Several things caught my attention while reading Fausto-Sterling’s chapter, however I think that most profound point that she makes is that if these sexual and anatomical differences are occurring in society and we are eliminating them with surgery, how are we ever going to progress and see sex and gender on a continuum instead of two distinct categories.At the beginning of the chapter when she was describing what happens when an intersexual baby is born and the many decisions that parents are faced with, it sounded like she could have easily substituted “intersexual” with “life threatening disease” or “severe mental disorder.”Fausto-Sterling describes the hospital environment almost as being a disaster.She writes, “While anatomical clarity was important for the young child, Money, the Hampsons, and those who followed their lead argued, it was even more important for the child’s parents.As Peter Pan might have said, ‘they had to believe’ in their child’s gender identity for that identity to become real. (Fausto-Sterling 64)By eliminating the different variations of sex organs we are choosing to endorse our current system of gender and sex identification.These practices are causing us to regress instead of seeing things on a continuum.
I also found the discussion of “Phall-o-metrics” to be pretty interesting considering that it seems that even in these instances the stereotypes and cultural traditions of being more of a man is correlated to penis size.I think that the discussion of how intersexual males are usually infertile is also very interesting because it shows that it is ingrained in our minds that a man has to have fully functioning sex organs in order to be considered “masculine.”This is touched on in Book Two of Middlesex when Cal is talking about how he cannot have children and this is why he has never gotten married.I think that this is profound because people are often “legitimized” in society when they get married or have a baby.These are events that hold enormous significance in people’s lives, and the fact that intersexual people cannot have children and may never get married due to their discomfort with their sexuality shows how alienated they can feel as a result of what is considered to be the “norm.”
Dave's point about viewing intersex as a "life threatening disease" or "severe mental disorder" reminded me a lot of what we discussed in last class regarding corrective surgery and how we see Cal deal with issues of identity in Book 2. While Fasuto-Sterling explains the need that normally exists to establish a gender at birth, we discussed (as does Fausto-Sterling) the decision between deciding and waiting as parents in this difficult situation. And while many members of our class were conflicted with what choice they would ultimately make, I think Cal's experience sheds perhaps a new light on the situation. I almost view Cal as embodying the ideal of both decisions. Not only was Calliope seemingly born a girl and raised clearly as one gender, Cal also, once older and mature enough to understand the situation, was able to decide his fate and ultimate gender later in life. Yet even in Cal's situation, one I believe to include both decisions that Fausto-Sterling touches upon, we still see the same issues of identity prevail. While reading through Book 2, what stuck with me the most was that regardless of having a clear identity through childhood and being able to make his own decisions, Cal still remains as conflicted as other intersexuals regarding identity, thus highlighting the important point that maybe regardless of establishing a clear identity from birth or allowing the child to decide, these same struggles that intersexuals face later in life will ultimately exist. While I'm sure that in some cases, the parents decide correctly and the child lives a perfect life unaware of her situation, as we talked about in class with the young 6 yr. old girl who simply knew she was a boy, it seems that regardless of chromosome tests etc., an intersexual may always face these problems of confusion because in reality, she is living with parts of both sexes in a society which clearly states that one must be one or the other.
David made several interesting points in his post, and I couldn't help but notice that we picked up on several of the same points in our reading. I found David's points on Fausto-Sterling's "Phall-o-metrics" to be quite interesting, as I also noticed how this was yet another means of reinforcing strict categories of "masculine" and "feminine" ad attempting to polarize them even further.
In reading Middlesex, in particular, the components of Book 2 and Book 3 that touched on the present and Cal's brief stint of a relationship with Julie, I was reminded of our discussion in class on Thursday--in that we were debating what one would if they gave birth to a transexual child. Cal reiterates the difficulties s(he) has experienced in attempting to go through the motions of a "standard" American life--she cannot get married, and had to end her relationship with Julie before even having the opportunity to explain her condition. Referring back to our discussion, I stand by my opinion that regardless of whether or not a child learns earlier or later in life, American society has been conditioned to understand intersexuals as pariahs or taboo, and, while there are nearly 1/100 Americans who can be considered transsexuals, they are still an incredibly foreign and unfamiliar idea in American culture. This brings us back to the famous feminist movement debate of working "within the system or overhauling the system," and it seems to me that the issue lies most in our system, and not in how parents/we are choosing to individually deal with each intersexual to enter our world. That being said, I see no tangible means of overhauling the American system, which is what makes this (like the feminist movement, and most human rights movements) such a difficult and complicated issue.
Dave's point about viewing intersex as a "life threatening disease" or "severe mental disorder" reminded me a lot of what we discussed in last class regarding corrective surgery and how we see Cal deal with issues of identity in Book 2. While Fasuto-Sterling explains the need that normally exists to establish a gender at birth, we discussed (as does Fausto-Sterling) the decision between deciding and waiting as parents in this difficult situation. And while many members of our class were conflicted with what choice they would ultimately make, I think Cal's experience sheds perhaps a new light on the situation. I almost view Cal as embodying the ideal of both decisions. Not only was Calliope seemingly born a girl and raised clearly as one gender, Cal also, once older and mature enough to understand the situation, was able to decide his fate and ultimate gender later in life. Yet even in Cal's situation, one I believe to include both decisions that Fausto-Sterling touches upon, we still see the same issues of identity prevail. While reading through Book 2, what stuck with me the most was that regardless of having a clear identity through childhood and being able to make his own decisions, Cal still remains as conflicted as other intersexuals regarding identity, thus highlighting the important point that maybe regardless of establishing a clear identity from birth or allowing the child to decide, these same struggles that intersexuals face later in life will ultimately exist. While I'm sure that in some cases, the parents decide correctly and the child lives a perfect life unaware of her situation, as we talked about in class with the young 6 yr. old girl who simply knew she was a boy, it seems that regardless of chromosome tests etc., an intersexual may always face these problems of confusion because in reality, she is living with parts of both sexes in a society which clearly states that one must be one or the other.
ReplyDeleteDavid made several interesting points in his post, and I couldn't help but notice that we picked up on several of the same points in our reading. I found David's points on Fausto-Sterling's "Phall-o-metrics" to be quite interesting, as I also noticed how this was yet another means of reinforcing strict categories of "masculine" and "feminine" ad attempting to polarize them even further.
ReplyDeleteIn reading Middlesex, in particular, the components of Book 2 and Book 3 that touched on the present and Cal's brief stint of a relationship with Julie, I was reminded of our discussion in class on Thursday--in that we were debating what one would if they gave birth to a transexual child. Cal reiterates the difficulties s(he) has experienced in attempting to go through the motions of a "standard" American life--she cannot get married, and had to end her relationship with Julie before even having the opportunity to explain her condition. Referring back to our discussion, I stand by my opinion that regardless of whether or not a child learns earlier or later in life, American society has been conditioned to understand intersexuals as pariahs or taboo, and, while there are nearly 1/100 Americans who can be considered transsexuals, they are still an incredibly foreign and unfamiliar idea in American culture. This brings us back to the famous feminist movement debate of working "within the system or overhauling the system," and it seems to me that the issue lies most in our system, and not in how parents/we are choosing to individually deal with each intersexual to enter our world. That being said, I see no tangible means of overhauling the American system, which is what makes this (like the feminist movement, and most human rights movements) such a difficult and complicated issue.