6 Years of Visibility: The Journey of Pride

As Intersex Asia approaches its 6th anniversary, we had a chance to sit down together with Hiker Chiu, the Executive Director of Intersex Asia, on a cozy chat about the organization’s journey in the past 6 years, and their vision for 2024 and beyond. 

Q: Greetings, Hiker! Thank you for joining me today. We all know you have always been here and worked tirelessly for the intersex community in Asia since 2010, but for people who are new to the term and the cause, can you tell us more about yourself and how you started your journey?

Hello, thank you for this opportunity to sit down and share my journey, not just as director of Intersex Asia but also as an intersex activist. For those who first know me, I’m Hiker Chiu, and I was born with ambiguous genitalia which is called intersex nowadays. However, I didn’t know about myself being intersex for such a long time. It was a long journey of being in constant confusion about who I was and where I belonged as well as all other issues about sex and gender and sexual orientation.  Only when I was 42 that I recognized my identity through an inspiring movie named “XXY”, which was about intersex teenagers’ journey exploring who they are. It was the first time I learned the term intersex, which later led me to the OII website. And what surprised me most was their huge community, with 10 languages available at the time. I never thought that there were so many intersex people around the world. I read a lot of intersex stories and looked back at my medical record. At that time I could finally figure out I belonged to the intersex group, not lesbian, not gay or trans.

The encounter with OII founder Curtis Hinkle sparked a new journey for me. I started as a volunteer to help translate documents into Chinese, then published the Chinese OII website in 2008, in coincide with the International Intersex Solidarity Day. And before I knew it, I became the founder of OII Chinese.  In the beginning, things didn’t go smoothly, we still couldn’t reach out to anyone because most of us were still in the dark. As suggested by the OII founders, I decided to come out in 2010 and started to share my story widely in universities, TV, newspapers, and other events. I think I was the first intersex person in Taiwan who came out for intersex human rights advocacy. Because my movement was rooted in love and not a political one, it was really easy to be accepted by people. People didn’t just start to accept me, but also intersex people. I believe coming out was a critical movement that needed to be done, and raising visibility is still one of the key goals of Intersex Asia later on. 

Q: At that time, you were starting all by yourself, how did you come in contact with other intersex activists?

At the time, I was reading and watching a lot of videos about intersex movements around the world. I saw the public hearing of Hida Viloria in San Francisco, a famous intersex activist, and got completely inspired. I wanted to be like them, positive and vibrant, not a person who always looks painful or traumatic. I decided to reach out to Hida. Luckily they said yes, and I visited them in the US. The trip gave me opportunities to meet and connect with other intersex activists. However, for quite some time, I was the only one representing Asia in the International Intersex Forum, so I felt the need to find other intersex people from different Asia countries to join me so they could share their stories. The ILGA Asia conference in 2013 was the first time I shared my story in English, and my first effort to search for intersex people in Asia. I found Esan Regmi and Gopi Shankar Madura’s stories in the media, and Jeff Cagandahan was introduced to me by OII Philippines founder Jonalyn. Asa Senji was later introduced by an intersex friend in Indonesia. I deeply appreciated their support as IA’s board members in the past years.

My impression of Esan, Gopi, and Jeff was a strong sense of belonging and well aligned with what I was doing at the time. In the beginning, we didn’t think of ourselves as activists, or understand what activists meant. We only started with the love of the community, and we still keep “Love” as the core value very much until now. We’re not fighting with anyone; all we do is give love and service to our community to help people who don’t understand intersex people. Coming out is another key action and milestone of an activist that we believe in. Not only does it bring out the visibility, but also creates a beacon of hope for people in the intersex community. If Esan and Gopi didn’t come out, I could not find them. Esan, Jeff, Gopi, and I were still the most active intersex activists in Asia. 

Q: In 2018, you and other members attended the 1st Asian Intersex Forum, giving birth to Intersex Asia, the regional network we know today. Can you share more about that major milestone? What pushed you and other intersex activists to establish an organization? 

