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Critical appraisal of gender dysphoria
Critical appraisal of gender dysphoria
A formal essay on gender dysphoria
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One’s physical sex determines how that person will be treated for the rest of their lives, but a large majority of people find themselves left out because they’re not really a boy but not really a girl either. What if when a child is born, it was unclear what physical gender they were because their reproductive organs pointed to a boy, but also a girl? Or even vice versa. According to Julia Serano’s book Whipping Girl, these children are known as “Intersex”, which is a term used to describe individuals who are “born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of male or female” (25). As an analogy, think of gender as a spectrum of color, where one color is "female" and another is "male." "Intersexed" would then appear to any shade of color in between. In the past, this condition (also known as hermaphroditism) was one of secrecy, and it was common for parents to choose their baby’s gender for them and to have doctors remove ovaries from a child whom could grow into a boy, or remove the penis from a baby that showed more sign of being female. There are a variety of different issues that can cause a child to be intersex. Some could be an extra X or Y chromosome or genetic mutation. The issue is that people do not always grow into the gender that they are given, whether they be intersex or not. Despite the either-or categories society has perpetuated on gender, intersex children should be given the choice of which gender they choose to identify with after puberty—for their own well-being, emotionally and physically. Intersex surgery as a child is risky in the long-run. In a journal written by Haze Glenn Beh and Milton Diamond Ph.D., they analyzed how physicians have long conveyed a sense of medical... ... middle of paper ... ...y done or begin to go into hormonal therapy. Intersex children should be given a choice in which gender that they choose to identify with and become after they have gone through puberty. The ability to choose one’s gender after puberty will give the intersex person time to be well informed and prepare for their future. As a reminder, gender reassignment surgery is a serious decision that should not be taken lightly or hastily because there have been cases where people have been known to regret their decisions. The time between their birth and puberty will give them enough time to properly learn who they are and what gender they want to be, without any mystery in their medical history, and a sense of self-validation that they are in control of their bodies and given the chance to be who they were born to be, even if it all started a bit jumbled up in the beginning.
Puberty is a difficult time for any child, but for transgender teens, it can be the difference between becoming who they want to be or remaining in the wrong body. In June of this year, PBS Frontline released a documentary, entitled Growing Up Trans, which chronicled the lives of eight transgender and nonbinary children, from the ages of 9 to 19, as they navigated through the process of transitioning to their prefered genders. Some of the kids took hormone blockers to slow down their puberty, others were going through puberty at the time and wanted to transition before it was complete, and one had already gone through puberty and was still taking hormones to transition. The controversy revolving around the documentary focused on whether or
Gibson, B., & Catlin, A.J. (2011). Care of the Child with the Desire to Change Gender-Part 1.
In another article by Emily Greenhouse “New Era For Intersex Rights” she tells us the story that Jim Ambrose (an interssex born child) lived while undergoing this condition, taking us back to Kitzinger’s definition of intersex. He tells us about his horrific childhood he experienced due to his parents not having been given much of an option by their doctor but merely “they had a problem and they could correct it” showing us “consequently, in the typical circumstance of a child being born with ambiguous genitalia, a ‘psychosocial emergency’ is declared with the intent of ‘fixing’ the child” (Kitzinger, 1999). His whole life growing up he lived as the opposite sex not being able to enjoy his childhood or even his life. Could not go on vacation with his friends because he had to go “get his testicels chopped off” instead. Ambrose tells us how he would have preferred to be allowed the opportunity to explore his own identity and then, him choosing “to later, have surgery” which would have made it easier for him identify formation as an adult. One final thing that i took from this article that really opened my eyes when he said that he has talked to many intersex people and says that not one of them has been happy with the treatment they have received from their physicians”. This is why it is important to educate ourselves on the matter on the specific interesex condition
All in all, new parents need to be informed that their baby’s intersex anatomy and diagnosis isn’t a calamity or misfortune. Doctor’s should inform the parent that this biological variation has been seen before and that it’s okay instead of coercing the parent into consenting to a cosmetic surgery that’ll harm the individual in the long run.
Occasionally, an “error” so to speak occurs during the meeting of the autosomes and chromosomes. When this happens, many deformities can occur within the developing fetus, one such outcome is ambiguous biological sex, or, intersexed. This essentially means a person that has either external sex organs of both a m...
