Morgan Carpenter

Morgan Carpenter
Born	1966
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Community activist, researcher
Known for	Intersex activist, co-chair of Organisation Intersex International Australia
Website	morgancarpenter.com

Morgan Carpenter is an intersex activist and researcher^[1] who became president of Organisation Intersex International Australia in September 2013 and is currently a co-chair.^[2] Australia's Gay News Network included him in their "LGBTI people to watch in 2014".^[3]

Activism

Morgan Carpenter helped found Organisation Intersex International Australia^[2] and became president of the organisation in September 2013.^[2][4][5] His intersex status was diagnosed as an adult, with a complex surgical history.^[6][7]

Carpenter wrote OII Australia's submissions to Senate inquiries and appeared before a Senate hearing on anti-discrimination legislation, during activities that led to the adoption of an "intersex status" attribute in anti-discrimination law on 1 August 2013.^{[5][8][9][10]}

In submissions to a Senate committee inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation, Carpenter called for "normalising" surgeries on intersex infants to end, saying that such interventions "erase" intersex from society.^[11] He criticised "psychosocial" rationales for surgery that include "reduced opportunities for marriage or intimate relationships" and reduced "capacity to earn an income", stigmatisation and "risk of social isolation".^{[6][12][13][14]}

While opposing use of "Disorders of Sex Development" or "DSD", as "pathologising" terminology,^[15] Carpenter is named as a reviewer for a DSD Genetics website funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia.^[16]

With recognition of non-binary gender identities in Australian regulations, and German birth certificates, Carpenter expressed concern that such developments are "not a solution to the needs of intersex infants": "normalising surgeries" remain the "most fundamental concern".^{[17][18][19][20]} "Many intersex people are men or women and it's crucial not to coerce them into a third option. It's also important to avoid using infants and children as the means to pursue rights and liberties for adults."^[3][21] Nevertheless, Carpenter is the recipient of a passport with an 'X' sex marker.^[19]

Carpenter took part in the "first United Nations Human Rights Council side event on intersex issues" in March 2014, alongside Mauro Cabral and representatives of Intersex UK and Zwischengeschlecht,^[22]

In 2015, Carpenter joined an international advisory board for a first philanthropic Intersex Human Rights Fund established by the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.^[23]

Works

Selected publications include:

• The Employers' Guide to Intersex Inclusion (2014). The guide provides information on diversity and inclusion policies and practices for employers, written in partnership between Organisation Intersex International Australia and Pride in Diversity.^[24] It was described as "an excellent resource for employers" by Australian employment law firm Justitia.^[25]

• "Australia can lead the way for intersex people" in The Guardian (2013), Carpenter reviewed Australian progress on legal recognition of intersex people.^[26]

• In "It's time to defend intersex rights" at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's The Drum (2013), Carpenter reviewed an Australian Senate committee report on medical interventions on intersex people, saying that it "changed the debate on the correct treatment of intersex differences"; the report stated that "the status quo is not acceptable". He concluded, "We should all feel good about what we've got, whatever our shape or size".^[27]

• In "'Intersex' ruling misses the bigger issue" at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's The Drum (2014), Carpenter, expressed concern at the "Norrie" case arguing that a third sex or gender classification should not be imposed on intersex people.^[27] The same issues were developed in a piece for the Star Observer entitled "Intersex explained and the issues that confront us".^[28]

• An article entitled "Why Intersex Awareness Day is important" (2014) expresses a need to tackle trauma, secrecy and stigmatization, and resourcing for intersex-led organisations.^[29]

• The book The employment of people with disabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises (1998), written for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions reports on case studies on the employment of people with disabilities in six European countries.^[30]

References

1. Morgan Carpenter | The Guardian, The Guardian
2. The OII Australia Board, Organisation Intersex International Australia, 12 October 2013.
3. LGBTI people to watch in 2014, Gay News Network, 1 January 2014.
4. Changes At OII As Trailblazer Gina Wilson Retires , Star Observer, 13 September 2013
5. Board changes at OII Australia: Gina Wilson steps down, Gay News Network, 2 September 2013
6. Intersex health – Morgan Carpenter's presentation to Health in Difference conference, OII Australia, 22 April 2013
7. Safran, John; Maguire, Father Bon (May 2014). "04/05/2014". Sunday Night Safran. Triple J.
8. A Watershed Moment, Gay News Network, 2 July 2013.
9. We welcome the Senate Inquiry report on the Exposure Draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012, Organisation Intersex International Australia, 21 February 2013
10. On the historic passing of the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013, Organisation Intersex International Australia, 25 June 2013
11. Forced intersex surgery ‘genital mutilation’, Star Observer, 24 July 2013.
12. COLUMN – Intersex rights: the next fight, Star Observer, 25 October 2013.
13. LGBTI Health Update, Vol. 3, No. 4, May 2013, National LGBTI Health Alliance, May 2013
14. Senate Inquiry reveals forced surgery on intersex children, Gay News Network, 25 September 2013.
15. Concluding submission to the Senate Inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation, OII Australia, 12 September 2013.
16. "Disorders of Sex Development Research Website". University of Queensland, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
17. Third sex option on birth certificates, Deutsche Welle, 1 November 2013.
18. Third Gender: A Step Toward Ending Intersex Discrimination, Der Spiegel, 22 August 2013.
19. ‘X’ gender: Germans no longer have to classify their kids as male or female, RT, 3 November 2013.
20. Intersex activist questions German law reform, Star Observer, 8 November 2013.
21. ACT government bill will introduce wider gender identification, Lisa Cox in Canberra Times, 28 November 2013.
22. "Intersex side event at the UN Human Rights Council". Organisation Intersex International Australia. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
23. "Introducing the Intersex Fund team at Astraea!". Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. June 16, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
24. Carpenter, Morgan; Hough, Dawn (October 2014). Employers' Guide to Intersex Inclusion. Pride in Diversity. ISBN 9282829499. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
25. Justitia (21 November 2014). "Top workplace issues for 2015". Retrieved 2014-12-26.
26. Carpenter, Morgan (18 June 2013). "Australia can lead the way for intersex people". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
27. Carpenter, Morgan (15 November 2013). "It's time to defend intersex rights". Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Drum. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
28. Carpenter, Morgan (13 March 2014). "Intersex explained and the issues that confront us". Star Observer. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
29. Carpenter, Morgan (25 October 2014). "Why Intersex Awareness Day is important". Star Observer. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
30. Carpenter, Morgan (1998). The employment of people with disabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises (PDF). Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. ISBN 978-0-646-92905-7. Retrieved 2014-12-29.

External links

• Official website
• Organisation Intersex International Australia