The motivation for establishing Interex Asia can be traced back to the fact that compared to the West, such as the U.S. and Europe, Asian intersex activism began much later. After the ILGA Asia conference in 2013, our intersex movement in Asia had just started to attract more people. Our first-ever Asian Intersex gathering happened in Taiwan just before the ILGA Asia 2015 with only 8 participants, and from that, I could finally advocate for 6 Asian representatives to join the 4th International Intersex Forum in Amsterdam in 2017. Esan Regmi proposed an idea to create a network for Asia, similar to Europe, to have an umbrella organization for Asia, to unite and work collectively to strengthen the movement and provide a platform for diverse voices across the region. At that time, I didn’t have a big view on this initiative, however, I encouraged him to raise it at the Asian Intersex Forum in 2018.  The idea received great support from all participants. Organizations like CFC and Sristi Madurai in India were among the early supporters, and the consensus led to the establishment of Interex Asia. 

Compared to the West, the intersex movement in Asia was relatively weak. Many individuals were working in isolation, lacking resources and support. Furthermore, compared to other vulnerable groups like the LGBT, the intersex community is still much smaller. Therefore, I believe everyone should work together for a cross-border movement to improve intersex people’s lives. The collective decision and collaboration are the strength of the movement. You may think it’s a little idealistic, but I believe our group is a group of love. With love, this is no longer a labor, but the mission to love both ourselves and others. 

Q: Such a major milestone, how do you feel now, looking back at that moment? What has changed?

The establishment of intersex Asia was the right decision. The great thing is that the people we engaged back in 2018 stayed and continue to work together to build up the Intersex Asia network we know today. Needless to say, for me and the board members, more of our time and love has been poured into this to better connect with the community, represent them, and be their voices in the best possible way. And that makes us happy!

Throughout the years, Intersex Asia has been part of many movements across Asia, contributing to the shift in society’s perspective toward intersex people. Community building was the very first priority of IA in its early years, to foster a more inclusive and active community, paving the way for the increase in visibility and push for self-advocacy within the community. Through initiatives such as the release of the Asian Intersex Statement, translation of materials, the regional Intersex Fellowship Program, and hosting the 3rd Asian Intersex Forum in 2022, we want to keep our community well-informed and ensure a new generation of intersex activists will be ready to provide support and eventually take over the torch. 

In 2020, we successfully registered ourselves as an INGO in Taiwan. This was a big moment for us as it marked the new development period of Intersex Asia as a regional network. We want to be independent. In Asian society, the presence of an official and independent Intersex network means intersex people exist, and they are not rare. We are here, we are common, and we are perfect just like others. 

Q5: The last 6 years were challenging but rewarding. With all the achievements IA has made, what’s your vision for the network in 2024 and beyond? 

We’ve been operating for 6 years, I can confidently say that we have laid some important groundwork for the organization and the community. Our ultimate goal is to foster a world that appreciates the unique beauty of intersex individuals, striving to establish an inclusive and understanding society that safeguards their human rights on par with everyone else. Achieving this goal relies heavily on building a strong Asian intersex community, a task central to Intersex Asia’s mission. The organization plays a pivotal role in constructing a strong and sustainable platform for intersex people, to cultivate and grow to reach our common goal. 

Intersex people are people who historically have no community. Establishing a supportive community is not only the most challenging aspect but is also imperative for Intersex Asia as a regional network dedicated to advancing the intersex movement in the region. Over the past six years, our journey has centered on building the Asian intersex movement from the ground up. We firmly believe that the movement’s voice must originate from the community, and community building will remain our focal point in the upcoming years. 

Intersex Asia is and will fortify the movement’s foundations through different pillars: 

• The first is to build community by supporting new groups, enhancing capacity, nurturing a new generation of activists, and extending operation development aid to intersex-led organizations. This includes aspects such as capacity building, English training…etc
• Second, it’s to build knowledge including publishing materials in Asian languages, creating an information portal, and pushing for evidence-based research to drive policy change in Asia.
• And third is to build movement through involvement with UN advocacy, cross-movement collaborations, and partnerships such as women’s rights, child rights, disability, SHRH, and SOGIESC. We also plan to host the Intersex Summit in September to further develop the movement’s momentum, and introduce more Asian representatives to the global movement. 

All will require a lot of energy and dedication. But with the immense support of our community, partners, and stakeholders, we’ll get there!

Thank you Hiker for your time and your heartfelt sharing. On this special occasion, the 6th anniversary of Intersex Asia, let’s celebrate the success and tenacity of your team, the board members, and the intersex community across Asia. Our love can pave the path to the future where intersex people are respected, acknowledged, and celebrated for who they are!

Follow Intersex Asia on our social media and subscribe to our newsletter for updated news on the intersex movement in the region.