Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Gender Studies
In terms of intersexed individuals I think that even though i am open-minded and sympathetic to difficult decisions made by parents and doctors, I am not honestly able to decisively put myself in either their positions. What do you do? If a baby is born with some sort of genitalia "deformity," which Anne Fausto-Sterling claims occurs quite often, do you 'fix' it according to social 'sexpectations'? If only Laquer were correct, then the surgery would in fact be a sort of fixing. in reality, male and female organs are different and therefore this becomes more that a simple internal or external dichotomy. It can be argued that there is no "correct" way of dealing with an intersexed individual but to remain open minded and understanding of any imposed gender expectations or any ambiguity that can that surrounds them. Would Herculine Barbin's life be better if other choices were made, or just different?
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I agree with you. Its hard to be certain of what you would do if your child was born as a intersex individual. I think this ties into that video we watched. we heard storied from intersex individuals themselves. This is something you do not see a lot of. It is very rare that you hear a biography on a intersex person or hear them talk about thier identity struggle. From these accounts it sounds like a real struggle. To have to endure these horrific events throughout childhood must cause psycological damage.
ReplyDeleteBased on what we say today i agree that it is difficult to determine what exactly people should do if they give birth to a intersex individual. I do think that i would let them grow up as a intersex individual. Whatever they decide to be when they are old enough to understand i would support. As far as Herculine Barbin goes, I think that her life would be better if she ws accepted as a intersex individual. She would not have to spend her life trying to find somewhere she belongs.
I can only hope that if I ever had to make the choice of what to do with my intersexed child, that I would choose not to have the surgery done. But I am also certain that I would have to prepare myself to answer questions (should they arise) from others, who are confused and possibly a bit distressed from this decision. From watching the video, it seems downright atrocious to put a child through that. The parents are in a vulnerable state too - they have been told by their doctor that the problem can be 'fixed'. I cannot fathom being bullied into a decision that would have lifelong repercussions for your child.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany on Herculine Barbin. She was happy with her original life.
I appreciate your use of the word “deformity” in quotations. Even Dr. Hurley made a conscious effort to describe intersexed bodies as a “unique circumstance” rather than a biological “deficiency” during lecture yesterday.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the medical terminology surrounding intersexed persons tends to Other their “abnormal” bodies. Since ambiguous genitals do not fit either the male or female biological categories, intersexed bodies are rendered inferior. In Herculine Barbin, for example, Dr. Chesnet’s medical report uses the terms “imperfect” (126), and “monstrously developed” (127) to describe the appearance of Barbin’s ambiguous genitals. Even in the short video clip screened in class yesterday, ambiguous genitalia was presented as both an “error” and a “problem” that ought to be “corrected” at birth.
Although gendered language limits the proliferation of multiple sexes and genders, rethinking the medical terminology surrounding ambiguous genitalia may be a starting point for deconstructing the “abnormal” and secondary status associated with intersexed bodies.
I agree with you about the issue of intersex individuals. It’s hard to be certain of what you would do if your child was born as an intersex individual. I think your idea about the dilemma people face when they have an intersex baby ties into the video we watched in class today. We heard stories from intersex individuals themselves. It is very rare that you hear a biography on an intersex person or hear them talk about how their identity was mistaken at birth. From these accounts it sounds like a real struggle that they faced. It would be a major tragedy to have to endure these horrific events throughout childhood. Intersex individuals that go through these identity misunderstandings at birth must endure severe psychological damage. It makes you think about the affect one might have when identifying another individual.
ReplyDeleteBased on what we say today I agree that it is difficult to determine what exactly people should do if they give birth to an intersex individual. I do think that if I had an intersex baby, I would let them grow up as an intersex individual. A baby cannot tell you what sex they want to be. Whatever they decide to be when they are old enough to understand I would support.
As far as Herculine Barbin goes, I think that her life would be better if she was accepted as an intersex individual. She would not have to spend her life trying to find somewhere she belongs. She is also severely affected by the way authority figures, like the doctor, identify her. She endures emotional damage because she is assigned to a feminine identity at birth.
I agree with you about the issue of intersex individuals. It’s hard to be certain of what you would do if your child was born as an intersex individual. I think your idea about the dilemma people face when they have an intersex baby ties into the video we watched in class today. We heard stories from intersex individuals themselves. It is very rare that you hear a biography on an intersex person or hear them talk about how their identity was mistaken at birth. From these accounts it sounds like a real struggle that they faced. It would be a major tragedy to have to endure these horrific events throughout childhood. Intersex individuals that go through these identity misunderstandings at birth must endure severe psychological damage. It makes you think about the affect one might have when identifying another individual.
ReplyDeleteBased on what we say today I agree that it is difficult to determine what exactly people should do if they give birth to an intersex individual. I do think that if I had an intersex baby, I would let them grow up as an intersex individual. A baby cannot tell you what sex they want to be. Whatever they decide to be when they are old enough to understand I would support.
As far as Herculine Barbin goes, I think that her life would be better if she was accepted as an intersex individual. She would not have to spend her life trying to find somewhere she belongs. She is also severely affected by the way authority figures, like the doctor, identify her. She endures emotional damage because she is assigned to a feminine identity at birth.
I agree with you about the issue of intersex individuals. It’s hard to be certain of what you would do if your child was born as an intersex individual. I think your idea about the dilemma people face when they have an intersex baby ties into the video we watched in class today. We heard stories from intersex individuals themselves. It is very rare that you hear a biography on an intersex person or hear them talk about how their identity was mistaken at birth. From these accounts it sounds like a real struggle that they faced. It would be a major tragedy to have to endure these horrific events throughout childhood. Intersex individuals that go through these identity misunderstandings at birth must endure severe psychological damage. It makes you think about the affect one might have when identifying another individual.
ReplyDeleteBased on what we say today I agree that it is difficult to determine what exactly people should do if they give birth to an intersex individual. I do think that if I had an intersex baby, I would let them grow up as an intersex individual. A baby cannot tell you what sex they want to be. Whatever they decide to be when they are old enough to understand I would support.
As far as Herculine Barbin goes, I think that her life would be better if she was accepted as an intersex individual. She would not have to spend her life trying to find somewhere she belongs. She is also severely affected by the way authority figures, like the doctor, identify her. She endures emotional damage because she is assigned to a feminine identity at birth.