Bodies Like Ours Announces Youth Project: Queer Bodies
Bodies Like Ours is excited to announce the launch of our new youth project - Queer Bodies.
Queer Bodies hopes to be a place of understanding and self-directed peer support for young, intersex people. While it is web-based for the time being, we are sure it will grow into outreach and education about intersexuality for young people, by young people just like themselves who are proud of whom they are.
You can find Queer Bodies on the web at http://www.queerbodies.org.
>From the website of Queer Bodies:
"We've chosen the phrase "queer bodies" to reflect that unifying thread of difference. The word "queer" means many things -- but it always suggests something unusual, curious, or strange. In choosing to embrace "queer" as a description of our bodies, we're telling the world that while we are different, our difference isn't reason to be ashamed or to hide ourselves."
We believe that Queer Bodies is the first initiative ever throughout the world that is specifically for young intersexuals. The target demographic we hope to reach is from about age 15-25 (although everyone is welcome to visit and learn from them!) This historical project is being headed by three talented, young intersexuals:
Asher is queerbodies' webmaster, activist, geek, and student. He became involved with intersex activism through his desire to help create community and visibility for people who are often isolated from each other. A native computer user and self-identified geek, he regards the World Wide Web as an ideal vehicle for activism, community, and change. His other pursuits include school (Bellarmine University in Louisville), writing, art, and music. Asher resides in Kentucky.
Caitlin is an activist on many fronts; she is passionate about animal and human rights. She is a speaker for Bodies Like Ours and queerbodies and a contributor to the website. Caitlin lives in Georgia.
Elijah is a self-identified geek. Elijah will be working on our message boards, among other contributions to the site. He is the newest addition to our team. Elijah lives in DC.
As with Bodies Like Ours, one of the many goals of Queer Bodies will be to encourage other young people to break the chain of secrecy and speak up about who they are without shame and secrecy. We hope you'll take some time to become acquainted with this exciting part of Bodies Like Ours and to learn more about what intersex youths are saying.
---
Founded in 2002, Bodies Like Ours provides peer support and information for people born with atypical genitalia. Bodies Like Ours seeks to positively change the way we think about ourselves and the way society and the medical community views us. We believe that through awareness, education, and peer support, our goals of eliminating isolation, shame, and secrecy experienced by people born with bodies like ours will be reached
Bodies Like Ours is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Hunterdon County, NJ. To learn more about Bodies Like Ours, please visit our website at http://www.bodieslikeours.org or call us at .
---
For general information about Bodies Like Ours, please write to [email protected] or call us at .
Contact: Betsy Driver
---
