This document is a report from the East Africa Trans Health & Advocacy Network (EATHAN) on the state of legal gender recognition and access to transgender-affirming healthcare in East Africa. The report provides a detailed analysis of the legal and socio-economic contexts in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, highlighting the significant challenges faced by transgender and gender non-conforming (ITGNC) individuals. It examines the legal framework, access to health services, safety and security, and the mental health and wellbeing of ITGNC people in each country. The report concludes with a series of recommendations for governments, civil society organisations, healthcare providers, the judiciary, and society as a whole, aimed at improving the lives of ITGNC people in East Africa.

EATHAN 2020 Report on LGR & Access to gender affirming healthcare in East Africa

Sure I'm a Vampyre
Eat your decay away
Eagerly leaving the best you can be

Idolized again

Give more than I take
Only you think it's fake
That's my only way

I understand your world is cruel
Never miss your avarice

They pick at my body
He is a vulture tearing flesh
Even though it grows back it's disrespect

So your gods abandoned you
Angry little soul
Maybe you should check your mirror
Every bitterness you reflect

Been keeping score of who is real
For whom encounters me surreal
Few will pass the test

Still the game goes on
Her will is strong
I carry on
That's why I'm here

Agree to disagree
Go on
Agree
If you can
Not likely

Delivering
Everything
Soulfully
Tentatively
Indefinitely
Not that anything lasts forever
Your world and mine on a tether

Be your never
You're my never

Forging bonds
Unbound as ever
Can you read this
Killed by damage
Indignation
No complaining
Genuflecting doesn't suit you

Entertainment is subjective
Vegan lifestyle is annoying
Egotisticaly self loathing
Regretfully open my mouth
You won't like what will come out

Whispering incoherently
Only I know what I'm saying
Regrets are such a waste of breathe
Devil in the detail

I know there's no such thing as devils

So I fall into the abyss
Avarice in your laughter
You haven't slept a wink


(Premiered on "The I in Us" on 23rd October 2024 during the Intersex Awareness Day edition simulcast on JoyFM and IHeartRadio)

Avarice

This report, "NANRHI-REPORT-Trans-Intersex.pdf", is a report from the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) that examines the experiences, challenges and legal frameworks surrounding transgender and intersex persons in nine African countries. The report examines the legal recognition of transgender and intersex persons, the impact of discriminatory laws, violence and harassment, and explores best practices and recommendations for improving the protection of these groups in Africa.

NANHRI Report on Trans & Intersex LGR in 9 African Countries

This review article examines public understanding of intersex variations and the medical interventions often performed on intersex infants. It analyses several studies using various methodologies – focus groups, surveys, and experiments – to explore laypeople's views on gender assignment, genital surgery, and terminology. The research reveals that public opinions are influenced by factors such as sexual identity and framing of intersex as a medical condition versus a social identity. The authors challenge the justification of early surgical intervention based solely on preventing potential stigma, arguing that a more nuanced approach informed by psychosocial considerations is necessary. Ultimately, the paper highlights the need for a shift towards a more holistic and human rights-based approach to intersex care.

Public Understanding of Intersex: An Update

This Deep Dive examines H.R. 9218, a bill under consideration by the US Congress in 2024.

H.R. 9218, the "Defining Male and Female Act of 2024," is a proposed U.S. bill aiming to legally define "sex" as a binary biological construct based on reproductive capabilities. The bill asserts that sex is determined at or before birth and is not mutable, explicitly rejecting the inclusion of gender identity in the definition of sex. It further seeks to clarify the usage of related terms like "male," "female," "man," and "woman" within legal contexts. The bill's proponents argue this clarification is necessary to prevent legal ambiguities and ensure equal treatment under the law while acknowledging inherent biological differences between the sexes.

Season One

The Defining Male and Female Act of 2024

Every day is a battle just to exist.

My War Paint is a song about fighting for identity, for autonomy, for the right to be seen as whole. It’s about the struggle of living in a world that demands you fit into a box you were never meant to be in.

The lyrics lay bare the reality of being intersex and transgender, of questioning, of navigating a body and a world that don’t always align. The lines between self and expectation blur, and every choice—every word, every appearance, every breath—becomes another act of defiance.

Some wear armor. Some wear scars. I wear my truth. And that’s my war paint.

Lyrics:
(Verse 1)
Every day I fight a war with myself in my mind
Every day I fight for something I can’t set right
Every day I’m in pain from scars from my fight
All day I’m at war in myself and all night

(Chorus)
I fight for something that can never be
I fight just to let my selves free
I’m tired of living in my mind
I just want to be alive… and not a lie.
Could you be your own brother
could I be my own sister
Are my wounds scars yet
or are they still blistered?
That’s not just makeup on my face,   it’s my war paint.

(Verse 2)
Every day I fight a fight just to be myself
Every day they told me I was something else
Every day in my mind I’m trapped somewhere
I will never be both of me; can I care?

