Anne Tamar-Mattis

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2008

Anne Tamar-Mattis

Advocates for Informed Choice

http://www.aiclegal.org

Cotati, California, United States

Civil and Human Rights, Legal Advocacy

The Bold Idea:

Protecting the civil rights of children born with variations of sex anatomy.

Experts estimate that one in 2,000 children is born “intersex” due to a variety of medical conditions. The public has recently become aware of intersex people through the Oprah’s Book Club selection Middlesex. However, that work of fiction does not reveal that many intersex children are subjected throughout childhood to non-consensual surgeries aimed at “normalizing” their bodies. The surgeries continue despite a lack of medical evidence of benefit and in the face of sharp criticism from intersex adults, who assert that these surgeries are harmful, leading to childhoods filled with invasive procedures, physical pain, and humiliating medical exams. Intersex adults also cite a lifetime of massive scarring, impaired sexual response, incontinence, depression, sterility, and difficulty forming relationships. These surgeries also risk irreversibly assigning a physical sex that doesn’t match the child’s identity.

Advocates for Informed Choice (AIC) is the first organization in the United States addressing this problem through legal advocacy. The project engages parents, doctors, attorneys and intersex activists in strategy discussions; stimulates legal dialogue about the fundamental rights of children born with intersex conditions; and employs traditional and non-traditional legal tools to ensure justice for children born with intersex conditions. These activities are grounded in a sense of respect and compassion for the children, parents, doctors, and intersex adults involved.

Biography:

Anne Tamar-Mattis is a longtime organizer and advocate in the LGBT and intersex communities, and a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law. In 2006, she was awarded an Equal Justice Works Fellowship for her work with intersex children. She and her partner of fourteen years, intersex activist and physician Suegee Tamar-Mattis, are the parents of two children.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
My partner and many of my close friends are intersex. Their anger and sadness at their medical treatment has touched me deeply. When I went to law school, my intersex friends asked me why the law had failed to protect them. I soon learned that there were legal arguments available to protect intersex children and a modest effort could make a profound impact. I realized that I could make a dramatic difference. I had to do what I could to ensure that intersex children born today can grow up free from shame, discrimination, and unwanted surgery.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems? (Such as experiences, skills, events, etc.)
I came of age in the LGBT community during the worst of the AIDS crisis, and I saw firsthand the tragedy that can follow when good people remain silent. I also experienced the profoundly beautiful change that can occur, for individuals and for society, when those who have been silenced and hidden have the courage to step forward. Given those lessons, I see no option but to continue working for the liberation of all people. I am also very fortunate to have the unstinting support of friends and family who share this vision.

New and Untested: What's innovative about your new idea for social change?
AIC is the first organization in the country using legal strategies to protect the rights of children with intersex conditions. Rather than focusing on adversarial tactics, however, we are bringing together stakeholders—parents, doctors, lawyers, and affected adults—and working together toward our shared goal of ensuring the wellbeing of children with intersex conditions. By bringing a rights-based framework to discussions about medical decisions for children born with atypical bodies, we are fostering a new awareness of the humanity of all children.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
A successful social entrepreneur must balance faith in herself and her ideas with a willingness to learn and to change course. Above all, she must be willing to set aside what she thinks she ought to be doing and listen deeply to constituents.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
The Kinsey Sicks, Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead, Beethoven.

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work and anything in between)?
Whole Child, Whole Parent by Polly Berrien Berends, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Lessons from the Intersexed by Suzanne Kessler.

Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?

• isna.org (Intersex Society of North America)
• childrenastheyare.org

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be...The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.” - Helen Keller