Is intersex surgery wrong?

Rather, intersex surgeries — most of which are done when children are under 2 years old — can create life-long harms. These surgeries can result in scarring, chronic pain, chronic incontinence, loss of sexual sensation, sterilization, inaccurate gender assignment, and trauma.

Is intersex surgery legal?

There are no state or federal laws regulating intersex surgeries in the U.S., according to InterACT, a national intersex advocacy group.

Is being intersex safe?

Most people with intersex bodies are completely healthy. However, they can experience social stigma and medical interventions because their bodies are perceived as different. All these things can impact their mental health.

Is intersex a medical problem?

Being intersex is a naturally occurring variation in humans, and it isn’t a medical problem — therefore, medical interventions (like surgeries or hormone therapy) on children usually aren’t medically necessary. Being intersex is also more common than most people realize.

What happened to intersex people?

In some cases, your body may change in ways that you feel don’t align with your gender identity. For example, some boys with AIS or Klinefelter Syndrome may grow breasts during puberty, and some girls with 5-Alpha-Reductase Deficiency may find their voices deepening or facial hair growing.

What is intersex discrimination?

Intersex people may face discrimination within LGBT settings and multiple organizations have highlighted appeals to LGBT rights recognition that fail to address the issue of unnecessary “normalising” treatments on intersex children, using the portmanteau term “pinkwashing”.

When did intersex surgery start?

1944. The first intersex surgery of a child was performed at the Children’s Hospital of the University of Zurich (Kinderspital Zürich). The girl suffered from CAH and her clitoris was amputated at the age of seven. She received hormones in 1951.

What is the most common cause of intersex?

There are several possible causes:

• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (the most common cause).
• Male hormones (such as testosterone) taken or encountered by the mother during pregnancy.
• Male hormone-producing tumors in the mother: These are most often ovarian tumors.

When did intersex replace hermaphrodite?

Some later shifts in terminology have reflected advances in genetics, while other shifts are suggested to be due to pejorative associations. The term “intersexuality” was coined by Richard Goldschmidt in 1917. The first suggestion to replace the term “hermaphrodite” with “intersex” was made by Cawadias in the 1940s.