Irene Kuzemko
Intersex activist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irene Kuzemko (Ukrainian: Ірина Куземко; Russian: Ирина Куземко), also transcribed from Ukrainian and Russian as Irina Kuzemko, is a Russian-Ukrainian[1][2] intersex woman and intersex human rights activist. She co-founded Intersex Russia in 2017,[3] is a youth member of interACT, and an executive board member of OII Europe.[4][5] She have started her human rights advocacy as a member of Association of the Russian Speaking Intersex.[6]
Irene Kuzemko | |
|---|---|
| Ірина Куземко | |
| Born | 1993 (age 32–33) Lviv, Ukraine |
| Occupations | Executive board member of OII Europe, co-founder of Intersex Russia |
| Known for | Intersex human rights activist |
| Website | www |
Early life
Kuzemko was born in 1993 in Lviv, Ukraine[2] with mixed gonadal dysgenesis and assigned female at birth.[7] She was unaware of any difference in her body until puberty when her body failed to menstruate or grow breasts, and she was unaware of this possibility.[7][8] Kuzemko was sent to Moscow aged 15 for medical treatment.[9] She describes being left in the corridor while discussions about her body took place without her being present,[9] experiences of shame, alienation and suicidality,[9][10] and her father telling her she had "something wrong with [her] ovaries".[7] She underwent surgery, awaking with her hands and legs tied down.[9] Kuzemko first experienced menstruation at age 17.[7]
She has described how she found out she was intersex when watching a BuzzFeed video about people with intersex variations, when she was aged 22.[9][1] Kuzemko describes this moment as like "winning the jackpot" because she learned that other people with similar experiences existed.[7] She states that knowing the truth about her body was liberating and helped her become confident.[9]
Kuzemko requested her medical records and found out that she had XY chromosomes, and had been subjected to removal of an internal testis and fallopian tube without her knowledge.[1]
Activism
Kuzemko campaigns for bodily autonomy, and an end to secrecy and unnecessary medicalization,[1] describing how medical intervention is still promoted by the Russian Ministry of Health.[11] She have expressed concern about linking intersex and LGBT rights at a time of violence against LGBT people in Russia,[12] and states:
I’m proud to be intersex, I’m not ashamed of it, and I don’t regret it. Intersex is not a medical problem, it is a human rights problem[12]
She co-founded Intersex Russia in 2017[3] and is a youth member of interACT and an executive board member of OII Europe.[4] She speaks internationally[5][13] and contributes to work developing resources,[14][15][16] and promoting sexual and reproductive rights.[17]
Selected bibliography
- OII Europe (November 2019). #MyIntersexStory (PDF). Dan Christian Ghattas, Ins A Kromminga, Irene Kuzemko, Kitty Anderson, Audrey Aegerter (eds.).
- Kuzemko, Irene (December 20, 2017). "Do I regret being born intersex?". Intersex Day. Retrieved March 20, 2021.