The Trouble With Ambiguous Genitalia
In trying to decide what to write this last Bio paper on, I solicited the help of some of the girls I eat with in Erdman. They twirled their forks on their plates, bit their lips, scratched their heads. "How about hermaphrodites?" someone chimed in. I lit up. Sure, I thought. Hermaphrodites. That will be interesting. And then: Wait. What's a hermaphrodite again?
In beginning my research, more so at that point to figure out for myself what a hermaphrodite actually was than to begin researching my paper, I had a hard time turning anything up. I talked aloud to myself, to my computer, and to the hermaphrodites of the world. Where are you guys? I wondered.
And then I found them. Or rather, they sought me out, grabbed me by my shirt collar and said, "Hey listen up, girl. Don't call me that."
Because that's where they started with me, I figured that's where I'd begin my paper.
The word "hermaphrodite" has become problematic. Apparently, its roots are to be found in an oppressive Victorian belief that there exists a "true sex," and that any deviation on this "true sex" is a "pseudo-sex" (1). The problem lies in the implications of the word; "'hermaphrodite' implies that a person is born with two sets of genitals-one male and one female-and that is something that cannot occur" (1). Then, of course, there's the problem with referring to someone as pseudo anything.
After beating me up for my choice of wording, they decided to set me straight. The correct word, the preferred term, as it were, is intersexed. What is intersexuality? According to the Intersex Society of North America, "intersexed people are born with chromosomes, external genitalia, or i...
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...pt to explain such medical/mental oddities to such societies, would prefer to slap a quick label ("hermaphrodite", "pseudo") on anyone who deviates--willingly or no--from the fabricated Victorian "true sex." The revolution of the intersexed people is not merely one of renaming. These people are more concerned with dispelling the myths and secrets surrounding them. Their revolution is one of knowledge, education, and yes, a little wordsmithing, too.
Internet Sources:
1)On The Word "Hermaphrodite"
http://www.isna.org/node/16
2) What is Intersex? What Do These Diagnoses Mean?
http://www.isna.org/faq/
3) Frequency: How Common Are Intersex People?
http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency/
4) ISNA's Recommendations for Treatment
http://www.isna.org/node/138
5) Pediatric Ethics and the Surgical Assignment of Sex
http://www.ukia.co.uk/diamond/ped_eth.htm
When most people think of the early settlement they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The settlement at Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The reason people often do not know about the first settlement at Roanoke because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The Roanoke settlement was located on an island on the northern coast of what is now North Carolina. A few more than a hundred English men first settled the colony at Roanoke Island in 1584. The conditions were harsh and between the lack of supplies and the troubles with natives of the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start. Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more English arrived this time there were one hundred and ten colonists that consisted not just of men, but of women and children as well. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously did not work out as planned. The war going on in Europe between the English and the Spanish caused a delay of more supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the resupplying process the entire course of American history may not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started any earlier or later then people might have known more about the original first settlement of the New World. All the evidence left when people returned to Roanoke following the war in Europe was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Historians believe these to be marks left by the Croatoan Indians...
In Making Sex by Thomas Laqueur, the author analysis sexual differences throughout the 18th century reviewing physicians, scientist, biologist and how society understood the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Laqueur brig us two sex models; the one-sex model and the two-sex model. He explains who we transition from the one-sex model to the two-sex model. How this two models had impacted our society and created an impact in history had it to do with the fact that a lot of evidence was drawn from science. Laqueur also explains how society constructed sex. He takes this investigation in very detail as he explains and investigates sexual differences.
When most people think of the early settlement they think of the first successful settlement, Jamestown, but this was not the first settlement in the New World. The settlement at Roanoke was the first attempt to colonize the New World. The settlement at Roanoke is often referred to as the “Lost Colony” because of its unusual disappearance. The reason people often do not know about the first settlement at Roanoke is because it was abandoned, forgotten, and lost. The Roanoke settlement was located on an island on the northern coast of what is now North Carolina. A few more than a hundred English men first settled the colony at Roanoke Island in 1584. The conditions were harsh and between the lack of supplies and the troubles with natives of the area the settlement was all but doomed from the start. Three years after the initial settlement was founded, in 1587, more English arrived this time there were one hundred and ten colonists that consisted not just of men, but of women and children as well. Women and children were brought to the New World so that the settlement could become a fully functioning society. Of course this idea obviously did not work out as planned. The war going on in Europe between the English and the Spanish caused a delay of more supplies and people. If there had not been a prolonged delay in the resupplying process the entire course of American history may not have been what we know it to be now. If the war had started any earlier or later then people might have known more about the original first settlement of the New World. All the evidence left when people returned to Roanoke following the war in Europe was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree. Historians believe these to be marks left by the Croatoan Indi...
In Ruth Gilbert’s At the Border’s of the Human, she discusses society’s interest in hermaphrodites in terms of “people’s desire to examine, scrutinize, and display objects which are alien, strange and other” (6). The anomalous and bizarre spectacle of the hermaphroditic body has drawn the focus of scientists since the early sixteenth century. Hermaphrodites have long evoked a “mixture of disgust and desire, and fear and fascination”(Gilbert 150) that has led to their position as objects of scientific scrutiny. As defined by Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, a hermaphrodite is “an individual in which reproductive organs of both sexes are present”. Besides hermaphrodites challenging society’s physical norms, they challenge and have recently changed its cultural norms as well.
