Embracing the Intersex
When filling out paperwork for a routine check-up at a health clinic and once asked to select the appropriate gender, does an individual truly consider what constitutes to being female or male? These two words, female and male, are used to describe gender, which can be loosely defined as attributes, behaviors, and personality characteristics expected to be associated with a particular sex in a culture. This denotes that gender and sexual identity are conceptually independent but are contrarily associated with each other. This occurs because our ideas regarding, but not limited to, gender and sexuality are socially constructed.
The beliefs of a society may appear to be natural, normal and obvious to those individuals who choose to accept it, but they are in fact an invention or artifact to that particular culture or society. To sustain these beliefs a ‘box system’ is used to categorize females and males. For example females are typically associated with the color pink, wear dresses, and even take on roles of maintaining a household; while males are associated with the color blue, wear pants, and financially support the family but are not perceived as caregivers. But what happens when an individual does not fit this ‘box system’? What if a young boy decides he wants to play with Barbie dolls versus G.I. Joe’s? He may be criticized by his peers and scolded by adults. In an extreme situation, what if a young child has innate characteristics that cannot be taken away or altered? For instance, what if a child is born with ambiguous or undersized genitalia? Such a child can be labeled as intersex; a person born with reproductive and/or copulatory organs which do not categorically define them as female or male. When this occurs, there is normally a hormonal imbalance and in some cases chromosomal differences. In these situations measures have been taken where doctors surgically shape the infants’ genitals soon after birth. In many cases, the ethics of this procedure are contested and questions have been raised regarding consent.
Since intersex varies in many ways, different procedures are administered. Surgical procedures are greatly critiqued because assigning a gender to an intersex child is precursory and immediately performed after birth because so much meaning and emphasis is placed on announcing ‘It’s a boy/girl!’ Additional surgeries may be needed, hormone therapy may be administered, and at times particular precautions must be assessed to ensure correct development of copulatory organs. This treatment may be traumatic for the child and later as the child matures, there may be an indirect correlation with how the individual identifies themselves and the gender they are assigned. It is particularly difficult at the onset of puberty because hormonal imbalances may hinder development and additional therapy may be necessary and could continue for the rest of a persons’ life. At times when discrepancies arise, individuals undergo a reversed surgery which correctly identifies them as the gender of their choice.
Within the past decade, there has been a positive progression in support of transgendered individuals. Beginning in 1993, the Intersex Society of North America was established with the mission to “Devote to systemic change to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female”. This organization proposes proper psychological care and deferred surgery until the individual is in agreement. In 2003, the Female Genital Mutilation Act was passed and it states, “A person is guilty of an offence if he excises, infibulates or otherwise mutilates the whole or any part of a girl’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris”. This act helped decipher whether a guardian has the right to issue consent to genital surgery of an infant. Although gray areas still exist, this act has helped prevent incorrect or unwanted gender assignment and has left the decision up to the individual.
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