Seven Graham

Seven Graham is a British intersex activist, comedian, filmmaker and playwright, and drug addiction counsellor. They were a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and are a co-founder of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In recognition of their intersex activism, The Independent on Sunday called them an LGBT "national treasure" and ranked them second in its 2015 "Rainbow List" of the most influential LGBT people in the UK.[1] In 2017 they wrote and performed in a solo play called Angels are Intersex, and in 2018 they executive produced the short film Ponyboi.[2][3]

Seven Graham
Portrait of Seven Graham
Born
Sarah Graham

April 1969 (age 51)
United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Occupation
  • Intersex activist
  • comedian
  • filmmaker
  • playwright
  • addiction therapist
  • consultant
Known forIntersex activism

Life

Graham was born in the United Kingdom in 1969 with the first name Sarah. They have XY chromosomes, but due to having complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS), they were identified and raised as a girl.[4] Doctors lied to them and their parents about their diagnosis, subjected them to repeated medical investigations, and removed their internal testes (which the doctors claimed were ovaries) at age seven or eight "to protect them from cancer and imminent death", resulting in them needing otherwise-unnecessary hormone replacement therapy from age 12.[4][5]

Graham was not given their CAIS diagnosis until they were 25. They were offered no support and, already a regular drug user, the diagnosis led to a period of self-destruction including alcohol and drug addiction.[4][6][7] After several months of treatment, Graham recovered.[8] They later became an addiction counsellor, saying "I have turned my pain into my work".[7][9]

Career and activism

Graham worked as an addiction counsellor and therapist, running their own drug rehabilitation company which included a weekly LGBTI addiction and recovery therapy group.[10] They have written articles on drug addiction for a variety of newspapers and magazines including The Sun, The Times, and Diva, and appeared on radio and television programmes including The Today Programme, BBC News and This Morning.[11]

Graham was on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs from 2011 to 2017. They were an expert communicator for the government drug education service FRANK, and co-founded the Amy Winehouse Foundation.[12][13][14]

Because of their activism, The Independent on Sunday listed them as a "national treasure" in its 2011 "Pink List", and in the renamed 2015 "Rainbow List" called them the second most influential LGBT person in the UK.[10][15] Graham has advocated for intersex human rights, including speaking out against surgery to "normalise" intersex children's bodies.[7] They have also investigated legal recognition of intersex as a distinct gender, and praised Germany for allowing babies to be registered as neither male nor female.[5][16]

In 2017, Graham wrote and performed a solo play titled Angels are Intersex. After Angels are Intersex they began using the name Seven Graham and they/them pronouns.[2] Graham was an executive producer of the 2018 short film Ponyboi, along with executive producers Stephen Fry, Johan Sorenson, Elizabeth Sorenson, and DJ Rutherford, and co-producers Emma Thompson, Rachel Singer, and Jamison Monroe.[17] It was the first film to feature an intersex actor playing the role of an intersex person.[3]

Graham has appeared as a guest on several podcasts, including Caitlin Durante's Sludge: An American Healthcare Story,[18] Nadège August's What The Fockery?,[19][20] and Lauren Wallett's The Creativity Coach.[21]

References
  1. "Acclaimed solo show Angels are Intersex starts touring next year!". Intersex Campaign for Equality. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  2. Galland, Suzannah (28 August 2017). "Being Born Both: Sarah Graham's Solo Show 'Angels Are Intersex'". HuffPost. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  3. Wong, Curtis M. (22 June 2018). "'Ponyboi' Explores An Intersex Youth's Journey Toward Self-Acceptance". HuffPost. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  4. Morrison, Sarah (30 November 2013). "Special report: Intersex women speak out to protect the next generation". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  5. Graham, Sarah (22 September 2011). "The secret of my sex". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  6. Graham, Sarah (27 June 2014). "Sarah Graham: I don't want Russell Brand and Co deciding drugs policy". The Conservative Woman. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  7. Graham, Sarah (23 October 2011). "Sarah Graham: My intersex experience". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  8. Graham, Sarah. "Bionic Brains: We Have the Technology to Rebuild You". Addiction Today. May/June 2011.
  9. Graham, Sarah (14 September 2009). "I feel for Caster Semenya – I am a woman with male chromosomes". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  10. Morrison, Sarah (15 November 2015). "Rainbow List 2015: 1 to 101". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  11. "Media". Sarah Graham Solutions. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  12. "Membership". Gov.uk. Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  13. "Sarah Graham". 96 Harley Psychotherapy. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  14. Sherwin, Adam (2 August 2011). "Amy Winehouse's father urges MPs to help young addicts". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  15. "The IoS Pink List 2011". The Independent on Sunday. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  16. Intersex woman: 'This pink and blue thing is nonsense' (Television report). BBC News. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  17. "Ponyboi". 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Tribeca Film Institute. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  18. "Sludge: An American Healthcare Story: Being Intersex with Seven Graham on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  19. "What The Fockery?: ADDICTION EXPERT - Episode 14 on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  20. "What The Fockery?: ADDICTION IN Isolation - Episode 42 on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  21. "The Creativity Coach: Seven Graham on Non Binary Creativity on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
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