Guidelines for Presenters
Guidelines for presenters
We encourage authors to present papers consistent with our mission to promote human rights, health, wellbeing, respect, dignity, and equality for all intersex people and those with variants of sex characteristics in all cultural settings. In particular, we ask that, when submitting a presentation, authors:
- Avoid language which has the intention (or likely effect) of stigmatising or pathologising sex, gender and bodily diversity (including a diversity of sex characteristics and gender expressions and identities).
Stigmatising and pathologising language (e.g. “disordered” or “abnormal” or “malformation”) should be avoided altogether. Where persons who do not live with a gender expression / gender identity different to the gender assigned at birth are being discussed, authors should avoid the adjective “normal”, and use the term “cisgender” (or its variants). - Avoid submitting papers advocating clinical interventions and practices which are not consistent with human rights standards.
- Avoid employing misgendering language, e. language which belittles or undermines a person’s gender, for example, by referring to a person who identifies as female as “pretending to be female”, “natal male”, or by using ironic quotation marks (‘girl’) to describe the person.
- Employ references to gender and sexual orientation that respect the gender identity of persons to whom they refer. The references should be based on the self-description of the person, without assuming their sex, gender identity or sexual orientation,.
- When employing references to a person’s assigned sex at birth, authors should use terms such as birth assigned sex, or (if appropriate) legal sex, instead of natal male or natal female. Authors should not use the term biological sex or natal sex. If evidence is being presented on chromosomal, gonadal, hormonal, or genital sex characteristics, we ask that authors use those more specific terms. The terms actual sex or actual gender should be avoided.
- Do not use photos, videos or other visual representations that pathologise and stigmatise sex, gender and bodily diversity, and/or comments on visual representations that are disrespectful of the person’s privacy and intimacy. Any use of photos, videos or any other visual representations of individuals requires explicit consent of these individuals.
- Refrain from violating the children’s right to privacy by presenting photos or videos that reveal their identity.
- Avoid ethnocentric bias, be inclusive of cultural diversity, taking into account different concepts/practices/experiences, and include reference to the specific cultural context