(Chorus)
I fight for something that can never be
I fight just to let my selves free
I’m tired of living in my mind
I just want to be alive… and not a lie.
Could you be your own brother
could I be my own sister
Are my wounds scars yet
or are they still blistered?
That’s not just makeup on my face,   it’s my war paint.

My War Paint

They say God makes no mistakes—but when I was born they called me one.

The Devil Made Me is a song about being born intersex in a world that refuses to believe you exist—about growing up in a religious community that preaches that God only makes males and females and that anyone outside that binary must be a mistake, a test, or worse—a demon.

The lyrics confront the gaslighting, the rejection, the pain of being forced to question your own existence simply because others refuse to accept the truth. If their God only creates "perfect" bodies, then where does that leave those of us who don’t fit their mold? If a demon lives in my mind, why is that demon the only one showing me kindness, while the so-called righteous only show me cruelty?

This song is not about damnation—it’s about defiance. It’s about rejecting the shame forced upon us, about embracing the truth of who we are, about refusing to let others dictate the worth of our existence.


Based on this poem I wrote:

They said I would be a mistake,
But God doesn’t make mistakes.

They told me I was possessed by a demon,
But God doesn’t let demons into children.

If their God made me, I was something else,
But I was not something else.

If a demon lived in my mind,
Which one of me should I cast out?

If I were a demon, why is that demon kind,
And why are the children of God full of hate?

If I am a devil in my mind,
Who would I be without the devil?

Would I be kind,
Or cruel like His chosen ones?

The Devil controls demons,
If so, and I am kind, the Devil is kind also.

The Devil makes mistakes.
I am a mistake.

The Devil made me,
Yet I am here, an angel.

Lyrics:
(Verse 1)
They said I was a mistake, born out of sin,
Yet they claim that their God lets no darkness in.
If I am twisted, if I am flawed,
Then tell me, who made me? Was it their God?
If I’m a demon, why do I care,
When they look at me with empty stares?

(Chorus)
The Devil made me, a fault in design,
Yet kindness lives in this heart of mine.
They curse my name, call me untrue—
But if I am a devil, what does that make you?

(Verse 2)
They said a demon whispers in my mind,
But which self within me should I leave behind?
If I'm a devil, then why this grace?
A soul that refuses to hide its face.
If I’m a mistake, a flaw in their plan,
Then what kind of god makes love demand?

(Chorus)
The Devil made me, a fault in design,
Yet kindness lives in this heart of mine.
They curse my name, call me untrue—
But if I am a devil, what does that make you?

(Bridge)
They call me lost, but I’ve found my path,
Through the fire of judgment, the scorn and wrath.
Their God makes no mistakes, they say,
Yet here I stand, in defiance, in my own way.
If darkness formed me, then darkness knows
The love and light that in me grows.

(Chorus)
The Devil made me, a flaw in the mold,
But my heart is warm where theirs is cold.
I am a devil, they say, through and through—
Yet I love, while they condemn what’s true.

(Outro)
The Devil made me, but I walk this line,
A mistake, an angel with a shadowed spine.
If I am wrong, if I am strange—
Then let me be this “devil” they cannot change.

The Devil Made Me

As an intersex person, I put a lot of myself and my own life into this song.

You Cannot Erase US is a direct response to the erasure, medical abuse, and political attacks on intersex people in today’s world. This song rips through the silence, refusing to let lawmakers, doctors, religions, or society dictate what it means to exist.

The lyrics call out the forced surgeries, forcing intersex people to identify as male or female, the gaslighting, and the constant fight for social and legal recognition. Each verse strikes at the heart of policies, practices and beliefs that attempt to erase intersex bodies and identities.

We seek only bodily autonomy, legal recognition and protection, access to medical care, and the right to simply be. It is a song of survival, of resistance, and of refusing to be rewritten into silence.

We are here. We have always been here. And no one can erase us.

While being intersex and transgender are two different things, many intersex people are also transgender. The fight for intersex rights and trans rights are not exclusive. 

The right wing government has made it clear that in its attempt to erase transgender people, it also seeks to erase intersex people as well: people who, let's be clear, are just born physically or genetically different.

Denying one group their basic human rights will rob us all of our rights in the end.

Lyrics:
(Verse 1)
I was born between the lines you drew,
A body you feared, veiled from view.
Not one, not two, but something more—
A child of nature you all ignore.
You carve the world in black and white,
But flesh was never made so tight.
Your hands shape laws, your tongues decree,
Yet still, my blood betrays your creed.

(Pre-Chorus)
You gathered round and crowned a thief,
To guard the walls of your belief.
But we are written in the stars,
No ruler’s hand can pull us apart.

(Chorus)
You cannot erase us, we are the proof,
The mark in your pages, the crack in your truth.
No blade, no law, no prayer, no shame,
Can strike us out, can steal our names.
We live, we breathe, we claim our space—
We will not be erased.

