence against women, children and all persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Intersex advocacy groups in Zimbabwe have been working to raise awareness and challenge harmful practices. Following the adopted recommendations, there is an expectation to see an increase in dialogue between the government and human rights organizations on protecting intersex people’s rights.
In March this year, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted Resolution 552, which seeks to promote and protect intersex rights on the African continent. Resolution 552 comes with clear recommendations for states to create administrative and legislative measures to protect intersex persons from violent harassment at home, school, the workplace and in the broader society. It calls on member states to ensure that members of their judiciary, immigration officials, law enforcement officers, healthcare and education practitioners, as well as traditional and religious communities, are sensitized to protect, respect and treat intersex people equally without discrimination or prejudice. It further calls for the recognition and protection of intersex movements and human rights defenders to organize without any threats and that perpetrators are tried and persecuted.
Intersex liberation is our liberation too
The fight for the recognition, protection, and inclusion of intersex people is an ongoing and essential human rights struggle. And while there has been progress, challenges still exist for intersex rights. It is necessary to continue advocating for the full recognition and freedoms of all intersex people, to protect their bodily autonomy and to ensure that they can live their lives with dignity and without discrimination.
Bradley Fortuin is the LGBTIQ+ Program Officer at the Southern Africa Litigation Center and a social justice activist.
This article is part of advocacy efforts on recommendations to the government of Botswana’s Universal Review of Botswana at the 43rd Human Rights Council. A joint submission Stakeholder Report was submitted by Banana Club,Black Queer DocX, Botswana Trans Initiative, Life|Loss|Love, Mmammati Human Rights Hub, Iranti, the Southern Africa Litigation Center and the Sexual Rights Initiative.
Opinions
A reminder that Jan. 6 was ‘textbook terrorism’
Capitol attack started an effort to make civic engagement feel dangerous
Jan. 6 taught us what it costs to defend our families and our communities.
Five years ago, Michael Fanone went to work as a Metropolitan Police Department officer and ended the day fighting for his life while defending the United States Capitol.
After Michael spoke publicly about what he witnessed on Jan. 6, the response was not disagreement or debate. It was intimidation. His mother was swatted in a targeted attack.
We are not immediate family, but we spend holidays together. Our lives overlap. And that was close enough.
Unpaid pizza deliveries were sent to our homes. Strangers showed up demanding payment. Threats followed, by phone and online. The message was unmistakable: Speaking out against Donald Trump would come at a cost, not only for you, but for your family.
As Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the time, Jan. 6 was “textbook terrorism.”
What made this harder was not only the intimidation itself, but the absence of any clear support once the headlines faded. One of us was a Metropolitan Police officer. The other served on the D.C. State Board of Education. If anyone should have known where to turn or had access to guidance or protection, it should have been us. Instead, there were no clear resources to help families deal with harassment, no guidance on what to do when threats followed us home, and no sense that anyone had our backs once the attention moved on. We were left to absorb it quietly and figure it out ourselves.
That experience changed how I understood Jan. 6, not as a single violent day, but as the start of a longer effort to make civic engagement feel dangerous and isolating. You do not have to silence everyone. You only have to make examples of a few.
I know many people in this city recognize that feeling now. The sense that speaking out carries risk. That you cannot afford to lose your job. That scrubbing your social media is safer than risking the consequences. In this context, silence is not necessarily apathy. It is self-preservation.
As a school board member and healthcare navigator, I hear it from families who decide to keep their children at home rather than send them to school. I hear it from families who decide not to re-certify their Medicaid, not because they are ineligible, but because they fear being targeted for using public benefits. These are not abstract concerns. They are everyday decisions shaped by fear of retaliation, fear learned by watching what happens to people who speak out.
More people in our city are now asking the same question my family was forced to confront on Jan. 6: Who will back you when the pressure does not stop, or when it follows you home after work?
This is where the city should step in and say clearly: We will have your back.
Yes, D.C. operates under real constraints. We lack statehood. We cannot deploy the National Guard without federal approval. Congress can overturn our laws.
But even within those limits, choices still matter. Across D.C., neighbors are walking children to school when families fear being targeted by ICE. Passersby are stopping to question why someone is being profiled or detained. These acts do not eliminate risk. They redistribute it, often making the difference between retreat and resistance.
This is not about asking everyone to be louder or braver on their own. It is about whether we are willing, as a city and a community, to make it safer for people to stand up to a bully. That means building real support around those who take risks, so they are not left isolated afterward. It means treating endurance as a shared responsibility, not an individual test.
