Should Physicians Play God?

Anne Fausto-Sterling explores the birth of intersex children within her chapter, “Of Gender and Genitals.” She explains that the birth of intersex infants within the United States is often characterized as a medical emergency, even though there rarely are physical complications. Fausto-Sterling questions current medical treatment and societal bias that often advocates for “fixing” intersex babies at birth or in utero. Fausto-Sterling seems to suggest the individuals should wait until the child can make an informed decision. One of the most difficult decisions for a parent of an intersex child is to determine the sex. Medical research and genital examination can greatly assist in making determining an infant’s sex. Unfortunately, a review of case histories has shown that there are limits to a doctor’s knowledge. Doctors are unable to evaluate an infant’s psychological gender preference.

An advantage of picking a child’s sex at birth is that gender reconstruction can be performed immediately. With the determination of an infant’s sex, a name can be decided. This child would most probably experience less ridicule and isolation if he/she looked “normal.” While the advantages are evident, there are significant drawbacks. Parents and doctors are too often wrong when picking the sex of an infant. This being the case, it seems worse for a child to grow up as the wrong sex than to wait until a more valid determination can be made. If I were the parent of an intersex child, I would want the opportunity to talk to a several intersex individuals and their parents in order to gain insight. The best way to learn about this problem is to talk to those that have experienced it first hand. Too often this is not an option. Societal bias should not cause a parent or physician to rush to a conclusion that may potentially harm the infant’s growth and psychological development.

Reading Middlesex and Fausto-Sterling’s book, Sexing the Body simultaneously is advantageous. I gain clinical information as well as insight into a fictitious case history. Middlesex offers the opportunity for the reader to experience the life of an intersex individual, Cal, from a fictional standpoint. Chapter two and three offered the coming-of-age story of Cal and her ancestry. Birth and rebirth are major themes throughout novel although Cal is infertile. “Like most hermaphrodites but by no means all, I can’t have children. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve never married” (Eugenides 106). It is also worthy to examine the Greek myths referred to within the novel. One chapter is titled, “Minotaurs,” while another is titled, “Tiresias in Love.” Cal, an intersexed individual of Greek descent, is compared with a Minotaur and Tiresias. A Minotaur was a Greek creature with the head of a bull and body of a man. Tiresias was a blind prophet of Thebes who was punished and transformed into a woman for seven years. Is there any less punishment when a doctor or parent determines a child’s sex at birth? While it is often painful to wait for a child to make this decision, perhaps it is optimal. Even the god’s knew that changing an individual’s sex is a punishment.