1. Intersex Rights: Background

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  • Created by: Alasdair
  • Created on: 09-12-17 11:49
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  • 1. Intersex Rights: Background
    • Biological Sex
      • Typical female
        • Chromosomes
          • **
        • Genitals
          • External
            • *****
            • ********
          • Internal
            • Vagina
            • Uterus
        • Gonads:
          • Ovaries
      • Typical male
        • Chromosomes
          • XY
        • Genitals
          • External
            • Penis
            • Scrotum
          • Internal
            • Prostate
        • Gonads
          • Testes
    • Intersexuality
      • Any atypical combinations of chromosomes, internal and external genitals and gonads
      • Often accompanied by differences in hormones and secondary sexual  characteristics
        • Body shape, hair growth
      • Some (only some) intersex people have ambiguous genitals
        • e.g.
          • Partially fused labia
          • An organ that is indeterminate between a ******** and a penis
        • Possible because male and female genitals develop from same foetal tissue
          • Genital development is same in male and female foetuses up to a point where development branches due to influence, or absence of influence, of testosterone
            • e.g. the penis and the ******** both develop from the genital tubercle; in a foetus exposed to higher testosterone levels, the genial tubercle will develop into a penis, and in a foetus exposed to lower level of testosterone, the genital tubercle will develop into a ********
            • Ambigious genitals result when development does not fully follow typical male or female path due to an intermediate level of testosterone
    • Causes and Identification
      • Causes include unusual combinations of chromosomes (e.g. **Y) and unusual levels of, or sensitivity to, hormones
        • Body produces more androgens than is typical (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia)
        • Body produces androgens at a typical level but is insensitive to them (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome)
      • Sometimes intersexuality is apparent at birth (usually in cases of ambiguous external genitalia), sometimes not
      • 1.7% of all births are intersex
    • Historical treatment
      • Prior to 1950s, intersex conditions were not really treated as a medical issue
      • In 1950s, theories of gender identity as socially acquired, and hence as open to medical and parental influence, became popular
        • A paradigm developed of surgical assignment of sex based on prospects for constructing 'normal-looking' genitals
        • Total secrecy from patient and even sometimes from parents
    • Intersex Rights Activism
      • Began in 1990s
      • Intersex Society of North America (later Accord Alliance) founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase
      • Intersex activists have drawn attention to, and protested against, various aspects of the practices concerning the treatment of intersex people
      • They have also aimed to improve visibility and understanding of intersexuality

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