good from medical research?

[Glenn]

Hmm, this could be an interesting can of worms...

I'm getting ready to start graduate studies in biomedical engineering - the breed of engineers who conduct medical research.

So while I'm the first to recognize that we IS spend most of our time avoiding contact with the medical community, my question is: is there anything you wish they could provide?

[Morgan]

Hi Glenn

How about statistically-sound research, for a start :)

The sample sizes that I've seen in some medical research studies don't meet the standards used in, for example, social or economic policy research. Here's an example from from tomorrow's Sydney Morning Herald. This one has just 12 individuals in each of 3 categories. I'm sure I've seen even fewer people used elsewhere, and it could be argued that there's a degree of subjectivity in how the people have been categorised:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Science/Women-gay-men-on-the-same-scent/2005/05/10/1115584960623.html

Male sweat contains a compound that stimulates the brains of gay men and straight women but not heterosexual men, raising the possibility that homosexual men's brains are different, Swedish researchers say.
...

In a previous study, researchers found that the hypothalamus region of the brain became activated when women smelled the male pheromone, AND, and when men smelled a corresponding compound in female urine called EST.
...
This time, they compared the reactions of 12 heterosexual women, 12 heterosexual men and 12 homosexual men.
...


Morgan

[Peter]

Hi Glen,

How about the medical community engineering a set of handcuffs that include a built in GPS positioning unit, which could be used to both restrain and keep track of doctors who perform medically unnecessary infant genital surgeries without the patient's informed consent. I know that the BDSM community has similar, but less sophisticated devices. I think that doctors might be more accepting of restraints developed by the medical community.

Peter

[Dana Gold]

is there anything you wish they could provide?

Respect, dignity, adequate (treated as any other citizen) patient care and unbiased (without "moral" or political influences) medical research that regards people with intersexed or queer-bodied medical conditions as human beings and not "anomalies"......with autonomous identities and the inalienable right to determine and nurture their own physical and psychological destinies.

Dana

[Glenn]

good point, morgan! I saw mention of that study, and had no idea the sample size was so small...

Peter - *giggle* tempting thought!

Dana - reminds me of a text I oversaw on the train about deaf culture, emphasizing that they don't need to be 'fixed'. I'm somewhat color blind, but don't regard myself as incomplete if that doesn't change.

[MelissP]

Respect, dignity, adequate (treated as any other citizen) patient care and unbiased (without "moral" or political influences) medical research that regards people with intersexed or queer-bodied medical conditions as human beings and not "anomalies"......with autonomous identities and the inalienable right to determine and nurture their own physical and psychological destinies.

Dana

But then they'd have to give everyone the same right. Wouldn't they?
Right now, the IRS has so far been unwilling to even recognize my name
change. I have to return refund checks. If they pass the "Real ID act",
maybe they'll never let anyone's vital info be revised, and I don't suppose
their id cards will allow for a "sex:" of "IS/pseudo-herm". Well, my status
should be solidified before it takes effect. But what about some other
person's?

- Melissa

[Dana Gold]

If they pass the "Real ID act",
maybe they'll never let anyone's vital info be revised,


The Real ID Act (part of a "must-pass" anti-terrorism/war funding bill) will be problematic for many intersex people, especially those who have the birth certificate (primary determinant for "nationally-recognized" sex identity) listed as one sex and their curent physical selves do not match it, as in those cases where the indiividual/s have transitioned or do not have the "normal" anatomic characteristics of that "legal" sex.....i.e "birth sex" is male, but the person is naturally female....example: AIS women. Also a problem is that many do not have/cannot find their birth certificate.
The card will supposedly be tied into a federal database and used for access into federal buildings, airports, and any other places that require proof of identity......and will cause either a "harsh advertisement" of the person when their "identity card" says male; and they look female; or vice-versa......or they may be detained and questioned by the authorities.

All in all, it will present a proverbial "can of worms" both in acquisiton of such a card....and in "living with it" ,if granted one.

I see a "dark moon arising" :frown: :sick:

[Glenn]

Yeah, from what I've seen, most of the government's notion of gender is equated to chromosomes, so a proverbial ton of IS folks either won't exist, or will live in contradiction to their "official" gender. Ironically, this would make it legal for an AIS woman to marry another woman.