Intersex Babies

Fascinating article in The Stanford Report, November 12, on "intersex babies": i.e. babies born without a clear sex. The Stanford Report story draws on a new book, Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority and Lived Experience (Duke University Press) by Katrina Karkazis. Intersex people used to be called hermaphrodites. Sometimes they have mostly male characteristics, sometimes mostly female; the intersex characteristics may be at the genetic, gonadal, or anatomic level.

Dr Karkazis talks about changes to the way doctors view these babies. They no longer tend to treat assigning a sex as essential. Being assigned to the male or female gender is necessary, for social and legal reasons; but surgery is no longer seen as the only or best option for children with ambiguous genitalia or other anatomical intersex characteristics. Dr Karkazis advocates for a more sympathetic view of intersex people, as whole individuals with unique stories, rather than as curious biological specimens. The Stanford Report article concludes with a quote:

'We need doctors, Karkazis said, who will tell...worried parents, "I've seen this before. It's OK. There's no reason your child cannot have a marvelous life." '