{{Short description|Intersex activist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Mani Mitchell | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM|size=100%}} | image = Mani Mitchell MNZM investiture (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Mitchell in 2021 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1953}} | birth_place = Waikato, New Zealand | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = | education = | other_names = | occupation = Counsellor | known_for = Intersex activist and educator | television = ''Intersexion'' (2012)<br>''Yellow for Hermaphrodite: Mani's Story'' (2003)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenstonetv.com/programmes/documentaries/private-lives/yellow-for-hermaphrodite-manis-story/|title=Yellow for Hermaphrodite: Mani's Story|publisher=Greenstone TV|accessdate=29 April 2013|archive-date=9 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809050930/http://www.greenstonetv.com/programmes/documentaries/private-lives/yellow-for-hermaphrodite-manis-story/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | website = {{URL|www.manimitchell.com}} }}
'''Mani Bruce Mitchell''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|MNZM|size=85%}} (born 1953) is an intersex activist and counsellor from Wellington, New Zealand.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10800941|publisher=The New Zealand Herald|title=Being intersex: I went from being my parents' son to a daughter|accessdate=5 September 2012|date=26 April 2012}}</ref> In 2021, Mitchell was recognised as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.<ref name="stuff2021"/>
==Early life== Mitchell was born and raised in the central North Island on a sheep and cattle farm and educated at Taupo-nui-a-Tia College and the University of Waikato. Identified as a "hermaphrodite" at birth, Mitchell underwent "non-consensual genital 'feminising' surgeries" as a child, and is also a survivor of sexual abuse.<ref name="stuff2021"/>
==Career== Since 1996, Mitchell has been actively involved in education on intersex and gender variance issues, lecturing at universities and running workshops around the world, and was also involved in the production of several TV documentaries, a film, and a photography book. Mitchell is a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors, World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the International Transactional Analysis Association.
Mitchell is the Executive Director of Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand, also known as Intersex Awareness New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ianz.org.nz/trust%20members2.html |title=ITANZ Trust members | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110095900/http://www.ianz.org.nz/trust%20members2.html |archive-date=2013-11-10 |publisher=Intersex Awareness New Zealand |date=5 November 2013}}</ref> Mitchell has also narrated the documentary ''Intersexion'' (2012), directed by Grant Lahood, which features the story of Mani Mitchell and many other individuals, and looks at how intersex people navigate their way through life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.documentaryedge.org.nz/2012/ak/film/intersexion|title=Documentary Edge Festival 2012: Intersexion|accessdate=5 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516035127/http://documentaryedge.org.nz/2012/ak/film/intersexion|archive-date=16 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Mitchell also helped organise the third International Intersex Forum in November/December 2013,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/news/latest/3rd_intersex_forum_2013 |title=3rd International Intersex Forum in Malta |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226222209/http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/news/latest/3rd_intersex_forum_2013 |archive-date=2013-12-26 |publisher=ILGA-Europe |date=22 July 2013}}</ref> and participated in a meeting of New Zealand and Australian intersex organisations in Darlington, Sydney, Australia, leading to publication of the Darlington Statement policy platform.<ref name="dpmc2021"/>
In 2021, Mitchell spoke of amazement at seeing "intersex people 'moving out of that shame and secrecy and into a playful, joyful place' over the years".<ref name="stuff2021"/>
==Recognition== In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mitchell was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for their work as a human rights advocate and educator.<ref name="stuff2021">{{Cite news| last = Chumko| first = Andre| title = Queen's Birthday Honours: Intersex advocate Mani Bruce Mitchell on doing the mahi| work = Stuff| accessdate = 2021-07-10| date = 2021-06-06| url = https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125333190/queens-birthday-honours-intersex-advocate-mani-bruce-mitchell-on--doing-the-mahi}}</ref><ref name="dpmc2021">{{Cite web |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|title = Queen's Birthday Honours 2021 – citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit| access-date = 2021-07-10| date = 2021-06-07| url = https://dpmc.govt.nz/honours/lists/qb2021-mnzm}}</ref> Mitchell is thought to be one of the first intersex non-binary New Zealanders to receive the award.<ref name="stuff2021"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.manimitchell.com/ Official website] * [http://www.ianz.org.nz/ Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Mani}} Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Intersex non-binary people Category:Intersex rights activists Category:Intersex rights in New Zealand Category:New Zealand non-binary people Category:New Zealand intersex people Category:New Zealand activists Category:New Zealand educators Category:People educated at Taupo-nui-a-Tia College Category:Non-binary activists Category:Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Category:University of Waikato alumni Category:20th-century New Zealand LGBTQ people Category:20th-century New Zealand people Category:21st-century New Zealand LGBTQ people