Intersex Individuals Through History: An Exploration - Essay Sample

Introduction

People with abnormal sex anatomies have lived throughout history. Before the modern advancements of the 20th century, many of the individuals with unusual sex disorders went unnoticed by the law, religion, or medical department, and only a few cases were reported by the local authorities (Intersex Society of North America, n.d.). Throughout time, the medical, scientific, and societal attitudes towards such individuals have been different. The medical term intersex was never shared in the ancient times because most of the people with such conditions were termed as hermaphrodites. The writings by Aristotle defined hermaphrodites as humans with one sex but possessed with extra organs that are found in people of the different sex (DeVun, 2018). In the late 1800s, through the developing sciences of gynecology and the many wartime military examinations, the doctors gained more insight that the abnormality of the sexual anatomies was prevalent (DeVun, 2018). In the 20th through into the 21st century, intersex has evolved from the unknown shadows of shame to more vibrant groups that are striving to fit comfortably in the society.

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Until the 1960s, when a child was born, doctors and midwives made their best guess and assigned the baby sex (Preves, 2002). After that, parents raised then according to the societal norms of gender. But as a result of their atypical traits, intersex people often experienced harassment and many kinds of discrimination. It is in the 1960s that the medical norm dramatically changed, and doctors started to recommend surgeries as solutions (Preves, 2002). This history of surgery among the intersex persons was an era of shame characterized by stigmatization because of reasons such as doctors instructing parents to hide diagnosis and treatment from the child even as they grew up. These directives instilled guilt to parents with such children and even the children. Many of these intersex individuals did not know about their conditions until later in life when they accessed their medical files.

The history of events in the history of intersex started in 1993 when Cheryl Chane founded the intersex community of North America (ISNA) (Advocates for Intersex Youths, 2017). ISNA was founded with an effort to advocate for patients and families who felt the shame of living with or being associated with intersexuality. Through this movement, doctors started to recognize the need to stop the forced surgeries on infants and embrace the disorders of sex as another form of a gender different from the "straight male" and straight female." In 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics went to the extent of declaring the birth of a child with Disorders of Sex as a “Social Emergency” despite insufficient research (Intersex Society of North America, n.d.). And in 2006, a new standard of care known as Consensus Statement on Management of Intersex Disorders was published and acted as an essential way of resolving the crisis of inadequate research (Intersex Society of North America, n.d.). The pressures to perform surgeries at birth drastically reduced, and more doctors accepted the transgender community as people born with disorders of sex.

Children who grew up as intersex were not allowed to participate in life events fully because it was not possible to define them with a particular gender. The ‘trans’ experience was a difficult thing in a society that set people by the norm and, in most cases, almost led to suicide. In the documentary “American Story: Transgender Reality in the US, "Juno performs a play that depicts the difficult life that intersex people face in the quest to come to reality with who they are (RT Documentary, 2014). With the increased advancement of medical technology, many people were diagnosed with the biological identity of "true sex," which was not male or female, and this made no sense to society. The emergence of such individuals with undefined sexual orientation is what gave rise to discrimination in schools, churches, and even in the career world.

In the 21st century, over time, due to pressure from advocates and activists, most of these medical customs have evolved, explaining why more people embrace their sexual orientation. The medical teams have changed their approach to intersex as most of them recognize the condition as a "Difference of Sex Disorders." Disclosure to the child about their intersex traits is recommended and widely practiced. Thus surgeries at birth have gathered a lot of controversial views within the community of medics. In the new century, most medics recognize that most parents prefer to leave the body of the child intact as a way of preserving dignity.

In the modern world, the intersex group now pride in being recognized medically as having sexual disorders and not using the term hermaphrodites as they were termed. According to the Intersex Society of North America (n.d.), there exist real medical problems that affect people with DSDs. Therefore, doctors ought to move away from a single focus on genitals to define gender. Additionally, doctors are becoming more cautious in performing surgery; for instance, clitoroplasty is only recommended in severe (Intersex Society of North America, n.d.). It is no doubt that intersex communities have made more significant steps of getting recognition in the modern world; however, they still face discrimination in society. AS a result of discrimination, most of the intersex groups opt for cosmetic surgeries and inject themselves with hormones to fit in a particular gender as the society demands. These psychosocial concerns that affect intersex in the community have pushed for better and improved treatment techniques.

After many generations of living in the shadows, the intersex movement has now gained a voice and is actively spreading a message to the world. A story in The Washington Post about the 25-year-old called Adams shows how the surgery was done at an early age by parents without consent affects her in her older age (Nora, 2017). The operation forced Adams to be a girl, a person that she feels is not. Many like Adams have come out to talk about their experiences on media as a way of spreading awareness. Activists in the new century have shifted their argument from talking about intersex individuals as medical subjects to advocating for it in the form of identity, confidence, and human rights. A less rigid approach should be taken by parents and doctors and consider that identifying a person is more than just the genitals and chromosomes match.

Conclusion

In conclusion, from the old era to the new times, intersex has evolved from the unknown shadows of shame and discrimination to more vibrant groups that are striving to fit comfortably in society. Although discrimination still exists today, more people are aware of the group as another form of sexual orientation. Thus, in the strive to fit in society, more intersex people are embracing what they genuinely feel and actively advocate for themselves. The goal of intersex activists is to make people know the conditions as issues of human rights.

References

DeVun, L. (2018). Heavenly hermaphrodites: sexual difference at the beginning and end of time. postmedieval, 9(2), 132-146, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41280-018-0080-8

Intersex Society of North America. (n.d.). Our Mission. Intersex Society of North America | A world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgery | Intersex Society of North America. https://isna.org/ RT Documentary. (2014, April 15). American Story: Transgender Reality in the US

[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05BOu06mSI

Advocates for Intersex Youths. (2017, August 30). “I want to be like nature made me”. Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/07/25/i-want-be-nature-made-me/medically-unnecessary-surgeries-intersex-children-us

Preves, S. E. (2002). Sexing the intersexed: an analysis of sociocultural responses to intersexuality. Signs: Journal of women in Culture and Society, 27(2), 523-556, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3175791?seq=1

Nora Caplan-Bricker. (2017, October 5). THEIR TIME; After generations in the shadows, the intersex rights movement has a message for the world:. The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2017/10/05/the-intersex-rights-movement-is-ready-for-its-moment/?utm_term=.86a3dc5083a0