Peter
10-30-05, 12:22 PM
It is a slow Sunday morning, and I received an email questionaire about the bioethics of the medical treatment of intersex people. Here are the questions and my answers for anyone who is curious.
> 1) Do you think that intersexed children would be better off if they
> did not have surgery? If you do, what would be the positive and negative
> circumstances of this action?
We are all individuals, so it is hard to generalize. I believe that
decisions on whether or not to have surgery, in cases where the child's
life is not in immediate danger, should be left to the intersex child to
make when he or she is older.
> 2) What do you believe the social environment is like for an intersexed
> child who is growing up who has had surgery and who has not had surgery?
I was often taunted for having a body that is different as well as
underwent infant genital surgery. Early surgery is the dominant approach
by the medical profession and parents in many countries, and there has
often been deep on-going deception and dishonesty about this assult on the
child'd body.
> 3) What does society need to do to facilitate the integration of
> intersexed individuals?
It would help to recognize our existence though increased public education
and awareness. Research by Dr. Money in the 1940's showed that intersex
people were generally more mentally healthy than the general population.
Research shows that women who grow up with a large clitoris do not mind
having a body that is different. The problem is the bigotry of the
surrounding society.
> 4) Do physicians believe that having surgery on intersexed children is
> an issue of sexuality or an issue of societal accommodation and
> acceptance?
You would have to ask them, but it seems to be mostly an issue of societal
accommodation and acceptance. With clitoral amputations and the surgical
removal of micro-penises, the future sexuality of the child is often
destroyed to visually "normalize" the appearance of the child's body.
> 5) How do family members interact with an intersexed child who has had
> corrective surgery versus an intersexed child who has not had surgery?
I don't know. This is an interesting topic in itself. I suspect that there
is often a sense of shame and secrecy regardless of whether infant genital
surgery has been done or not.
> 6) Why are we afraid of what we cannot characterize?
This is a difficult question to answer. We are often afraid of what we can
characterize, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, so I am not sure that we
are more afraid of what we cannot characterize. I think fear of
"difference" arguments are weak, when they do not explore the fact that
"difference" is often the product of a specific social environment. Most
people do characterize, but do so in a way that is often intolerant. I was
sometimes characterized as a "freak" when I was young.
> 7) Do intersexed children and intersexed adults struggle to define
> themselves? If they do, does their struggle eventually become a struggle
> for survival?
In a general sense, everyone struggles to define themselves are they grow
up. Socially and politically , intersex people are increasingly
struggling for recognition. There are millions of intersex people in the
world and we do not want to be invisible forever.
> 8) Would it be a good idea not to give an intersexed child a gender and
> just raise the child as an intersexed individual?
I think that children should be called "he" or "she" rather than "it". So,
I support a gentle and minimal form of gender assignment. Ideas that boys
should play with trucks and girls play with dolls are moronic and should
be abandoned. I dream of a world where many matters that are "gendered"
cease to be.
> 9) What do physicians want for intersexed children? How do they believe
> that they are helping the child by operating on them?
I believe that physicians want intersex children to be happy, but that
they unfortunately often place the social comfort of the child's family
and community above the human rights of the intersex child.
> 10) What is the best advice that you could give to a parent who is
> raising an intersexed child? Should they focus on more of the biological
> aspects of their intersexed child or the socialization of the child?
I think that all parents should love their children. As what is between
the legs is often invisible to the general public, there should be no need
to rush into cosmetic genital surgery aimed at normalizing the visual
appearance of a child's body. As an interesex child grows up, they will be
able to decide which gender they want to be, and whether or not they want
to have surgery. As the San Francisco Human Rights Commission recently
noted in its intersex report, parents and doctors often violate the human
rights of intersex children by performing infant genital surgeries without
the full informed consent of the intersex child at a legally appropriate
age.
Thanks,
Peter Trinkl
> 1) Do you think that intersexed children would be better off if they
> did not have surgery? If you do, what would be the positive and negative
> circumstances of this action?
We are all individuals, so it is hard to generalize. I believe that
decisions on whether or not to have surgery, in cases where the child's
life is not in immediate danger, should be left to the intersex child to
make when he or she is older.
> 2) What do you believe the social environment is like for an intersexed
> child who is growing up who has had surgery and who has not had surgery?
I was often taunted for having a body that is different as well as
underwent infant genital surgery. Early surgery is the dominant approach
by the medical profession and parents in many countries, and there has
often been deep on-going deception and dishonesty about this assult on the
child'd body.
> 3) What does society need to do to facilitate the integration of
> intersexed individuals?
It would help to recognize our existence though increased public education
and awareness. Research by Dr. Money in the 1940's showed that intersex
people were generally more mentally healthy than the general population.
Research shows that women who grow up with a large clitoris do not mind
having a body that is different. The problem is the bigotry of the
surrounding society.
> 4) Do physicians believe that having surgery on intersexed children is
> an issue of sexuality or an issue of societal accommodation and
> acceptance?
You would have to ask them, but it seems to be mostly an issue of societal
accommodation and acceptance. With clitoral amputations and the surgical
removal of micro-penises, the future sexuality of the child is often
destroyed to visually "normalize" the appearance of the child's body.
> 5) How do family members interact with an intersexed child who has had
> corrective surgery versus an intersexed child who has not had surgery?
I don't know. This is an interesting topic in itself. I suspect that there
is often a sense of shame and secrecy regardless of whether infant genital
surgery has been done or not.
> 6) Why are we afraid of what we cannot characterize?
This is a difficult question to answer. We are often afraid of what we can
characterize, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, so I am not sure that we
are more afraid of what we cannot characterize. I think fear of
"difference" arguments are weak, when they do not explore the fact that
"difference" is often the product of a specific social environment. Most
people do characterize, but do so in a way that is often intolerant. I was
sometimes characterized as a "freak" when I was young.
> 7) Do intersexed children and intersexed adults struggle to define
> themselves? If they do, does their struggle eventually become a struggle
> for survival?
In a general sense, everyone struggles to define themselves are they grow
up. Socially and politically , intersex people are increasingly
struggling for recognition. There are millions of intersex people in the
world and we do not want to be invisible forever.
> 8) Would it be a good idea not to give an intersexed child a gender and
> just raise the child as an intersexed individual?
I think that children should be called "he" or "she" rather than "it". So,
I support a gentle and minimal form of gender assignment. Ideas that boys
should play with trucks and girls play with dolls are moronic and should
be abandoned. I dream of a world where many matters that are "gendered"
cease to be.
> 9) What do physicians want for intersexed children? How do they believe
> that they are helping the child by operating on them?
I believe that physicians want intersex children to be happy, but that
they unfortunately often place the social comfort of the child's family
and community above the human rights of the intersex child.
> 10) What is the best advice that you could give to a parent who is
> raising an intersexed child? Should they focus on more of the biological
> aspects of their intersexed child or the socialization of the child?
I think that all parents should love their children. As what is between
the legs is often invisible to the general public, there should be no need
to rush into cosmetic genital surgery aimed at normalizing the visual
appearance of a child's body. As an interesex child grows up, they will be
able to decide which gender they want to be, and whether or not they want
to have surgery. As the San Francisco Human Rights Commission recently
noted in its intersex report, parents and doctors often violate the human
rights of intersex children by performing infant genital surgeries without
the full informed consent of the intersex child at a legally appropriate
age.
Thanks,
Peter Trinkl