Nat Poeschel

Intersex Advocate Pidgeon Pagonis (they/them) held a discussion on the topic of intersexuality and bodily autonomy on April 23 in the Nohr Gallery of Ullsvik Hall. Copies of their memoir, “Nobody Needs to Know,” were given to the first 50 people in attendance.
Pagonis is an activist, speaker, author, photographer and filmmaker from Chicago, IL who dedicates their efforts to exposing human rights violations against intersex individuals and advocates against the non-consensual, irreversible medical interventions imposed upon them.
The term “intersex” describes a person born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the binary of typical male or female characteristics. There are over 40 documented types of intersex conditions and roughly 1 in 500 people are estimated to have a form of intersexuality.
Today, intersexuality is commonly treated as a medical problem. When an intersex person is born, their doctors and family typically raise them as one gender. This is done through sexual reassignment surgery, typically done between ages two and ten, and hormone replacement therapy after puberty.
Pagonis was diagnosed with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) when they were an infant. They were not told of this intersex variation and were assigned female at birth. Doctors told their mother that they had ovarian cancer (when they in fact had internal testes and no ovaries) and subjected Pagonis to a series of cosmetic surgeries to remove sections of their genitalia, which their doctors justified as being necessary to facilitate “sexual relationships with men.”
“My voice was absent from the entire step,” Pagonis continued. “Not once did anybody ever ask me what I wanted for myself.”
Movements to ban sexual reassignment surgeries on intersex children without their consent have been growing. The main goal of Pagonis’ activism is ultimately the right to bodily autonomy – the right for a person to control what happens to their own body without external influence or coercion.
They have seen great success in their activism. The Lurie Children’s hospital in Chicago, the same hospital where Pagonis received their sexual reassignment surgery, was the first hospital in the US to stop offering intersex procedures in July 2020. They also offered a formal apology to the intersex community.
After the discussion, the floor was opened for questions, book signings and photos. During the Q&A session, Pagonis elaborated on the intricacies of navigating identity and bodily autonomy in both medical and societal standards. They also emphasized the importance of informed consent and the need for comprehensive education and awareness surrounding intersex issues.