October 26 marks Intersex Awareness Day — an important day to celebrate and advocate for the intersex community. As Texas Human Rights Commissioner Alicia Roth Weigel explains, “The ‘I’ in LGBTQIA doesn’t stand for ‘invisible’ — it stands for intersex.”

What does it mean to be Intersex?

Intersex is an umbrella term encompassing various physical sex traits or reproductive anatomy variations that challenge conventional ideas of “male” or “female.” Though all human bodies are naturally varied, nature doesn’t decide where the category of “male” ends and the category of “female” begins, making it challenging to establish standard definitions for “intersex” and gather consistent data. However, experts have estimated that intersex people make up approximately 2 percent of live births.

How can you support Intersex young people?

As we know, awareness and acceptance are crucial to reducing suicide risk in intersex young people, which is why we ask our supporters to be there for the intersex LGBTQ young people in your community. Allyship begins with education. Today, on Intersex Awareness Day, strengthen your supportive knowledge by learning more to be a part of the change to eliminate intersex erasure.