Over 60 buildings across Ireland turn purple for Intersex Solidarity Day

#IrelandTurnsPurple was trending on Twitter last night raising much-needed awareness on what it means to be intersex.

Top News . Written by Katie Donohoe.

Ireland Intersex Solidarity day

Over 60 buildings in 19 counties across the island of Ireland lit up in purple last night in solidarity with Ireland’s intersex community.

The campaign was coordinated by the Intersex Mapping Study Ireland in association with Intersex Ireland.

The Intersex Mapping Study at DCU aims to learn about what life is like for the intersex community to help bring about positive change.

The team is led by Dr Tanya Ní Mhuirthile who is a legal expert on the subject of how the law affects the lives of intersex people.

Ní Mhuirthile joined the chair of Intersex Ireland Sara R Philips for an episode of In & Out last week which focused on Intersex Solidarity Day and outlined the importance of documenting the lived experience of intersex people in Ireland.

During the episode, Ní Mhuirthile outlined her main motivation for the #IrelandTurnsPurple campaign.

“If one intersex person who feels completely alone on the island of Ireland right now, sees this and what we’re doing or sees the Twitter or just sees a purple building somewhere in the country, I hope that they feel that they are seen.

“That they feel that their experience is acknowledged and someone somewhere is trying to reach out and say, ‘Hey you exist and you’re okay just as you are’.”

As buildings began to turn purple, #IrelandTurnsPurple began trending on Twitter bringing a wave of solidarity to our intersex community.

Many others joined in by wearing something purple or turing their own house purple for the evening.

On Twitter user wrote, “The #IrelandTurnsPurple timeline really is a breath of fresh air.”

Another added: “Beautiful to walk Dublin and see & photo the buildings. And beautiful to see photos kindly posted by people from around Ireland.”

According to the United Nations (UN), around 1.7% of the global population are intersex and in many countries, intersex children are subjected to unnecessary surgery and treatment to try to make their bodies appear more male or female, causing terrible physical, psychological and emotional pain and ultimately, violating their human rights.

Follow the Intersex Mapping Project at DCU online here.

Check out some of the amazing images shared last night as many of Ireland’s landmarks and buildings turned purple to raise awareness of intersex.

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