While sitting in my Gender & Society class, I was surprised to come across the existence of the term intersex. Intersex is defined as the term used to describe persons whose genitalia is biologically ambiguous. In short, their sex organs do not fall cleanly into “male” and “female” categories.
Our society is built around our sex organs, which is a pretty bewildering concept in itself. At birth, we box and label babies under “male” or “female,” and through that, we program them to behave in ways deemed appropriate for that gender. As a society, we equate sex and gender to be one and the same, which in turn hardens the belief that there are only two genders because there are only “two” sex organs. Which then brings up the issue: what about those that do not fit cleanly in that gender binary?
When seen with something different, instead of accepting it and learning more about it, we tend to try and squeeze it into labels we are comfortable with. Doctors do exactly that when it comes to people born intersex. There are certain guidelines that doctors follow when genitalia are deemed ambiguous and they perform reconstructive surgery to fit those born intersex in the gender binary.
Doctors lie to the parents in an attempt to coerce them into this reconstructive surgery, usually by telling them that there is something “wrong” with their healthy child with perfectly functioning reproductive organs. Furthermore, doctors state that it will help their child’s “psychological well-being” and tell parents to lie and raise their child in the dictated gender they assign. It’s obvious then that millions of people are lied to about who they are just because of their genitalia. Instead of seeing a person as a creative, wonderful human being, we dictate their lives on what society can’t see.
Ironically, those who undergo reconstructive surgery do tend to suffer psychological damage and lose the ability to have children since their reproductive organs are removed. Some have to take medication for the rest of their lives to keep their hormone levels working properly or suffer bodily damage. The list of the injustices the intersex community faces goes on.
We live in a world where we encourage those to be who they are. Let us make that a reality.