Bo Laurent

Biography

Author: Dewi Vrenegoor, special thanks to Bo Laurent

Trigger warning: This text contains references to medical procedures, shame, and pathologization as experienced by intersex people.

In 1956, in a small town in New Jersey, United States, a baby was born. This baby was confronted with doctors that problematized the fact that the baby did not fit the medical standards of ‘girl’ of ‘boy’. Initially, upon medical advice, the parents raised the baby as a boy. After about a year and a half, the child was confronted with another pair of doctors. On the advice of these doctors, the child was subjected to a clitorectomy designed to make this body fit the medical standard of ‘woman.’ Major surgery that did the child’s body more harm than good. The doctors advised the parents never to speak about it again, to move, and to raise this child as a girl with a new name. The surgery had a profound impact: although she had already learned to speak, she remained silent for six months after the procedure.

This child grew up to be Bo Laurent. Pioneer of the intersex movement, which started in the 90’s. Based on her own experiences and wisdom gained by then, she gave new parents in 2012 the profound advice:

One thing we know about really difficult feelings like that is that nobody stays in crisis forever. If you’re in emotional crisis it feels like it’ll be forever but if you can get your way to a support group you’ll find parents who remember that time but now they’re living their lives, they’re back to most every day is not about intersex, and it’ll help you get some perspective. When you’re feeling really confused and afraid about what this intersexuality thing means for your family, and for your child’s future life, is a bad time to make irreversible decisions.

For years, the medical world had insisted that Bo didn’t need to know what had been done to her, or by whom, or why. It was only much later, when she was allowed to view her medical records, that she discovered what had happened to her. That experience drove her eventual activism.

Knowledge brings self-determination

After throwing herself into her studies and career—Laurent graduated in mathematics and Japanese and lived in Japan for years—she returned to the United States in the early 1990s. There, at age 35, she demanded answers and began the search for justice. She spoke with researchers and experts by experience to expand her knowledge of intersex experiences.

In 1993, Laurent founded the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) under the pseudonym Cheryl Chase. It became the first organization in the world to advocate for the rights of intersex people. Her mission was clear: stop the medical pathologizing of intersex bodies. She fought against unnecessary, often traumatizing surgeries on intersex babies and children, performed to make them ‘normal,’ just as she herself had experienced. Through words, facts, and with incredible determination, she brought about massive changes.

For a long time, the stories of people with an intersex experience were told within a medical or psychological framework. After all, they themselves had learned to remain silent. In the late 1990s, the American intersex movement did everything it could to break that silence. They raised awareness amongst medical students and professionals, shared their personal and political stories on the ISNA website, and conducted an international lobby.

Laurent, also known as Cheryl Chase, published *Hermaphrodites with Attitude* , a groundbreaking pamphlet that challenged the medical world and gave a voice to intersex people. A monthly newsletter appeared under the same title as a platform to continue sharing stories and spreading knowledge. This was followed later by *Hermaphrodites Speak! *, the first documentary in 1997 in which intersex people speak about their own experiences. It is a groundbreaking collection of personal stories that revealed the humanity behind the medical diagnoses. Her activism was not only political but also personal: the visibility of the subject brought people together. A space was created to share experiences with one another and to shape collective healing and activism.

Intersex Awareness Day

On October 26, 1996, Laurent, together with Max Beck (1966-2008) and Morgan Holmes, organized the first public demonstration by intersex activists – in front of the annual convention of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Boston. With banners and slogans such as “Keep your scalpels off intersex kids” and “Silence = Death,” they attracted the attention of the media and medical professionals. It was a historic moment, because for the first time, intersex people visibly claimed their place and challenged the medical status quo. The action marked the beginning of a movement that could no longer be ignored. Today, October 26, Intersex Awareness Day, still refers to that first demonstration.

Human rights activism

Thus, an (international) intersex human rights movement gradually gained momentum. The movement advocated for the abolition of non-essential medical interventions, medical secrecy and lies, and for greater societal understanding and space for sex diversity.

In 2000 ISNA is granted the Felipe de Souza award by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Committee, an annual award given to “individuals and/or organizations that have made significant contributions toward securing the human rights and freedoms of sexual minorities anywhere in the world”.

Bo Laurent continued to write, research, publish, and speak to promote intersex rights worldwide. Pushing back on people and organizations that disrespected the autonomy and  rights of intersex children and adults. In doing so, she challenged medical professionals and their views to reconsider their approaches to intersex. Through letters and committees, she alerted the judiciary to human rights violations. In this way, Laurent contributed to historic legal decisions and medical guidelines that better protect intersex people.

The future is intersex inclusive

Today, Bo Laurent lives in California where she tends a farm and shares a flock of grazing animals with her neighbors (for wildfire mitigation).

Pioneer Laurent demonstrated that the fight for a world in which intersex people can be themselves and bodily autonomy is recognized as a human right is more than worth the effort. Thanks to her efforts, there are now laws prohibiting unnecessary surgeries on intersex children in some US states and other countries. Medical guidelines are slowly changing, with a greater emphasis on informed consent and respect for the autonomy of intersex people. And perhaps most importantly: a new generation of intersex activists has risen, inspired by her courage.