John Money is widely regarded as the foremost theoretician of human sexual relations in the twentieth century. Sin, Science, and the Sex Police is the latest in a compelling series of his selected writings on the subjects of sexology (the science of sex) and sexosophy (the philosophy of sex).
What happens when a baby is born with “ambiguous” genitalia or a combination of “male” and “female” body parts? Clinicians and parents in these situations are confronted with complicated questions such as whether a girl can have XY chromosomes, or whether some penises are “too small” for a male sex assignment. Since the 1950s, standard treatment has involved determining a sex for these infants and performing surgery to normalize the infant’s genitalia. Over the past decade intersex advocates have mounted unprecedented challenges to treatment, offering alternative perspectives about the meaning and appropriate medical response to intersexuality and driving the field of those who treat intersex conditions into a deep crisis. Katrina Karkazis offers a nuanced, compassionate picture of these charged issues in Fixing Sex, the first book to examine contemporary controversies over the medical management of intersexuality in the United States from the multiple perspectives of those most intimately involved. Drawing extensively on interviews with adults with intersex conditions, parents, and physicians, Karkazis moves beyond the heated rhetoric to reveal the complex reality of how intersexuality is understood, treated, and experienced today. As she unravels the historical, technological, social, and political forces that have culminated in debates surrounding intersexuality, Karkazis exposes the contentious disagreements among theorists, physicians, intersex adults, activists, and parents—and all that those debates imply about gender and the changing landscape of intersex management. She argues that by viewing intersexuality exclusively through a narrow medical lens we avoid much more difficult questions. Do gender atypical bodies require treatment? Should physicians intervene to control the “sex” of the body? As this illuminating book reveals, debates over treatment for intersexuality force reassessment of the seemingly natural connections between gender, biology, and the body.
Author: Professor Department of English Terry Goldie
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 9780774827942
Category: Psychology
Page: 257
View: 921
A controversial figure, innovative scholar, and ardent advocate for sexual liberation, sexologist John Money opened a new field of research in sexual science and gave currency to medical ideas about human sexuality. This book offers, for the first time, a balanced and probing textual analysis of this pioneering scholar’s writing to assess Money’s profound impact on the debates and research on sexuality and gender that dominated the last half of the twentieth century. The author recovers Money’s brilliance and insight from simplistic dismissals of his work due to his involvement in the tragic David Reimer case, while never losing sight of his flaws.
Life narratives and fiction that represent experiences of hermaphroditism and intersex are at the core of Michaela Koch's study. The analyzed texts from the 19th to the early 21st century are embedded within and contrasted with contemporary debates in medicine, psychology, or activism to reveal the processes of negotiation about the meaning of hermaphroditism and intersex. This cultural studies-informed work challenges both strictly essentialist and constructivist notions. It argues for a differentiated perspective on intersex and hermaphrodite experiences as historically contingent, fully embodied, and nevertheless discursive subject positions.
This collection of 21 articles is designed to serve as a state-of-the art reference book for intersexuals, their parents, health care professionals, ethics committee members, and anyone interested in problems associated with intersexuality. It fills an important need because of its uniqueness as an interdisciplinary effort, bringing together not just urologists and endocrinologists, but gynecologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers, theologians, gender theorists, medical historians, and philosophers. Most contributors are well-known experts on intersexuality in their respective fields. The book is also unique in that it is also an international effort, including authors from England, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, India, Canada and the United States. The book begins with introductory chapters on the etiology of intersex conditions, conceptual clarification, legal issues, and reflections about the inherent characteristics of medical care that have led up to the issues we face today and explain the resistance to change in traditional practices. Researchers provide recent data on gender identity, surgical outcomes, and appropriate clinical care. Issues never having been addressed are introduced. The significance of intersexuality for Christianity and for philosophical concerns with authenticity add further depth to the collection. The final chapters deal with future possibilities in the treatment of intersex and for intersex advocacy.
Gender confirming surgery represents one of many therapies for individuals with gender dysphoria and can be pivotal in allowing individuals to become their true selves. An emerging field, this text represents a continuing evolution of surgical techniques, as well as a framework around which surgical therapies are based. Providing a fundamental understanding of the surgical principles while also recognizing the fast-paced nature of the advances in technique, Gender Confirmation Surgery touches upon the challenges and complexities in the surgical care of transgender individuals, featuring detailed sections for transwomen and transmen surgeries, non-surgical options, and establishing educational programs. Written as a guide primarily for surgeons in plastics, urology, and gynecology, this book can also appeal to primary care practitioners, mental health professionals, and endocrinologists. By representing an evolution of technique and advances in the field, Gender Confirmation Surgery offers a framework around which practitioners can familiarize themselves with gender surgery.
Compassionate, biblical, and thought-provoking, Embodied is an accessible guide for Christians who want help navigating issues related to the transgender conversation. Preston Sprinkle draws on Scripture, as well as real-life stories of individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, to help you understand the complexities and emotions of this highly relevant topic. This book fills the great need for Christians to speak into the confusing and emotionally charged questions surrounding the transgender conversation. With careful research and an engaging style, Embodied explores: What it means to be transgender, nonbinary, and gender-queer, and how these identities relate to being male or female Why most stereotypes about what it means to be a man and woman come from the culture and not the Bible What the Bible says about humans created in God’s image as male and female, and how this relates to transgender experiences Moral questions surrounding medical interventions such as sex reassignment surgery Which pronouns to use and how to navigate the bathroom debate Why more and more teens are questioning their gender
An up-to-date and concise guide to the clinical management of pediatric endocrine disorders. The text covers the most common and challenging conditions seen by practicing endocrinologists and primary care physicians, including growth, hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, calcium and bone, and reproductive disorders, as well as metabolic syndromes. Each chapter contains an introductory discussion of the problem, a review of the clinical features that characterize it, the criteria needed to establish a diagnosis, and a comprehensive therapy section delineating the risks and benefits of the best therapeutic options available. Invaluable tables summarize the critical factors in etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and therapeutic dosages.
John Money's career constitutes the foundation of pediatric psychoendocrinology. In this book he takes a second look at his publications on many different psychoendocrine syndromes, intersexual or hermaphroditic, with respect to sex, gender, amative orientation, and the "lovemap", (his own designation from an individual's experience of sexuality). His ultimate conclusion is that, from prenatal life onward, demasculization of development is not synonymous with feminization, nor is defeminization synonymous with masculinization. This volume will serve to illuminate the evolution of Dr. Money's work and point the way to future investigations in this field.
This book offers a rigorous analysis of the contemporary ideologies of gender and places the work of controversial sexologist John Money at the center of its analysis, demonstrating the influence of his ideas of what it means to be a sexed subject.
