Frank talk on intersex

Waikato Museum hosts a seminar this weekend that will be a national first.

The panel discussion, initiated by the Human Rights Commission, entitled Intersex Conversations will be the first time two people who identify themselves as "intersex" have given such a presentation in New Zealand.

This afternoon local artist Yann Bradburn and Wellington counsellor Mani Mitchell will address issues such as terminology and working with intersex people. They will also talk about their own experiences.

Tomorrow there will be a professional workshop where Ms Mitchell talks to professionals who work with intersex and gender variant clients.

The seminars come on the back of the Assume Nothing: Celebrating Gender Diversity exhibition by photographerRebecca Swan and film maker Kirsty MacDonald, which has run at the museum since the end of October.

Ms Mitchell, who grew up in the King Country, is one of the photographic subjects in the show and featured in one piece with the words "I am not a monster" written boldly on her bare torso.

She lived as a boy named Bruce before she became Mani and, at age eight, had surgery to remove her small male genitalia.

The photo-shoot took place in 1997, a year after she went to the US to do a retreat and met other intersex people for the first time.

She said it was the start of her coming out, which would not have been possible without Ms Swan's influence.

"Those photos are the foundation of who I have become," Ms Mitchell said.

"The journey would not have been anywhere near as powerful without her."

Ms Mitchell, founder of Intersex Trust Aotearoa, cuts a striking figure after making the decision not to shave the hair on her face, a decision she described as "reclaiming my own body, which I'd lost when I was born".

"The nice thing about living in Wellington is that I'm just part of the furniture," she said.

"Walking through Hamilton people stared at me, and that's fine – when I made the decision to not shave the hair on my face I knew that would be the consequence."

This afternoon's free discussion runs from 1.30-3pm. Call Waikato Museum to book a seat. The Assume Nothing exhibition ends on February 14.

- © Fairfax NZ News