Our city may not have all the powers it would have as a state, but we still have choices. Right now, residents and city workers who face threats are left to navigate a maze of agencies, hotlines, and informal advice on their own. That gap is a policy choice, and it does not have to remain one. There should be one clear place to go when harassment or threats occur, a single point of contact that helps document what’s happening, connects people to existing resources, and coordinates a response across agencies. Not a new bureaucracy, but a clear front door. The message it would send matters as much as the help itself. You are not on your own, and the city is paying attention beyond the news cycle.
Jan. 6 did not end at the Capitol. It moved into our neighborhoods, our families, and our daily choices. The work now is not to demand a single expression of courage, but to make it safer for all of us to stand up in our own way, together.
Allister Chang is a member of the D.C. State Board Of Education from Ward 2.
Opinions
A dangerous precedent on trans rights in Texas
State compiling list of those who have updated gender on driver’s licenses
Recent reporting from Texas Standard revealed what should alarm every American who values privacy, civil rights, and constitutional restraint: the state of Texas is compiling a list of transgender residents who have attempted to update the gender marker on their driver’s licenses.
Under a policy quietly implemented after August 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped accepting court orders or amended birth certificates as valid documentation for gender marker changes. Instead, DPS employees were instructed to forward the names and identifying information of applicants seeking such updates to a dedicated internal email channel labeled “Sex Change Court Order.” Those records, which include sensitive personal information, are now being collected internally by the state.
Texas officials have not offered a clear explanation for why this information is being gathered, how long it will be retained, or what it will ultimately be used for. That lack of transparency is deeply troubling on its own. But in the broader context of Texas’s recent legislative trajectory on transgender rights, the implications are far more serious. This is not merely a bureaucratic shift. It is the creation of a targeted registry of transgender people.
The discriminatory nature of this practice is difficult to ignore. Governments are generally prohibited from singling out individuals based on protected characteristics for special monitoring or record-keeping. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, discrimination against transgender people has been understood as a form of sex discrimination under federal law. Compiling a list of people solely because they sought to align their identification documents with their gender identity runs directly counter to that principle.
Even states with restrictive policies around gender marker changes have historically focused on procedural barriers rather than surveillance. Texas has crossed a new threshold by moving from denial to documentation. The state is no longer just refusing recognition; it is actively cataloging those who seek it.
This practice also represents a profound violation of privacy. Driver’s license records contain some of the most sensitive personal data the government holds. Associating that data with a person’s transgender status without consent or statutory justification creates obvious risks, particularly in a political environment where transgender people are already subject to heightened hostility.
The chilling effect is unavoidable. Trans Texans will now have to weigh whether engaging with basic state services could land them on a government list. That fear will discourage people from updating identification, interacting with public agencies, or asserting their legal rights at all. When a government’s actions deter a specific population from participating in civic life, the harm extends well beyond administrative inconvenience.
What makes this development especially dangerous is how neatly it fits into a broader pattern. Texas lawmakers have spent years advancing legislation that narrows the legal definition of sex, restricts access to gender-affirming care, and limits the recognition of transgender people across public institutions. The creation of this list does not stand apart from those efforts; it complements them.
Once such a database exists, it becomes a tool. Data collected today for “administrative review” can be used tomorrow to justify new exclusions, enhanced scrutiny, or punitive enforcement. History shows that registries built around identity rarely remain benign. They become mechanisms of control.
Other states are watching. Texas has increasingly functioned as a testing ground for anti-trans policy, with lawmakers elsewhere ready to replicate measures that survive legal or political backlash. If compiling a list of transgender residents becomes normalized in Texas, it will not remain isolated. Red states searching for new ways to restrict trans lives will take notice.
The constitutional issues raised by this practice are significant. The Equal Protection Clause forbids states from treating similarly situated individuals differently without sufficient justification. Singling out transgender people for special tracking invites heightened scrutiny. There are also serious Fourth Amendment concerns when the government collects and retains sensitive personal information without a clear, lawful purpose.
At stake is not just the safety of transgender Texans, but the integrity of government itself. If states are permitted to quietly assemble lists of disfavored populations, the precedent does not stop with gender identity. It becomes easier to rationalize similar measures against other groups, under different political conditions.
This moment demands scrutiny and resistance. Texas must be compelled to explain why this data is being collected, how it will be protected, and whether it will be shared across agencies. Civil rights organizations and federal authorities should treat this practice as a serious warning sign, not a minor administrative quirk.
The United States has made meaningful progress toward recognizing the rights and dignity of transgender people, but that progress is fragile. It can be reversed not only through sweeping legislation, but through quiet bureaucratic maneuvers that evade public attention.
