Rest in power, Emi Koyama.
Emi was an intersex and transgender activist who worked for the Intersex Society of North America, co-founded Intersex Awareness Day, and is known for her work in the third-wave feminist and transfeminist movements.
Our founder, Anne Tamar-Mattis, reflected on Emi’s legacy.
“Emi Koyama had an enormous impact on the intersex movement from its early days. She was a prolific writer and teacher, and her work deeply influenced my understanding of intersectional feminism and critical disability theory, framing my understanding in the context of intersex rights.
She was a founding member of interACT’s Advisory Board (we were then known as the Institute for Intersex Children and the Law), and was at the roundtable where we crafted our initial Blueprint for Action, a document that shaped our strategy for many years.
She was also intent on accountability for the doctors who promoted harmful interventions on intersex children — she named names, attended their talks, asked hard questions, and publicized what she learned. While I am not at liberty to share the details, her extensive archives were crucial at an important moment of accountability for one such surgeon.
I am grateful to have known her and learned from her. Rest in power, Emi.”
Emi Koyama in Lux Magazine
You can read more about Emi Koyama’s legacy and published works on intersex liberation, including theory, curriculum, and lectures, as archived by Bo Laurent, the founder of the Intersex Society of North America. Bo describes her work as “among the most practically useful and intellectually rigorous content in the ISNA archive.” Emi is also well known for her leadership on transfeminism in “The Transfeminist Manifesto.” She was recently included in the 19th as it covered the history of Intersex Awareness Day. We are forever grateful for her powerful contributions to the intersex movement and beyond.
