Bryony Price testifies on non-consensual surgery and discrimination
Bryony Price, an intersex educator and Columbia graduate, says she was subjected to non-consensual genital surgery at age two. She describes workplace discrimination, bathroom access barriers, and healthcare hurdles, and supports Intro 131.
Sorry.
Hi.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Intro 131.
My name is Bryony Price, and I am an intersex person with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome.
I'm testifying today on my own behalf, but I'm also a professional member of the Grammy Recording Academy,
a New York City public school educator, and a Columbia graduate where my research explores intersectional access across arts and education.
As you might hear from my accent, I grew up in the UK.
Like so many intersex people, my earliest memory was being restrained to a hospital bed for a non-consensual, normalizing, quote, genital surgery that left me with lifelong repercussions.
I was two years old.
I was too young to understand what was happening, let alone consent to it.
Yet decisions were made about my body that would affect me for the rest of my life.
My experience is a part of a much wider history of intersex people being subjected to medical interventions intended to make our bodies conform to societal expectations of what male and female bodies should look like.
Whilst living and working in New York for the past nine years, I've experienced discrimination in the workplace, denial of appropriate bathroom access and barriers to health care.
But discrimination against intersex people can be nuanced and insidious.
In many medical settings, I've been forced to take pregnancy tests before accessing treatment, despite explaining repeatedly that I have neither ovaries or a uterus.
Even in healthcare settings, I find myself having to justify my own anatomy to access medical care.
This is why explicit recognition of intersex traits matters.
Discrimination isn't always about gender identity or expression.
Sometimes it's about the very characteristics of our bodies.
I've worked in New York City public schools for nine years now, dedicating my time to creating opportunities for young people through education and the arts.
During that time, I've witnessed the violence, bullying and discrimination that LGBTQIA young people continue to face, often simply for being themselves.
As educators, we work to create environments where every student feels safe, valued and able to thrive.
Yet even as I've advocated for my students, I felt the pressure to conceal aspects of my own identity for fear of discrimination.
And I know I'm not alone in that experience.
I invite you to look around at the incredible intersex people testifying today, both in person and online.
We're authors, artists, advocates, lawyers, athletes, educators, musicians, and so much more.
Like everyone else, we want the freedom to participate fully in society, including in sport.
Yet intersex athletes have faced in
invasive scrutiny, exclusion and demands to medically alter their natural bodies simply to compete.
We should not have to choose between participating in society and preserving our bodily autonomy.
Through my Recording Academy membership, I work to build greater visibility for intersex musicians and artists, but visibility alone is not enough.
We cannot meaningfully participate in society if we must first conceal who we are to feel safe within it.
New York City was a pioneer in recognizing intersex discrimination through administrative guidance.
Intro 131 offers an opportunity to make these protections explicit in human rights law, giving intersex New Yorkers clearer recognition and a stronger foundation for challenging discrimination.
At a time when our bodies and identities are so politicized, we must ensure they cannot be weaponized against.
This legislation is about more than legal language.
It's about ensuring future generations of intersex New Yorkers can live without shame, fear or discrimination.
Thank you for your time.