Seven Graham is a British

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...

activist, comedian, filmmaker and playwright, and drug addiction counsellor. He was a member of the

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is a British statutory advisory non-departmental public body, which was established under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Mandate Its terms of reference, according to the Act, are as follows: '' ...

and is a co-founder of the

Amy Winehouse Foundation The Amy Winehouse Foundation is a Charitable organization, registered charity in England and Wales (number 1143740), set up in memory of English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse (1983–2011). After Amy Winehouse's untimely death, on 23 July 201 ...

. In recognition of his intersex activism, ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' called him an LGBT "national treasure" and ranked him second in its 2015 " Rainbow List" of the most influential LGBT people in the UK. In 2017, he wrote and performed in a solo play called ''Angels are Intersex'', and in 2018 he

executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

the short film ''Ponyboi''.

Life

Graham was born in the United Kingdom in 1969 with the first name Sarah. He has XY chromosomes, but due to a diagnosis of

complete androgen insensitivity syndrome Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) is an Androgen insensitivity syndrome, AIS condition that results in the complete inability of the Animal cell, cell to respond to androgens. As such, the insensitivity to androgens is only clinica ...

(CAIS), he was identified and raised as a girl. Doctors lied to him and his parents about his diagnosis, subjected him to repeated medical investigations, and removed his internal testes (which the doctors claimed were ovaries) at age seven or eight "to protect him from cancer and imminent death", resulting in him needing otherwise-unnecessary

hormone replacement therapy Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal ...

from age 12. Graham was not given his CAIS diagnosis until he was 25. He was offered no support and, already a regular drug user, the diagnosis led to a period of self-destruction including alcohol and drug addiction. After several months of treatment, Graham recovered. He later became an addiction counsellor, saying "I have turned my pain into my work". Graham later found that CAIS was likely a misdiagnosis, and that he more likely has

partial androgen insensitivity syndrome Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) is a condition that results in the partial inability of the cell to respond to androgens. It is an X linked recessive condition. The partial unresponsiveness of the cell to the presence of androgenic ...

(PAIS). Graham is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

and uses he/him and they/them pronouns.

Career and activism

Graham worked as an addiction counsellor and therapist, running his own

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general int ...

company which included a weekly

LGBTI Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (such as genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns) that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexua ...

addiction and recovery therapy group. He has written articles on drug addiction for a variety of newspapers and magazines including '' The Sun'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

,'' and ''

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

'', and appeared on radio and television programmes including ''

The Today Programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is a long-running British morning news and current-affairs radio programme on BBC Radio 4. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, it is produced by BBC News and is t ...

'', ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

,'' and ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * '' CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succe ...

''. Graham was on the

from 2011 to 2017. He was an expert communicator for the government drug education service

FRANK Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

, and co-founded the

. Because of his activism, ''

'' listed him as a "national treasure" in its 2011 "

Pink List The Rainbow List (called the Pink List until 2014) is a list of the most influential openly LGBT individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually in the British national newspaper ''The Independent on Sunday''. The list was started in 2000 ...

", and in the renamed 2015 "Rainbow List" called him the second most influential LGBT person in the UK. Graham has advocated for

intersex human rights Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals, that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies." Intersex pe ...

, including speaking out against surgery to "normalise" intersex children's bodies. He has also investigated legal recognition of intersex as a distinct gender, and praised Germany for allowing intersex babies to be recorded as neither male nor female. In 2020, Graham joined other intersex activists including River Gallo to help the

Los Angeles LGBT Center The Los Angeles LGBT Center (previously known as the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center) is a provider of programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The organization's work spans four categories, including health, soc ...

expand care for intersex patients. Graham has appeared as a guest on several podcasts, including Caitlin Durante's ''Sludge: An American Healthcare Story'', Nadège August's ''What The Fockery?'', Lauren Wallett's ''The Creativity Coach,'' and Jeff Miller and Anthony Navarro's ''Talk Out Loud''.

Creative works

In 2010, Graham contributed an essay to the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...

"Letter to My Body" series, in which he expressed how the discovery that he was intersex led to addiction and depression. In 2017, Graham wrote and performed a solo play titled ''Angels are Intersex.'' After ''Angels are Intersex'', he began using the name Seven Graham and they/them pronouns (later adopting he/they pronouns). Graham was an executive producer of the 2018 short film ''Ponyboi'', along with executive producers

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starrin ...

, Johan Sorenson, Elizabeth Sorenson, and DJ Rutherford, and co-producers

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

, Rachel Singer, and Jamison Monroe. It was the first film to feature an intersex actor, River Gallo, playing the role of an intersex person.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Sarah 1969 births 20th-century British comedians 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British writers 21st-century British comedians 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights British film producers British human rights activists British psychotherapists Intersex non-binary people Intersex rights activists Intersex rights in the United Kingdom Living people Non-binary writers Non-binary comedians Non-binary activists Substance abuse counselors