å Monday, February 20th, 2017

Intersexuality is a condition where an individual is born with both male and female features such as reproductive organs or indistinguishable genitals. Throughout the course of history and presently many children have been diagnosed as being intersexed. As society and technology have evolved our understanding of intersexuality has been broadened. Many physicians, patients, and parents of intersexed children similarly understand what intersexuality is and how an individual can develop this condition. Both understand intersexuality as a fetus that goes through development just like any other fetus but with one discrepancy. A fetus can begin to go through intersexuality when it’s reproductive systems do not mature properly or irregularly. In some cases, a child is born with genitalia that resembles neither male of female genitals and in other cases a child can develop both male and female reproductive organs.

As the medical field has evolved there have been many developments in the surgical techniques and in the field of endocrinology. Much of the knowledge on how to deal with intersexuality cases both surgically and psychologically was given to the field by John Money, J.G. Hampson, and J.L. Hampson (Kessler, 1990). Physicians are more knowledgeable on what intersexuality is and how to assist children born with this condition. Presently intersexuality is corrected by physicians through surgery where they determine the sex of the child and perform alterations to make their reproductive organs match their determined sex. Many tests like cytologic screening, chromosomal analysis, assessing serum electrolytes, the evaluation of hormones, steroids, and gonadotropin, and radiographic genitography are used to help physicians better identify which gender an intersexed child is (Kessler, 1990). The medical advancements have granted doctors the ability to construct immature genitalia into fully developed male or female genitalia that greatly resembles natural ones.

The medical field has gone through many advancements in surgical techniques, technology, and in the field of endocrinology. Two factors that have greatly influenced its growth are society itself and the theories of John Money, J.G. Hampson, and J.L. Hampson (Kessler, 1990). It is believed by many that there are only two genders in the world; male or female. This belief has influenced both physicians and parents to deal with intersexed children with haste. Both society and the theorists have put a great pressure on these people to determine a child’s sex and immediately operate. Following surgery, parents are to begin raising the child with social interactions that reinforce their gender upon them. It is believed by many that the sooner you resolve the “issue” of intersexuality, the sooner a child can understand what gender they are. They will learn how people who are that gender are to conduct themselves and act accordingly. These influences have resulted in people interpreting intersexuality as abnormal and as a condition that needs to be corrected. Most importantly, society has impacted physicians, leading them to impose their assumptions regarding gender on their patients.

Kessler, S. J. (1990). The Medical Construction of Gender: Case management of Intersexed         Infants. The University of Chicago Press, 3-26.