A list of transgender citizens is not a neutral administrative artifact. It is a signal. It tells a vulnerable population that their government is watching them differently, recording them differently, and preparing to treat them differently. That should concern everyone, regardless of where they live.
If we allow this to stand, Texas will not be the last state to do it.
Isaac Amend is a writer based in the D.C. area. He is a transgender man and was featured in National Geographic’s ‘Gender Revolution’ documentary. He serves on the board of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia. Contact him on Instagram at @isaacamend
One year gone, another just beginning. The best of all worlds would be no regrets about how you lived your life in 2025, and a positive outlook for 2026. I wish that for all of you, along with good health and happiness.
For me, 2025 was a good year. No new health issues as long as I don’t consider my recent root canal. Friends kidded if that was my worst, life is OK. But then they didn’t sit in the dentist chair for three hours. As you are aware, if reading this in the Blade, I write about politics. The felon in the White House ensures there is always something to write about. Unfortunately, it’s 99% bad. He recently said he will interfere in Europe, and support far-right parties. Not surprising for him, and his fascist leaning administration. Again, as you know, I usually refer to him as ‘The felon,’ my most polite name for him. He has a slew of scary incompetents around him, but truly frightening are the fascists like Russell Vought at OMB who wrote Project 2025, and his personal Goebbels, Stephen Miller. They are proposing policies that are destroying lives. While many don’t impact me, they create a certain amount of guilt in how I live my life. I am a white, privileged, cisgender, older, male and can escape the immediate repercussions of some of the worst things happening in the world today. Nearly all perpetrated, or supported, by the evil SOB in the White House. There, another name for him.
As long as my Social Security keeps coming, and Medicare still pays 80% of my doctor bills, I should be OK. In 2025, I continued to join friends every morning for coffee. In D.C. at Java House; in Rehoboth Beach, it’s The Coffee Mill, owned by my good friends Mel Damascena and Bob Cartwright.
My regular column allows me to vent and comment on the world. My second column is the Blade’s Comings & Goings column. It lets me share the successes of so many in the LGBTQ community. We have a truly amazing community, of which I am so proud to be a part. In 2025, I also began my second book, this one on politics, but don’t hold your breath for a publication date. I am also a theater reviewer for the Georgetown Dish. I get to see as many plays as I like, and share thoughts about them. Mind you, I call myself a reviewer, not a critic. I always try to find something nice to say about every production, even if I don’t recommend others see it. Maybe a good actor, great scenic designer, always something good even in a bad production.
I am fortunate to continue to travel. Now it’s on cruise ships. Great to unpack once, and know where the bathroom is. This past year I went on two cruises, and the Blade was kind enough to publish my blogs. One, a bucket list cruise, something I wanted to do for over 40 years, to the Norwegian Fjords, and the Arctic. Twelve days on Celebrity APEX out of Southampton. It was amazing, and met all my expectations. The second was my recent transatlantic cruise, something I do annually, with a large group of friends from around the country, and world. It was 13 nights from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. I’ve already booked next October; 16 nights on Celebrity XCEL, Barcelona to Miami. I even have two cruises booked in 2027, one a transatlantic, the other a river cruise on the Douro, in Portugal. Feel free to join me if you like cruising, at least the kind done on the water.
All-in-all, 2025 was a good year. I look forward to the same in 2026. More travel, including a barge trip in June from Lyon to Paris, through the canals of Burgundy. I hope for good health, time with good friends, and more writing. In addition, I promise my friends, and community, I will continue to fight with, and for you, trying to make our lives better. I will demonstrate against the felon and his policies, work hard to elect Democrats, especially my friend Zach Wahls, running for United States Senate in Iowa. I will stand up, and speak out, for my trans friends, and friends who are immigrants, all threatened by the felon.
I ask you to join me and do everything we can to take back our country and look forward to maybe seeing many of you on a cruise, but definitely on the battle lines, here at home. Together, we can work in 2026 and beyond, to ensure everyone can live the life they want, and deserve; in what again must be the land of the free and home of the brave.
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.
PHOTOS: Freddie’s Follies
Imperial Court of Washington drag group has ‘dissolved’
What to watch for in 2026: midterms, Supreme Court, and more
A reminder that Jan. 6 was ‘textbook terrorism’
Claudia López criticizes Trump over threats against Colombian president
D.C.’s 10 best theater productions of 2025
A look back at the best books of 2025
The year in photos
Safer Ways to Pay for Online Performances and Queer Events