Anatomical level involves the “genitals and secondary sexual characteristics” (Fausto-Sterling 22). During the anatomical level not all the genitals will allow a person to become distinctly identified as a male or female. Many people would use both sex, gender and gender traits to judge individuals as either male or female on a single spectrum. Gender identity of being identified as a male or female can be “poorly understood interaction with environment and experience” (Fausto-Sterling 22). People with gender identity issues are confused on the fact of how society views their sexuality either as a male, female or both. Gender identity is a way for a person to identify themselves with what they believe is their true identity; despite the physical characteristics. The gender development levels show that “masculinity and femininity is in almost every possible permutation” (Fausto-Sterling 22). Masculinity and femininity has a lot of variations between the chromosomal, hormonal and genital level. “A chromosomal, hormonal and genital male emerges with a female gender identity” (Fausto-Sterling 22). A transgendered male is still prone to
I believe that the reasoning behind our society’s strong need to maintain sexual dichotomy is the fact that if it changed it would contradict a long- established belief of what is considered normal. She cites Anne Fausto- Sterling saying “are genuinely humanitarian, reflecting the wish that people be able to ‘fit in’ both physically and psychologically” (183) as she stresses this it revels that doctors are making a decision to try and help children fit in to what is considered ordinary or usual as talked about in “The Five Sexes, Revisited” and now
Central Idea: While it may seem unethical, the American Medical Association (AMA) should ban any gender reassignment surgeries due to the
Society today suggest that revealing the “gender” or “sex” of a child from the moment of conception forward is a necessity. But, in all actuality to some this is an invasion of their privacy and beliefs. Many believe that raising a child gender specific is not important to their upbringing or to their growth and development. Gender is defined with several different meanings such as the behavioral, cultural or psychological traits typically associated with the one sex. The sex of an individual, male or female, based on reproductive anatomy (the category to which an individual is assigned on the basis of sex) and the personal traits or personality that we attach to being male or female. Sex is defined as the biological distinctions determined by our genitalia.
What he fails to realize is that there are many intersex individuals in society today, living as any other person would. An intersex individual was born with ambiguous genitalia or sex organs. This is usually caused by a chromosomal insertion or absence. A biological female has two X chromosomes and a biological male has an X and a Y chromosome. Some individuals are born with more than 2 X's and some are only born with one X and no resulting X or Y. There are many combinations of X and Y chromosomes that result in a person whose genitalia do not match up with the sex organs they are born with. Since these people were not born male or female, which gender does society dictate for them? The parents of these individuals usually have surgery on their children to give them a sex that correlates with the gender
Preves, Ph.D., Sharon E. "Intersex Narratives: Gender, Medicine, and Identity." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 32-42. Print.
In fact, intersex individuals are born into this world with particular sex characteristics that do not match up to the conventional binary view of male or female bodies. Intersex is a socially constructed compartment that demonstrates biological variation. Albeit, people mix up intersex individuals with the transgender group, intersex focus on one's biological characteristics, in lieu transgender deals more with their gender identity.
There are many differences between these scientific terms, intersex, and transgender and gender variations. When Achilles referred to as an intersex it means that this child is born with sexual anatomy, reproductive organs and or even chromosome patters that do not fit the typical if a male or female. According to an article on times.com"intersex is a term that refers to someone whose anatomy or genetics at birth - the X and the Y chromosomes that are usually XX for women and XY for men, do not correspond to the typical expectations for either sex." (Katy stainmetz, times.com.) in gender variations it 's a case where the gender expression and behavior of an individual does not match masculine and feminine gender norms. Transgendered is much similar to gender variations, which relates to a person whose self identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional nation of male or
Part Two of Kartina Karkazis’ novel Fixing Sex focuses on the reality parents face when their child receives an intersex diagnosis. Karkazis illustrates what a couple experiences when they discovered their baby girl was not in fact a girl, in accordance to the socially constructed understanding of a female. She also covers the importance of choosing a sex with an intersexual baby when society is involved. A great example from the text is, “Bodies with atypical or conflicting biological markers of gender are troublesome because they disturb the social body; they also disrupt the process if determining an infant’s place in the world” (96). It ties in perfectly to the purpose of paragraphs four, five and six: The Ramifications of Corrective Surgery (Good and Bad). The quote highlights one of the “bad” ramifications of intersexual corrective surgery. It has progressed to the point where society has such a large impact on what is classified as a “proper girl” or “proper boy” that if a baby does not classify into one of those categories, then the child is no longer accepted.
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...