Pressure Mounts To Curtail Intersex Surgery

[Guest Kenna Dixon]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pressure-mounts-curtail-surgery-intersex-children-041336874.html

[Timber Wolf]

I'm glad that awareness seems to be picking up. Such surgeries seem like flipping a coin and hoping it comes up right, when you consider that gender isn't even determined down there.

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

[VickySGV]

I have IS friends, and seem to have only the ones who are unhappy with what happened to them as children.  Needless to say they are strong advocates for not doing surgery until the child themselves can take part in the decision and has had time to find which of three directions to go.  One direction they strongly advocate is the direction of staying IS, and being accepted as they are.  I for one am glad they want that option. 

[Birdie]

On 7/25/2017 at 11:13 AM, VickySGV said:

I have IS friends, and seem to have only the ones who are unhappy with what happened to them as children.  Needless to say they are strong advocates for not doing surgery until the child themselves can take part in the decision and has had time to find which of three directions to go.  One direction they strongly advocate is the direction of staying IS, and being accepted as they are.  I for one am glad they want that option. 

Offering a different perspective, I was left just the way I was born and obviously not complete in the men's department. Raised as a boy and grew up looking more like a girl including breasts and curves. 

I have suffered that decision now for almost 60 years and a simple surgery at birth could have fixed it. 

Even offering further testing and surgery starting in my teens would have been appreciated, I was just left hiding myself in bathroom stalls my entire life. Living as a very feminine looking male, but feeling like a woman. 

Even now it took about a year of complaining to my doctor before he would even investigate it further. I only recently confirmed I have a uterus and fallopian tubes. 

[VickySGV]

@Birdie The 50's and 60's were still under the tyranny of the Nurture is superior to Nature crowd of physicians, and much of the current information we have, as well as diagnostic tools was incomplete on the complexities of Intersex development of children.  Strides are being made and they affect all T & I people.  I could not be made into "my fathers son".  I have three genetic anomalies that affected my body in much more subtle ways, we know now because of human genome mapping.

[Petra Marjorie]

It is here that my frustration comes into play. 

The hold that the early 20th century view on things (which was an evolved Americanized version of Pax-Britannia mode of thinking) has kept the medical community in a self assured environment of trying to dispel anything unusual into something "rational".  

 

From the auspice of defining hermaphroditism from a visual diagnosis to the modern DSD and intersex approach, we're (as previously stated) evolving in this arena. Were not at a final point of "this is it" situation, nor do I think we ever will when it comes to such. 

 

The frustration comes in many different layers and approaches. 

From my personal experience of lost medical records, to the public outcry of "only two sexes" ideal is what is driving this. 

 

How can we be objectively diagnosed and work (not treated) with our bodies to allow the natural state to occur.  

 

The modern approach (1950's onward) of interventionist surgery has led to where nature of the persona is still being overridden by societal templates of he vs. she. 

Does a child "know" they are a boy or girl, or are they being pressured by family norms and social pressures to go this way or that? 

 

The current state of affairs for the LGBTQ+ and other folk is much like the 1960's Civil Rights Movement was; an uprising and burning down of older social norms long accepted even by "non raciest" folk who simply had no other perspective other than what was given. It lead from "burn baby burn" to "learn baby learn" back again and back again- again several times. 

 

Now the LGBTQ+ and other said folk are breaking out of a template long established. The surgeries are part of the monster created. 

 

[VickySGV]

Just now, Petra Marjorie said:

Does a child "know" they are a boy or girl, or are they being pressured by family norms and social pressures to go this way or that? 

 

Back when the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) affirmed its Standards Of Care V.7 (we are now on V8) I was present at its convention as a guest with another organization for Trans Health.  One of the keynote papers leading up to the SOC7 was by Dr. Walter Bocter on the subject of gender and personal identity recognition by children.  Parental and societal (including religion) as well as their own recognition of their genitalia did play some in the child's recognition of their identity , but there we other unique factors as well, with the child's personal sense of health, and other actual health issues being involved as well in dealing with IDENTITY which was becoming concrete to the child individually by age 3 to 3.5, and a solid personal identity by age 4 years old.  This was true for Cis and Trans children and was unique from sexual attraction preferences which took hold in the 2nd and third Tanner Stages of sexual development.  I do not remember if the presentation touched on IS / DSD subjects, but would not be surprised one bit if DSD children also followed the same pattern of developing a personal identity, which may or may not be a binary one.  Children with supportive parents and medical teams really fall all over the personal identity spectrum (Bell Curve) even with binary genitalia and my few contacts with DSD children  show this to be true. 

[Julianne]

I’m wondering if anyone else here has male genitalia with ambiguous female genitalia.  Mine is real prominent.  My doctor with the knowledge of being born with an undescended that had to be surgically dropped, parents waited until the age of 10, I started puberty at the age of 20, having negative side effects with testosterone, prescribed me 6mg of estradiol, and like the most magical miracle my mind and body finally felt stable equilibrium for the first time in my life.  Still feels weird at times.  I’ve decided that it would be better for me to have vaginoplasty, because I feel like I would be more comfortable than what I am experiencing now, because in order to function and walk properly I have to wear a support that I had to invent from a few I got from Amazon.  
 

Whenever I have to remove my support, because of the physical position of my male genitalia it’s like a bad weight that causes extreme discomfort and back pain.  But, the way I know that this is the case, because whenever I have the support on, all of my physical pain symptoms disappear.

 

Does anyone relate or have any similar experience and is there any way to get my doctor and insurance company to approve of having at least a zero depth vaginoplasty without a long waiting period?

[rhonda74]

Just now, Julianne said:

male genitalia with ambiguous female genitalia

I can relate; I was born with an undescended condition which might had been ovaries. While growing up at an early age I didn't know I was operated on until I woke up from the hospital's anesthesia. I've been sowed up. Feels like I've been turned from inside, but out or down. I tried to ask for my surgical medical records to find out what was done to me, but the treating doctors that I had back then, won't let me see my records. I have a surgical scar. I think there are other factors involved to be the cause of my back pain. Anyway, I'll checkout the information you asked about. 

[rhonda74]

Update: Hi Julianne, I received an email reply regarding insurance company and vaginoplasty, I would recommend you do online research in your state, to find the providers that is right for you. Good luck.