Tuckahoe NY Pride

Pidgeon Pagonis is an American former competitive swimmer and intersex advocate. Raised in Illinois, Pagonis became a standout high school swimmer, later competing for the University of Georgia, and earned NCAA All-America honors. In 2017, Pagonis publicly shared being intersex, describing variations in sex characteristics and how early medical decisions affected their life. Since then they have spoken widely about intersex rights, bodily autonomy, and ending non-consensual, medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex infants. Pagonis works with advocacy organizations, produces educational content, and uses sport as a platform for inclusion. Their storytelling helps families, clinicians, and policymakers rethink norms.

From Nobody Needs to Know: A Memoir
“The system didn’t want to say that I’m intersex. That I’m not female or male. The doctors wanted to choose a gender for me and then make my body agree with their ideas about who I should be.”

Photo credit Sarah-Ji, Love & Struggle Photography