Alicia Roth Weigel’s Intersex Advocacy Halts Texas Bathroom Bill

In 2017, activist Alicia Roth Weigel led a campaign against the Texas bathroom bill, which would have required public restroom users to match the sex listed on their birth certificate. After six months of lobbying, Weigel publicly disclosed her intersex status and testified before state senators, arguing that the bill excluded people who do not fit a binary gender model. Texas legislators subsequently voted the measure down, preventing it from becoming law.

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The bill, introduced in early 2017, sought to codify restroom access solely on birth-sex documentation. Proponents framed it as a safety measure; opponents warned it would marginalize transgender, non-binary, and intersex individuals.

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Weigel was born with androgen insensitivity, assigned female at birth but possessing internal testes that were removed in infancy. Her parents never discussed the surgeries, so she concealed her intersex status until age 27. In the 2023 documentary *Every Body* and her memoir *Inverse Cowgirl*, she describes the personal toll of secrecy and the urgency of visibility for intersex people.

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• Early 2017: Bill introduced.

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• Mid-2017: Weigel disclosed intersex status and testified.

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• 2023: Featured in *Every Body* and released *Inverse Cowgirl*.

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• 2024: Goodnewspaper profile; Texas lawmakers rejected the bill.

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Intersex people comprise roughly 2 percent of the global population, a frequency comparable to natural red hair.

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The bill’s defeat shows how personal narratives can influence policy, highlighting gaps in binary-centric legislation. Weigel’s advocacy calls for intersectional protections for intersex, transgender, and non-binary citizens, reinforcing empathy as a policy choice.

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Texas legislators deliberated on the bill after hearing testimony, including Weigel’s, and ultimately voted against it, resulting in the measure’s failure to become law.

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Weigel criticized the bill for “disregarding people who don’t fit neatly into the gender binary” and called it “extremely harmful.” She urged legislators to reconsider the measure’s impact on marginalized communities.

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• “We are present in society but hidden in plain sight,” — Alicia Roth Weigel, Politico essay

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• “We’re not exotic, but we are exhausted — constantly struggling for recognition or mere acknowledgment of our existence.” — Alicia Roth Weigel, Politico essay

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• “I am a woman. And regardless of my gender, a bathroom is a bathroom,” — Alicia Roth Weigel, testimony to Texas senators

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• “Empathy is a choice, not a circumstance one is born into; we should recognize how powerful that is,” — Alicia Roth Weigel, *Inverse Cowgirl* memoir

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Weigel’s memoir and public statements show she will keep advocating for intersectionality, visibility, and empathy in human-rights work, seeking to shape future policies.

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