As a pediatrician and urologist specifically concentrating on disorders of sexual development (DSD)- “congenital conditions in which the development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical” (Arnold/Saguy, Lecture 11)- every once in a while, a pregnant woman, whose first child is born with congenital androgen hyperplasia (CAH), comes to my office asking for a medicinal point of view on the biological, psychological, and ethical methods of treatment of her second child. Since recent
Although being intersex is somewhat common, there remains a magnificent lack of awareness amongst the general population. Even as our culture has made strides toward greater understanding and acceptance of transgender rights, intersexuality is something that remains under-recognized and taboo to many individuals. Intersex inhabitants are those whose biology does not meet society’s traditional definitions of sex and gender. Sex refers to biological differences such as chromosomes, hormonal profiles
their children aggravated by a society so concerned with gender roles and gender as a binary, that people are largely distraught by non gender binary individuals. By nature, parents want to protect their children from physical and emotional harm. Intersexuality or unclear genitalia jeopardizes individual’s ability to have healthy relationships, especially intimate or romantic relationships due to a lack of education and In 2006, an unidentified individual who had a disorder of sexual development underwent
Male and female are simply not enough. Anne Fausto-Sterling makes this crystal clear in her work, "The Five Sexes". Her essay goes into detail about the history of hermaphrodites. People tend to shun anyone or any idea that is unusual. From birth, humans are programmed to think of certain things as normal, and to think of other things as weird. Sterling 's essay is very strong in medical information about intersexual people and it has different examples about living an intersexual lifestyle. On
Nature vs Nurture The idea of nature vs nurture when it comes to gender identity is a controversial and highly debated topic. However I feel that one side is supported by science and research, while the other is supported by unproven theories. We are all born with unique DNA, and this DNA is what makes us, us. While our society or environment can influence our views or thoughts, it cannot change our DNA; it cannot change us enough to make us question or physiological makeup. Our gender identity
Hermaphrodites Since the beginning of time, humans have been lumped into two different groups: male and female. There was no in between. Hermaphrodites broke this model with their status as "he/she's." Was there something in between male and female? Gender is now thought of a combination of a host of different qualities that work together. Hermaphrodites are a genetic anomaly, but these individuals have a gender. It may not fit the classic mold of male or female, but they have a gender nonetheless
Pediatric Ethics and the Surgical Assignment of Sex One in every 2,000 babies born every year are neither male nor female, they are what is known as hermaphrodites. These children and their families are forced into a life of hardship and encounter many conflicts, which need to be addressed. Should the parents choose the assignment of the sex to a newborn child and subject them to a life of surgery and doctor visits? There are 100 to 200 pediatric surgical reassignments every year. Many of these
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
Throughout Western civilization, culturally hegemonic views on gender and sexuality have upheld a rigid and monolithic societal structure, resulting in the marginalization and dehumanization of millions of individuals who differ from the expected norm. Whether they are ridiculed as freaks, persecuted as blasphemers, or discriminated as sub-human, these individuals have been historically treated as invisible and pushed into vulnerable positions, resulting in cycles of poverty and oppression that remain
For a pregnant couple, it is common to be asked what gender your child is going to be: “are you having a boy or a girl?” However, what happens when it is difficult for a child to be classified in a specific gender? It is known that the XX chromosomes make up the genetic blueprint for a female and XY chromosomes make up the blueprint for a male. However, several people have not been identified as either a XX or a XY child. The condition “hermaphroditism”, commonly known as intersex, is the condition
Transgender and intersexed are not what one typically contemplates of when thinking about societies general interpretation of gender definitions. Transgender meaning that one’s gender expression does not match their assigned sex and intersex being person who is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male. The concept of transgender and intersex disrupts the very thought of gender being a binary. The biological body is stereotypically assumed
According to Milton Diamond, children with genital impairments at birth are being reassigned to surgery to be transformed physically into women (1997, p.1). But where has the psychological part of these individuals left behind? Is this newly made up female capable to embody society’s expectations about women? Will these individuals be able to conduct themselves as women in an intimate relationship? Female gender mutilation and gender reassignment surgery seem to be about fixing the problem momentously
The topic I chose is " Why must I come out " and the speaker is Geena Rocero. Geena Rocero is a female transgender fashion model. She tells her audience her experience growing up as a transgender and how coming out has made her achieve her dream becoming a fashion model and find her inner self and inner truth. Thesis: Coming out for many people are unfortunate: Many of us are put into boxes due to religion, family, culture, society and even our own bodies. The reality which we live in suicide
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex not only shows Cal’s transformation but also shows the “world’s transformation into a completely different entity”(a conversation with Eugenides 2007). Over time science has gained more power and in modernity scientific ideas are seen as more valuable than tradition. However, there are some questions raised in people’s minds about whether science is always accurate. The mistaken labeling of Cal’s gender in Middlesex models our concerns about the insufficiency of science
Markisha Lewis Intersex in Children and Adults WGS 200.63.01 Many of us have been reflecting on questions about intersex and what it actually is. I’ll be explaining the definition of intersex, how common it is the conditions of intersex and what is basically considered to be intersex. Intersex is when a person is born with a sexual anatomy or reproductive system that doesn’t quite fit the description of male or female. Some examples are, a person could be born with an outer appearance as a female
People are commonly born with genitals that are easily distinguished as male or female. Intersex individuals are born with ambiguous genitalia that can’t be clearly categorized. The ambiguity of the genitalia or anatomy varies as a product of different variations of chromosomes, genes, gonads, hormones, and hormone receptors (A.D.A.M.). This variations can either occur externally or internally, for example the genitals could be difficult to distinguish as female or male or the internal anatomy of
analyzing and understand reading materials. More than that, English 1113 teach the format of the essay which is MLA. MLA is required by many courses to write essays and reports. We have written three essays in this class Critical literacy Unit In “Intersexuality and the Discourse Community,” James E. Porter claims that a discourse community is organized by a group of people who have the similar interests and he also said “an individual may belong to several professional, public, or personal discourse
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines intersexuality as “the condition of having both male and female gonadal tissue in one individual or of having gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is of the other sex or is ambiguous”. Intersexuality, gender, and sex are three things that typically would be associated with each other. However, in order to get a completely objective and realistic understanding of intersexuality, several terms that society has accepted to be true have to be put into question
Money discusses what exactly intersexual means in medical terms: “By definition, intersexuality, and likewise its synonym, hermaphroditism, signifies ambiguity as to whether an individual is male or female… ambiguity means that a person is not consistently either all male or female, but there is some degree of inconsistency or incongruity
different gender categories which are male and female. However, there is much more overlap between male and female than people usually assume. Anne Fausto-Sterling argues that the sexes male and female are not enough for identify sexes by bringing in intersexuality which proves the idea that the sexes male and female are not enough for identifying sexes. This is often difficult for people because most societies are built on a two-sex social system where people are required to live as one sex or the other