Sean_Saifa_Wall

Sean Saifa Wall

Sean Saifa Wall

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]

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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

  1. [1]
    Jaffe, Nigel. "Sean Saifa M. Wall '01 reflects on time as intersex activist".
  2. [2]
    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.
  3. [3]
    Wall, Sean Saifa; Davis, Georgiann (February 26, 2014). "Op-ed: Hey, Fox News, Intersex Is Not A Punchline". The Advocate. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Celebrating Black History Month: Sean Saifa Wall – Intersex Campaign for Equality". Retrieved 2019-04-27.
  5. [5]
    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.
  6. [6]
    Wall, Sean Saifa (November 8, 2016). "Love, complexity and inter-sectionality". Intersex Day. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  7. [7]
    "About Sean Saifa Wall". EMERGE. Archived from the original on 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  8. [8]
    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
  9. [9]
    "Turning the Lens Inward: Sean Saifa Wall". Interact Advocates for Intersex Youth. October 15, 2014. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  10. [10]
    "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.
  11. [11]
    Murray, Ross (March 11, 2015). "Intersex advocates correct and clarify Nightline news report". GLAAD.
  12. [12]
    "What It's Like To Be Intersex". BuzzFeed. March 29, 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  13. [13]
    "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.
  14. [14]
    Bolles, Alexandra (April 22, 2014). "VIDEO: Intersex advocates talk stigma, health care, & family support on HuffPost Live". GLAAD. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  15. [15]
    Wall, Sean Saifa (April 26, 2015). "American surgeons are still mutilating children who don't look "normal"". Quartz. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  16. [16]
    "Theme: Constant / Change". TEDxGrandRapids. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  17. [17]
    Wall, Sean Saifa (2018-02-13). "Finding life through loss". Scalawag. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
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