Response Post Feb. 17

Gender and Genitals & Should There Be Only Two Sexes

While reading these chapters and thinking about our perceptions of “proper” medical practice at birth, I could not help but wonder if this dilemma can ever be solved with any amount of medical knowledge or legal specifications. In my opinion, it falls into the strange category of parenting and government that involves making decisions for people without a voice. I suppose you could say it isn’t too different from the cultural practice of circumcision. What began as a religious ritual turned into a medical practice because it was believed to promote health; but now it is relatively accepted that the decision to circumcise is purely for the benefits of fitting in. This idea about society making decisions for others (the unborn or newborn) often enters on the pro-life side of the abortion debate. The abundance of these arguments and dilemmas around how infants are cared for medically shows how dynamic and constructed our society truly is. It is also a testament to how quickly we begin to be acclimated to the society. Undoubtedly, I think an endless search for understanding and a sincere dedication to communication is key to having any semblance of order in these complicated areas of our society.

Safety and health should always come first. This is obvious. It is ignorant to assume that any given individual would want to undergo a rash gender assignment surgery without weighing options, emotions, risks, etc. But, rather than speak vaguely on my opinions which are likely to agree with most of my classmates’, it may be more interesting to try to argue the opposite:

One could argue it is equally as presumptuous to assume that a child would not want these decisions to be made early. Unfortunately, it seems almost inevitable in our current society that a child born with ambiguous genitalia, or even if they just show ambiguous gender traits, will encounter adversity. One could argue that making the decision for a sexually ambiguous newborn affords them (as unfortunate as it may be) a higher chance at social acceptance (which is undeniably important to human psychological health). One could argue that the gender assignment decision has the chance of being “right,” that it will align with the individual’s personal gender identification and allow them to lead a much less complicated life. One might even argue that drawing attention to the issue of gender assignment only further ostracizes those that are born under these circumstances, and that by condemning all gender assignment decisions people are also condemning those who feel they have lived happier lives because of it.

These are just a few counterpoints I could think of. Naturally, they have flaws and this issue is endlessly complicated; but this is my attempt to understand all sides of the issue.