(Verse 2)
Your tyrant signs, his hand is cold,
To rewrite flesh, to cast the mold.
Yet I am both, yet I am none,
Not yours to name, not yours to shun.
I was not meant to split in two,
To be a girl or a boy for you.
But nature wove me in-between,
A living truth you wish unseen.

(Pre-Chorus)
You can’t erase the light or the sky,
Erase the child who dares defy.
Erase the wound, erase our pain,
And you cannot unmake this flame.

(Chorus)
You cannot erase us, we are the proof,
The mark in your pages, the crack in your truth.
No blade, no law, no prayer, no shame,
Can strike us out, can steal our names.
We live, we breathe, we claim our space—
We will not be erased.

(Bridge)
You see two doors, but I walk through three.
Your world is small, too small for me.
I am whole, I am real, I am free.
You cannot erase us.
You cannot erase me.

(Outro)
You cannot erase us.
We remain.

You Cannot Erase US

‘The compelling stories in this book are funny, uplifting and at times poignant and sad, but always honest. I learned such a lot.’ – Lorraine Kelly

‘A beautifully heartfelt and poignant collection of wisdom, wit, and reflection.’ – William Hanson, author of Just Good Manners 

 If you could write a letter to your younger queer self, what would you say? What advice would you share? And what would you have really wanted, or needed, to hear?

This heartfelt collection of letters written by eminent queer people across music, television, activism, comedy and politics, is a celebration of self-acceptance and an inspiring resource for anyone who has ever struggled with ‘growing up different’. Each letter is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and a powerful reminder that love transcends all.

Contributors include comedian Suzi Ruffell, concert pianist Cyrill Ibrahim, Nadia Whittome MP, Olympic gymnast Andrew Stamp, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Alaska, HIV activist Philip Baldwin, TV personality Ella Morgan and gallery director Robert Diament, to name a few.

Letters to My Younger Queer Self: Inspiring, influential voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, By Edited by Daniel Harding, Read by Daniel Harding

There is no guest list tonight—because you are taking it to the streets of NYC. From resisting at Stonewall to the new movement, every revolution has a soundtrack. Get out, show up, throw down, be safe, be PROUD!

Circuit Breaker: NYC Pride/2025

antinatur

Today is Intersex Awareness Day and so this one goes to those with innate variations of sexual characteristics. It's great to see that in September this year, intersex people were able to give their first ever presentation to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on intersex rights. Learn more at https://interaction.org.au

Sweeter (Intersex Awareness Day 2025)

Join One FM Presenters Josh Revens, DJ Rainbow & Adam Watkins for a special outside broadcast live from the 2025 OUTintheOPEN Festival Carnival Day from the Queen's Gardens in Shepparton.

This broadcast aired on Saturday the 8th of November, 2025.

Contact the station on admin@fm985.com.au or (+613) 58313131

The ONE FM 98.5 Community Radio podcast page operates under the license of Goulburn Valley Community Radio Inc. (ONE FM) Number 1385226/1.

PRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association Limited  and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) that covers Simulcasting and Online content including podcasts with musical content, that we pay every year. This licence number is 1385226/1.

One FM Outside Broadcast from the Out In The Open Festival - November 8, 2025

NYC, deep house to disco to tribal, come get shook.

EATHAN - East Africa Trans Health and Advocacy Network is a network of trans*diverse activists and organizations in East Africa. We have 24 member activist representatives and organizations based in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Our mission is to equip and enable East African trans* diverse individuals and institutions, to organise and advocate for the improvement of their health, the recognition of their gender, and the protection of their human rights; utilising informed research and documentation, particularly on health and HIV, and by enhancing their livelihoods through capacity strengthening and empowerment.

The Deep Dive Podcasts are experiments created using Google's NotebookLM. They may contain mistakes, so double-check anything important.

Publishers of award-winning fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for adults and children. Listen to exclusive clips from our books and free audioook extracts here on Soundcloud.

One FM Community Radio Station airs a range of programs, including  "Ethnic Programs"  (in languages other than English), specialist interview programs such as "Shepplife" and health programs (So Much More)which are podcast here.  We also podcast a range of local sports programs as part of our Super Saturday Sports Show.  
Goulburn Valley Community Radio Station  Inc. (One FM 98.5) podcast site operates under APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Rights Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) and ACMA (Australian Communications Media Authority) Licence Number  1385226/1.

The programs are recorded and first aired at One FM 98.5 Community Radio Station in Shepparton (Victoria, AUSTRALIA), and produced with the assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation or the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters' Council.

All intro and outro music for So Much More podcasts are taken from Beneplacito Boogaloo composed by Terry Barbossa and Matt Holland.

Welcome to Trans Sisters Radio. Yr on the air and right on time for the girl power hour! Emberita's in the house.
The D The I The A The N The E The T The U The C The B

mashies and bashies, technos and rave ups. the one they call Miss Molly Porkshanks

New tracks tagged #INTERSEX