An interesting thought occurred to me the other while I was responding to some emails. The movies we have viewed lately all deal with the horrible treatment of this “condition” that the American people have deemed intersex. Indeed this is considered something has to be fixed in order for the individual to have a “normal” life, as if there was any such thing. The children often endure sometimes more than a dozen operations to “fix” this “problem.”
Who’s decision is really though for these people, these human beings, to endure such mental stress and physical abuse just so they can be introduced as a girl or boy? Pro-life critics rally on street corners all the time, shoving pictures of mutilated fetuses in innocent bystanders’ faces rallying their ideas that these children are human beings being murdered. Well, then if a fetus is a human being, then so is a newborn child. And doesn’t this child have its own legal rights instituted by the United States of America on what they can do, or not do, to their bodies? Therefore, the human being that it is affecting should make this decision of sexual gender. It is a no brainer decision, is it not? Then why are these major decisions most usually made the doctor, whom will never have to deal with the repercussions in the long run of the child’s life? It seems thoroughly unjust.
A big question is whether or not these surgeries that children undergo are successful. And how do we define successful. Here I introduce John Money again. This time, Kessler includes a quote that says:
“Although surgical intervention (to create a female) requires extensive resection of tissue, including reducing a grossly enlarged clitoris, erotic sensitivity, although perhaps lessoned, is not lost and orgasm is typically possible later in life.” (Pg. 56, Kessler)
WRONG WRONG WRONG! Kessler mentions that there is ample evidence that intersex adults are most usually left with little or no sensation leaving them quite sexually impaired. Honestly, where did Money get his information from?! Indeed a successful surgery is described by doctors as being whether or not the physical appearance of the genitals look “normal” and, in female cases, if the vagina is the right size. Never mind being able to urinate without pain or, God forbid, have pleasurable sexual intercourse!
Not only are interesex people left without certain capabilities that every human is entitled to, but they also endure many forms of abuse. Reassigned girls have to be dilated, which means sticking in hard plastic instruments to stretch out the vaginal cavity. This is done by the parents or the doctors, which no doubt would cause a lasting psychological imprint on a young child’s mind, never mind the fact that it is mostly likely unbelievably painful.
This need to look perfect is not just among the intersex community. Current media and advertising teaches women of today’s society what ideals they should strive for. The main problem lies in the fact that if they actually achieve this ideal, then everything has to be changed so that the economic market that is created by the ideal can remain. Indeed if too many woman achieve the “panicle” of beauty, then no more consumption needs to take place in order to be acceptable in the social world. This seeps in the medicalization of the world with the current fad of plastic surgery. Elayne A. Satlzburg and Joan C. Chrisler mention in their essay Beauty is the Beast that current advertising teaches women that “small breasts are a ‘disease.’” (Pg 165) By thinking of small breast as something that needs to be fixed, then this only perpetuates the ideas of physically perfection as an essential ingredient for a fulfilled life, as if large breasts are “perfect.” I mean, how many women have to get their breasts reduced in size?
Overall, the general idea of having the money to perfect your body is something that people strive for. Sickening, isn’t it? In a way, showing off your new nose or your enlarged breasts are a testimonial of how much extra cash you have lying around. Spending the money on an intersex child to make sure that he/she has a “normal” life could, in some way, be a parent’s way of proving to the world that money is no object when it comes to their “pride and joy.” Does money prove their love, or does it just maim the “apple of their eye” into a mentally and physically abused adult, many times devoid of sexual intimacies?
2 comments:
I cannot agree with DJ more. Honestly, what this all comes down to is "normalcy." If someone reading this can answer for me WHAT THE HELL that means, PLEASE do. I have yet to figure it out. No one really has. We all have this idea that we should be "normal" and want to be "perfect." However, we don't look at what that means. "Normal" is simply a figment of someones imagination. It is the heads of our patriarchal society that helped you form that figment. It is that figment that gives doctors the idea it is their DUTY to "fix" these intersex newborns. They have no right, however I do not put full blame on them. I would much rather knock on the door of the Elitist who put the idea out there that XX and XY is "normal," and anything that deviates simply isn't, than knock on the door of the doctor that's main fault is falling for that belief in the first place. Regarding Money's thoughts on surgical intervention, I have said before and will say again,I think this man is a moron. He IS wrong. And the success of these surgeries IS determined by the physical APPEARANCE of the genitals, not by the medical FUNCTIONALITY of them. I don't even think I need to touch on the problems of that because I would think/hope they speak for themselves. And for any readers who don't see my point, stop reading these blogs (sorry DJ if that causes some readers to stop reading haha, just saying...). Now I want to touch on the other word mentioned, "perfection." OK, so "normality" is something we don't even know what is, but "perfection," that is another story. We DO know what "perfection" is, it is put in magazines, advertisements, television, etc... EVERY day. I am not going to use the same argument I used regarding "normality." I am going to make this simple and not elaborate... Magazines are known today to use COMPUTERS to GENERATE images of what they consider "perfection" to be. Think about those words, "computers" and "generate." And I thought I had problems. These companies that participate in this are admitting themselves that, because they cannot find an actual human being that IS "perfect," they have to make it up. Thus, proving that "perfection" does NOT exist, yet we are all (obviously not all, just demonstrating the vast effect these companies have imposed) trying to reach it, knowing we can't. There are even more problems, I think, with that than there are with "normality." And it is causing serious insecurities that cause serious problems in peoples lives, problems that even relate to health. And by health, I, unlike the doctors performing surgical intervention, am not talking about whether or not a person LOOKS healthy...
any updates? we have had a ton of reading.
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