Population figures
How many people have innate variations of sex characteristics (IVSCs), also known as intersex variations or differences of sex development?
Books, journals and reports (page 6 of 9)
Books and selected journal articles on intersex issues, including fiction, peer-reviewed papers, and biographies.
“Golden Boy”, by Abigail Tarttelin
I loved this book. It vividly captures the effects of secrecy and shame on an intersex adolescent, and a family in crisis. It’s compassionately and beautifully written, from the perspective of six key characters: Max the protagonist, his brother, parents, doctor and friend. Unlike Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex, which manages to convey the impression that intersex…
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Response to Victorian Health Department framework document on treatment of intersex kids
Our response to a new Victorian Health Department publication on medical decision-making for the treatment of intersex infants, children and adolescents.
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture calls for an end to coerced and involuntary genital-normalising surgeries
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture issued a statement on 1 February 2013 in Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez recognising that intersex people have been subject to non-consensual medical normalisation treatment, and calling for an end to forced sterilisation, forced hormone…
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“Sex and Gender Diverse” discussion paper on terminology
This paper was updated in September 2013, with a new final “impact” section that reflects the discontinuation of “SGD” and “DSG” terminology by the National LGBTI Health Alliance and many other organisations. We recommend browsing the Videos, Audio and Personal Stories sections of this website to gain familiarity with the diversity of intersex identities, genders,…
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The bluebanded goby: how a world view affects educational writing about hermaphroditism
Sociologist and intersex person Cary Costello has just published a great blog post at the Intersex Roadshow on how educational and scientific texts about a hermaphrodite fish are affected by the world view and beliefs of the writer. A central issue that makes life hard for intersex people is invisibility. Most people are unaware of…
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Morgan Holmes on “Locating Third Sexes”
In the journal Transformations, Morgan Holmes writes about a third sex or gender. Morgan Holmes approaches the subject as a scholar and an intersex person; she was formerly a member of ISNA and is now an assistant professor of sociology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada. The paper is recommended reading for people interested…
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Ground-breaking Swiss report on infant surgery, a review
Earlier this month, the Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics published an opinion document, On the management of differences of sex development, Ethical issues relating to “intersexuality”. Copies are available via the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health in English. This is a brief review of the key points in that position document. Our…
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An annulment of marriage due to being intersex, “God’s Triangle” by Ian D Richardson
“In the Case of C and D” isn’t the only Australian case of which we are aware of an annulment of marriage due to one party being intersex, but obtaining good, detailed documentation on such cases can be a major challenge. Broadcast journalist Ian Richardson has done an amazing job in documenting the story of…
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Dreger, Feder and Tamar-Mattis on dexamethasone to prevent homosexuality and virilisation in CAH women
Alice Dreger, Ellen K Feder and Anne Tamar-Mattis write in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 30 July 2012, on the “use of dexamethasone in pregnant women at risk of carrying a female fetus affected by congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)” in the West. To our eyes, this is not just an intersex issue but an LGBTI…
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“Out of Bounds? A Critique of the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite Female Athletes”
Katrina Karkazis, Rebecca Jordan-Young, Georgiann Davis and Silva Comporesi write in The American Journal of Bioethics on new IAAF/IOC policies on hyperandrogenism in female athletes: In May 2011, more than a decade after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) abandoned sex testing, they devised new policies in response…
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“A medical condition is only as real as its definition”, Georgiann Davis on DSD in Sociology of Diagnosis journal
Sociologist Georgiann Davis Ph.D. recently had published her paper on DSD in Sociology of Diagnosis, Advances in Medical Sociology, Volume 12, 155–182. The paper, “DSD is a perfectly fine term”: Reasserting Medical Authority Through a Shift in Intersex Terminology is a hugely important critique and highly recommended reading. The context Even though the diagnosis carried…
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