Intersex is a term used for various circumstances to refer to individuals born with sexual anatomy that does not identify with either "male" or "female." Due to stigmatization or lack of awareness, some parents force their children to undergo surgeries so that they can fit ‘normal’ ideas of female or male. Normally, physicians assign intersex children as male or female since many nations have not assigned the legal sex intersex people since this category of people has no identity. Thus, this raises concerns about whether it is right to perform a surgical procedure on intersexual children when it is unnecessary for them. Intersexuality is a normal and naturally occurring variant in people, not a health problem. Therefore, healthcare interventions such as surgeries and hormone therapy for young people are medically unnecessary.
Most intersexes undergo hard experience to fit in sex of either male or female. According to various sources, when a baby is born intersex, parents and doctors determine sex, either female or male, and therefore that child s raised to confer with the expected gender of that sex ( Hammarberg, 2011) . Therefore, this makes it common for such babies to undergo genitals surgery and hormone therapy that will help them fit into the two sex categories as they interact with other people. Based on academic and scientific research of intersex experiences and indent, these people's category remains uncommon and concentrated on the prodigies of biomedical factors. According to Canguçu-Campinho et al.'s (2009) article on intersex in humans, the issues are largely conferred to medicine and psychology. The article also determined a lack of awareness and publication in the public journal and national newspaper and journal on social sciences, leading to the stigmatization of intersex.
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Much has changed on intersex identity and politics since 1990 after Suzanne Kessler's publication on foundational critiques of the current medical treatment of intersex kids. In modern society, there are different kinds of sexual identities that grant some people immunities and rights that exclude other people. For example, people who identify themselves male/female category possess a great number of immunities and privileges than people from another spectrum who are normally discriminated against and stigmatized. For centuries, the legal frameworks have failed to protect an individual whose physical sex traits are intersex since that law is based on the notion that only male or female sexes are valid (Jones, 2018). Therefore, intersexes are only protected if some authority determines their sex identity or aligns with the male/female category norms. Such legal frameworks have initiated medical intervention seeking to make intersex bodies fit in the male/female category through surgery and hormone injections.
Research Methodology
The research will adopt a qualitative technique whose methodology and epistemic origin lies in the intersex identities and experiences. Macro research will be conducted with different government bodies such as human rights, medical teams, and intersex individuals. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with specific informants identified among experts in medicine, law, psychology, and educational institutions. The participants will be supplied with guidelines and an informed consent latter for advanced preparation.
Research Contribution
The research will provide medical experts with the needed information to help them educate parents and intersex people, particularly those interested in undertaking surgery or hormone treatment. Moreover, the administration and legislation process about intersex people has not been in place; therefore, this research will act as a framework for other scholars to conduct research that will help formulate laws that protect intersex people.
Conclusively, intersex individuals face numerous challenges in society. The main challenge is stigmatization and discrimination in society. Due to this stigmatization, some parents force their children to undergo surgeries and therapies so that their bodies fit the binary ideas of female or male. This issue raises concerns on whether surgeries and medical procedures should be performed on children when it is not necessary for their health. Since intersex is a normal condition and not a mental problem, children should not be forced by their parents to undergo medical procedures. As this research tries to explore the issues surrounding intersex, qualitative research will be carried out. Conducting this research will provide more information to individuals about intersex people and their rights.
Annotated Bibliography
Dreger, A., & Herndon, A. (2009). Progress and politics in the intersex rights movement: Feminist theory in action. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies , 15 (2), 199-224. https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-2008-134
The article highlights Suzanne Kessler's work in her publication "foundational feminist critique of the modern-day medical treatment of children with intersex." Suzanne's work has immensely contributed to the awareness and education of the public about the existence of intersex. The author is a well-known intersex advocate and policy formulator in North America. The article is based on the authors' activist and academic experiences, coped with a literature review from various publishers. The author argues that much has been done in regards to promoting social and medical awareness towards intersex individuals for the last five decades. However, much work needs to be done to ensure that babies born intersex are treated to promote their long-term well-being.
Carpenter, M., & Zavros-Orr, A. (2019). Intersex is not a gender identity, and the implications for legislation - Intersex Human Rights Australia . Intersex Human Rights Australia. https://ihra.org.au/17680/intersex-characteristics-not-gender-identity/
According to the authors, numerous Australian reports have suggested that the law legally protects intersex people to maintain their sexual orientation and identity. However, based on several research and studies, that is not the case. Generally, individuals with intersex variation have distinguished sex identities, but what they do not share with other people is having atypical and stigmatized sex traits that fail to confer with the contemporary society stereotype that identifies a male or female. Therefore, defining intersex regarding gender identity might misgender a person born with intersex variants.
Carpenter, M., & Zavros-Orr, A. (2014). Welcome! - Intersex Human Rights Australia . Intersex Human Rights Australia. https://ihra.org.au/19853/welcome/
According to the article, an intersex person has innate characteristics that fail to fit in the valid sex norms of the male/female category. Therefore, this results in risk factors such as the experience of stigma, harm, and discrimination. However, most people fail to comprehend that intersex individuals form a diverse community with various kinds of body, sex, genders, and identities. Moreover, an intersex person shares the same life experiences with other people with innate sex characteristics such as hormones and chromosomes.
Kitzinger, C. (2003). Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self by Sharon E. Preves . American Journal of Sociology 109(3) . https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/382012?journalCode=ajs .
Kitzinger argues that if there is any criticism about Sharon E. Preves on the "intersex and identity; the contested self," more work on intersex and identity needs to be done. Based on the data provided by the North American health department, about 1-2% of all babies born are intersex. The article draws their data from an interview conducted with 37 adults intersexual, and it seeks to comprehend the experiences that the people born of intersex undergo and how they cope with such challenges in a culture that demands sexual conformity.
