As luck would have it, I learnt something new from a radio show called 'The I in Us' today. The generosity of the hosts Cody Smith and Paul Byrne-Moroney, as well as their TEDx speaker guest Jenny Atkinson, moved me.
They discussed how to make spaces more inclusive, with Jenny being a fan of posters (and stickers, etc) bringing attention to specific groups being welcome, such as people with stims and ticks (repetitive behaviours found in those on the autism spectrum), neurodivergent people, Indigenous people, trans and gender diverse people, and, naturally, people with innate variations of sex characteristics (the intersex).
The depth of the inclusion aimed for resonated with me, and I was particularly humbled by Cody's view that there is no valuing of Australia without valuing Indigenous people. Cody talked about how Indigenous Australians lived in peace and harmony with the environment for 60,000 years, and everybody who came in the last two centuries would do well to meet that standard.
In addition, Jenny encouraged listeners to ask the question, when gathering, 'Who is in this space, and who is absent?' She noted that Australia if it's all white people, that is not good - Australia is multicultural. She described this as a practical question.
I am asking a question of myself today, which is 'What is one action I can take to support the intersex community?'
If you're interested in listening to Joy FM's show by and for intersex people, which is consciously 'for all of us', you can tune in at 5am on Wednesday mornings, or listen to their podcast. I found much kindness and care there.
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