[Peter]

Thanks Miriam for documenting a concrete example of a civil rights setback that stems from the DSD (Disorders of Sex Development) terminology. In the past, heartbreaking examples of not being able to travel because of differences between birth certificate sex and current sex have been documented on this site. Now, because of DSD, these problems will potentially be extended to all intersex children. One thing that I really dislike is that the DSD terminology was put forward without much thought about it. I believe that there should have been a committee formed to study the issue with input from a wide range of intersex groups and individuals. Then, this committee should have formed a sub-committee to study the legal and civil rights implications of the proposed change from intersex to DSD. That this was not done indicates a deep ethical sloppiness about this whole business. My main hope at this point, is that there are still doctors, lawyers and educators, as well as intersex people and our parents, who in light of the socially and legally repressive aspects of the DSD terminology will work to prevent its widespread adoption. I am really thankful to those doctors, who at the beginning of the twentieth century, originally came up with the term "intersex" for choosing a term that can be read in a non-disordered fashion.

Peter