Fraser, R., & Lima, I. (2012). Intersex and the right to identity: a discourse on the civil record of intersex children . Pepsic.bvsalud.org. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-12822012000300012 .
According to the article, administration and law interact with intersex persons on a gender identity basis. However, the law fails to protect such people since intersex n a condition that impacts growth and children's development. As reflected in the child's civil data, surgeries and hormonal treatment of intersex babies are sometimes delayed due to specific but necessary examination procedures that directly affect gender. Therefore, the article examined the parameters in which the intersex person's right to gender is guaranteed from civil birth records as a human right.
Hughes, I. (2002). Intersex. BJU International , 90 (8), 769-776. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1464-410x.2002.02920.x
This journal was profoundly generated to reduce discrimination and inequalities and combat transphobia and homophobia experienced by intersex persons in Eastern Europe. The article considered intersexual issues in different countries from human rights and contextualizing such issues against contemporary society awareness and government competence. Such human rights that the article has typically emphasized include intersex well-being and health within the context of development. The journal intends to air the LGBTI and particularly intersexual community concerns, highlight legislation gaps, and provide a recommendation to government and other stakeholders on ways to promote intersex health and well-being.
Hammarberg, T. (2011). Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in Europe . Council of Europe. https://www.coe.int/t/Commissioner/Source/LGBT/LGBTStudy2011_en.pdf .
The article has based its research on the European nations regarding sexual orientation and sexual identity. Majority of Europe's individuals are stigmatized due to their perceived or actual sexual orientation and thus do not have the privilege of their universal human rights as other people do. Some individuals are victims of hate crimes and do not get protection from law enforcement officer or their fellow citizens when attacked in the streets. More so, sexual orientation and gender identity movement have been banned or do not support the government. Only a few political leaders in Europe have taken a firm stand to protect an intersex person and ensure that their rights are not violated.
Jones, T. (2018). Intersex Studies: A Systematic Review of International Health Literature. SAGE Open , 8 (2), 215824401774557. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017745577
According to the author, there is a need to comprehend modern categorization and group construction issues based on intersex variations. Such issues need to be examined within the frames of intersex, a disorder of sex development, and another LGBTI umbrella. The article sources its data from the American Canadian region, African region, European, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East regions. The article represents the discussion between an institutional expert with a medical lens and the opinion found in a range of patient-centered societies. Lack of adequate knowledge on intersexuality is among issues that have contributed to intersex discrimination and babies' genital surgeries to fit the male/female category.
Canguçu-Campinho, A. K., Bastos, A. C. D. S. B., & Lima, I. M. S. O. (2009). O discurso biomédico e o da construção social na pesquisa sobre intersexualidade. Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva , 19 (4), 1145-1164.
The authors have suggested that intersex is an imbalance between the aspects that are accountable for sex determination. To understand the intersex ambiguity the article, examine medical, law, psychology, and social activism journals and papers. According to the author's findings, the medical articles reviewed indicated that intersexually is a chronic disease and weighs on genetic and endocrine characteristics. The articles of psychology focused on gender and identity, and sexuality. Other articles emphasized the bipolar gender view, focusing on the measures of the description of intersex.
Planned Parenthood. (2020). What is Intersex? | Definition of Intersexual . https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity/whats-intersex .
The article focuses on the definition of intersex, problems, and experiences that intersex persons undergo. According to the article, intersex is a term used for various circumstances to refer to individuals born with sexual anatomy that does not identify with "male" or "female." There is concern about whether it is right to perform a surgical procedure on intersexual children when unnecessary for them. Intersexuality is a normal variant in people, not a health issue. Therefore, healthcare interventions such as surgeries for young people are medically unnecessary. Babies born in intersex undergo surgical procedures and are raised to confer with the expected gender of that sex that they were given.
References
Canguçu-Campinho, A. K., Bastos, A. C. D. S. B., & Lima, I. M. S. O. (2009). O discurso biomédico e o da construção social na pesquisa sobre intersexualidade. Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva , 19 (4), 1145-1164.
Carpenter, M., & Zavros-Orr, A. (2014). Welcome! - Intersex Human Rights Australia . Intersex Human Rights Australia. https://ihra.org.au/19853/welcome/
Carpenter, M., & Zavros-Orr, A. (2019). Intersex is not a gender identity, and the implications for legislation - Intersex Human Rights Australia . Intersex Human Rights Australia. https://ihra.org.au/17680/intersex-characteristics-not-gender-identity/
Dreger, A., & Herndon, A. (2009). Progress and politics in the intersex rights movement: Feminist theory in action. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies , 15 (2), 199-224. https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-2008-134
Fraser, R., & Lima, I. (2012). Intersex and the right to identity: a discourse on the civil record of intersex children . Pepsic.bvsalud.org. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-12822012000300012 .
Hammarberg, T. (2011). Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in Europe . Council of Europe. https://www.coe.int/t/Commissioner/Source/LGBT/LGBTStudy2011_en.pdf .
Hughes, I. (2002). Intersex. BJU International , 90 (8), 769-776. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1464-410x.2002.02920.x
Jones, T. (2018). Intersex Studies: A Systematic Review of International Health Literature. SAGE Open , 8 (2), 215824401774557. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017745577
Kitzinger, C. (2003). Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self by Sharon E. Preves . American Journal of Sociology 109(3) . https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/382012?journalCode=ajs .
Planned Parenthood. (2020). What is Intersex? | Definition of Intersexual . https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity/whats-intersex .
