Heteronormativity in Intersex Surgeries

"The justification for risky surgeries consistently emphasized social over medical concerns" -Elizabeth Reis, Bodies in Doubt.

I had not thought of heteronormativity existing within the medical field until exploring the book Bodies in Doubt. While reading Chapter Four ("Cutting the Gordian Knot: Gonads, Marriage, and Surgery in the 1920s and 1930s") I was particularly drawn to the bold statement that I have included above. Intersex bodies were treated with a sense of mystery and repulsion at this time ('20s and '30s). The first question every doctor facing an intersex patient would think is "How do I fix this?" In finding that answer, doctors would imagine a certain social role for each patient, whether man or woman. Their biology no longer mattered. How did society ever truly trust a medical system that supported social well-being over medical well-being? Were doctors and surgeons playing God?

In 1926, Dr. Arthur Edmunds admitted that he would put a patient's social life over any medical concern. He once stated, "The child himself realizes that he is different from the rest of the community and is liable to various forms of perversion. Marriage is, of course, impossible, and in every way the child's happiness is handicapped" (Reis 86). There are so many issues in this statement, but I will talk about two: the ideas that everyone wants to partake in heterosexual marriage and happiness being linked to heterosexual intercourse.

First off, Dr. Edmunds truly believes that marriage is not only quintessential to life, but is only acceptable with a man who has a penis and woman who has a vagina. Maybe I'm incorrect in thinking this, but I believe that doctors (especially of the 20th century) should have been less focused on religion and societal norms. Marriage is not for everyone... especially heterosexual marriage.

My second point deals with intercourse and pleasure. In reality, the child would only be handicapped based on heterosexual penetration. For example, a child with an enlarged clitoris (not quite large enough for intercourse) would most likely have surgery to remove the clitoris and deepen the vaginal canal to create appropriate genitalia for penetration. This would occur regardless of the child's gender association. This could lead to extreme psychological issues and general unhappiness in the future.

The chapter that I am focusing on is set in the 1920s and 1930s, yet heteronormative surgeries on intersex people are still occurring every day. I honestly could not believe that our society is still close-minded and so deeply based in heterosexuality. Upon research, I found recent articles outlining the same issues that Reis discussed in Bodies in Doubt-- issues occurring in the 20th century that I perceived to be outdated by now. I found an article from ABC News telling the story of a man named Jim Bruce. Bruce was born with XY male chromosomes but ambiguous genitals. Bruce's penis and testes were surgically removed and he was raised as a girl because doctors were convinced he could never live a "satisfactory life" as a man. He experience gender dissonance throughout his life. When he was 12, Bruce was given female hormones so his body would feminize. Then, at 18, he prepared for a vaginoplasty -- "designed to allow me "to have sex with my husband." Heteronormativity strikes again. (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/intersex-children-pose-ethical-dilemma-doctors-parents-genital/story?id=13153068)

Why do we even need to perform this surgery on children? To me, there seems to be many more dangerous outcomes. The most obvious is the later identity crises that these children face. At a later point, with their own voice, an individual can decide they desire surgery or that they do not identify with a single gender, or that they do identify with a gender. This is up to the individual and is based on the individual’s identity! This surgery is also medically dangerous, as any surgery is. My final words are that decisions of this proportion should be based off of the child’s own identity. The realities are that regardless of whether a parent chooses this surgery for their child, the child will most likely be entrenched in this social fight and struggle with intersexuality. Perhaps our only hope is for intersexuality to become normalized in society one day, just as Reis explains at the end of her book.

James, Susan Donaldson. "Intersex Babies: Boy or Girl and Who Decides?" ABC News. ABC News         Network, 17 Mar. 2011. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
Reis, Elizabeth. Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2009. Print.