A 29-year-old
woman native of Kortrijk, Belgium, has made a name for herself in fashion,
walking the runways of New York, London, Paris and Milan for brands like
Alexander Wang and Chanel. Her elfin features and eccentric street style have
made her one of the most distinctive supermodels of her generation.
Hanne Gaby Odiele is using her influence to speak
openly about her own intersex experience, in an effort to stop the
nonconsensual surgeries that many children undergo that advocates say can lead
to issues like incontinence, infertility and mental distress.
At the age
10, underwent surgery to remove her internal testes, and at the age of 18, she
underwent another surgery for vaginal reconstruction.
Advocates
say non-surgical treatment, such as therapy and peer support, should be offered
to children before medical treatment that is often irreversible and sometimes
unnecessary. She still feels keenly the physical and emotional effects of the
procedures, which is why she joined advocacy group interACT Advocates for
Intersex Youth this year as its first high-profile spokesperson. “By talking
about it, the surgeries can come to an end,” Odiele says. “There’s no reason
for them besides a fear of bodies.”
Her
acknowledgment of being intersex is a milestone for the movement, according to
Kimberly Zieselman, director of interACT. “She is the most high-profile person
to ever disclose her intersex status, so this was so brave and it’s really
going to be historic,” she says. “She’s going from supermodel to role model.”
By speaking up, Odiele hopes to fuel a wider conversation about how society
treats people who fall outside common gender descriptors. “I think anybody can
be whoever they want to be,” she says. “Nothing should box you in.”
photo: peter harpak
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