Reviewed by Phoebe Hart




Upon first meeting a stranger, we immediately register his or her gender. Boy/girl, man/woman – anyone who does not fit into the imposed gender binary dwells outside society’s definitions of normalcy. For people with bodies that are not exclusively male or female, the questions of what is a normal gender, or a normal body, come into sharp focus. In her book Intersex, Catherine Harper – a textiles practitioner and academic at the University of Brighton – explores issues surrounding human hermaphroditism or intersex.

Intersex refers to a spectrum of biological conditions where there is “an identifiable mixture of male and female characteristics, regardless of the genitalia at birth” (Diamond 2004). While the Grecian etymology of the word evokes a certain mystique, Harper points out hermaphrodites, or intersexuals, are real individuals, comprising a small but significant portion of the human population.

Laying out the theoretical and historical setting for the current day treatment of people with intersex conditions in the first two chapters, Harper situates the hermaphroditic body in the same realm as Sigmund Freud’s “uncanny body”, Julia Kristeva’s “abject body” and Barbara Creed’s “monstrous body” (29). As a direct result, the birth of a child with ambiguous genitals and genetics elicits extreme reactions from parents, doctors and society at large. Invariably, intersexed neonates become the recipients of gender-assigning surgery, hurtling individuals non-consensually down a path toward either masculine or feminine.

Through a number of case studies drawn from interviews and correspondences with various intersexed adults, the author challenges the validity of current medical paradigms with regard to non-life threatening intersex conditions. Many patients (and very often their parents) view their own experiences of cosmetic surgical intervention and subsequent hormonal therapy with a great deal of scepticism and anger. Nearly all the interviewees report a history of alienation, pain, secrecy, shame and confusion.

To her credit, Harper does not engage in gender politics or an us-versus-them dialogue. Instead, Intersex gives voice to the subtle and, at times, conflicting thoughts and feelings of the intersexed. For example, one of the interviewees believes that – for all the pain they caused – her doctors were only trying to help. Another acknowledges that his fearful parents, who were advised to keep their son’s difference a lifelong secret, are victims themselves. One other elects as an adult to have feminising surgery. Harper bolsters these sensitive testimonies with expert opinions, including those of Dr Milton Diamond, Cheryl Chase and Alice Dormurat Dreger, and references the growing awareness of intersexuals in contemporary popular culture.

While diagnostic tools and the standard of care have improved, and intersex advocacy is bringing about beneficial openness and change (another of the participants wears a printed shirt saying, “Ever talked to a hermaphrodite? Here is your chance”), Harper urges more needs to done for the intersexed, particularly in the fields of theory, gender studies, medical science, and activism. Clearly, the message of this book is that now is the time to learn from the mistakes. With remarkable sensitivity, Intersex demonstrates the tenacity of the human spirit, and a challenge to society’s preconceived notions of sex and gender.

Diamond, Milton. “Pediatric Management of Ambiguous and Traumatised Genitalia.” Journal of Urology 162 (2004): 1,021-1,028


Intersex
(2007)

by Catherine Harper
Palgrave Macmillan Ltd (distributed in Australia by Footprint Books)
ISBN 1-84520-183-3
288pp AUD$65.00