One can see that man has proven his innate goodness time and time again, and will continue to do so. Therefore, it is clear that man is innately good. Humanity has shown its goodness through invention, selflessness and inspiration, which has effectively influenced the course of history, and there is no doubt that these qualities will continue to affect future generations. Though Golding was a skeptic of these qualities, and believed that man is inherently evil, it is impossible to ignore the actions that man’s goodness creates. This lends hope to the idea that, perhaps, newspaper reporters will have fewer articles to write about crime and death, and more articles about selflessness, invention and inspiration.
Seidman, Steven, Nancy Fischer , and Chet Meeks. "Transgendering." New Sexuality Studies. North Carolina: Routledge, 2011. . Print.
The term “intersexual” is used to describe individuals who are born with a combination of male and female genitalia, gonads, and/or chromosomes. Biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling proposed three groups of intersexuals: some with a balance of male and female characteristics, some with female genitalia but testes rather than ovaries, and some with male genitalia but ovaries instead of testes. In order to understand an individual or a community of people, anthropologists believe that by recognizing more than just female and male, it allows for a less dualistic and more holistic approach to understanding the complex relationship between biology and gender. (Guest,
Every parent wants the best for their child. They want to nurture and raise their child to live a normal life. In some cases, that may be quite difficult for parents. Some babies are born with ambiguous genitalia. Ambiguous genitalia means one does not have strictly male or female genitalia when one is born. As a parent, one must choose to go ahead with a surgery that will give them male or female genitalia or also have the option of letting them grow up with their ambiguous genitalia and maybe doing the surgery later on. I believe that if I was in that situation, I would let my baby develop with ambiguous genitalia and have the surgery later. I would do this because I do not want to risk making the wrong decision for them and feeling guilty
The boys’ loss of innocence makes them vulnerable and believe there is a beast. The beast represents how evil is inherent within the boys. The fear of the beast is a metaphor of evil, Golding’s ideology about the beast is the same for what he believes about evil. The beast is a characteristic that is apparent in other characters. By showing the beast inside other characters, Golding portrays the nature of evil. “The forest near them burst into uproar. Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling...stark naked save for the paint and a belt was Jack” (LOTF, 140). Jack and the hunters have become the spitting image of evil. They attack Piggy and Ralph in an effort to gain more power. “I'm warning you. I'm going to get angry. D'you see? You're not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don't try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else” (LOTF, 143). The boys have lost their innocence and do not know their rights from their wrongs. Through the pig’s head, which is an offering made to the beast by Jack's tribe, Golding shows that evil is inherent in man. Simon is the first to have an encounter with Lord of the Flies and he learns that evil is not just the beast but is apparent in the boys themselves. Golding shows that the pig’s head represents the innate evil that all men possess and thus acknowledges the fact that it usually overcomes any innate good one acquires. It
Many misconceptions about Intersex people originate from a lack of knowing the definition. Intersexual is defined as “A child with gonads (testes or ovaries) of one sex, but ambiguous external genitalia. May also be referred to as a disorder of sexual development”(Carroll, 2010). This definition can lead to confusion as well. Intersex people posses both female and male genitalia, but it ambiguous, not two fully formed genitalia. The picture from the textbook of intersexual people help to show how the ambiguous parts aren’t actually odd looking. It just doesn’t look a definite penis or vagina. The journal of Pediatric Urology however does a good job defining intersexual, when explaining what term to use when referring to intersexual people: “The term Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) is proposed, as defined by congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal or anatomical sex it atypical”(Hughes, Houk, Ahmed, Lee, 2006). This definition explain how it biological and why people are
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, evil is portrayed through various types of situations, characters and symbols. Over the course of time, these boys demonstrate elements of human nature beyond civilized human beings as they are put in a society and environment where there are no rules or civilization set in place. Golding shows that human nature, when free from the constraints of society, draws people away from common sense into savagery. His arguments state that human beings are savage by nature, and are moved by urges toward brutality and dominance over others. William Golding shows that humans, when taken away from there society, hide the potential to be evil which slowly releases from within. The use of characterization, symbolism, and character development are literary devices that Golding uses in Lord of the Flies to illustrate that all humans are inherently evil.
Somerville, Siobhan. "Scientific Racism and the Invention of the Homosexual Body." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 284-99. Print.
Thesis: In a society ruled by hypersexulaity, asexuals are often depicted as freaks with a mental or physical disabilities, however
As expected, most if not all teens will disagree with that. But there are some safe teen drivers that are thrown into the bad teen driving category just because they are a teenager that drives. If there are some good teen drivers, then do all teens really need more drivers education? Samantha Williams is a senior at Winchester Community High School that has an answer to this question. “I do consider myself to be a safe driver. I’m always aware of my surroundings when I’m driving, and I always stay away from any distractions” (Question 1). She is intentionally aware of her surroundings and stays focused while driving. The government should not make more regulations and rules for all teen drivers when there are many teen drivers like Samantha on the roads. There are even some adults that believe not all teen drivers are bad drivers. Gregory explains, “ The teen driving issues are not about age and maturity as they are about making good choices and demonstrating exceptional behavior, whether they start that driving experience at 16, 17, or 18” (1). Many teens and parents seem to think the government has not made the best decisions recently when it comes to
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 among them”(28). Though the text is quite wordy with medical jargon, it will be beneficial to have the reader fully understand what intersex means. The medical side of things is important to touch upon, to establish the foundation of what intersexuality really is. This will be very useful in paragraph two: Definition of Intersex and a brief talk if the social construction of sex to describe what intersex