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Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self
"With sensitivity and solid critical analysis, Intersex and Identity brings to the fore the long-ignored voices of people with intersex conditions. This is an important and accessible book for all, including 'patients,' parents, clinicians, activists, scholars, and novice students."
—Cheryl Chase, Founder of the Intersex Society of North America
"In Intersex and Identity Preves has produced the most up-to-date, comprehensive account available of what it is like to grow up and live with a body that isn't simply male or female. This work is compassionate, intelligent, and beautifully written, and promises to be well read and highly valued."
—Alice Dreger, author of Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex
"Sharon Preves's analysis of her interviews with adult intersexuals illuminates the power of the coming out process in transforming stigma into pride. This book is an invaluable resource in the ongoing discourse on the clinical management of intersexuality."
—Walter Bockting, assistant professor, Program in Human Sexuality, University of Minnesota Medical School
Approximately one in every two thousand infants born in the United States each year is sexually ambiguous in such a way that doctors cannot immediately determine the child's sex. Some children's chromosomal sexuality contradicts their sexual characteristics. Others have the physical traits of both sexes, or of neither.
Drawing upon life history interviews with adults who were treated for intersexuality as children, Sharon E. Preves explores how such individuals experience and cope with being labeled sexual deviants in a society that demands sexual conformity. By demonstrating how intersexed people manage and create their own identities, often in conflict with their medical diagnosis, Preves argues that medical intervention into intersexuality often creates, rather than mitigates, the stigma these people suffer.
Sharon E. Preves is an associate professor of sociology at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
—Cheryl Chase, Founder of the Intersex Society of North America
"In Intersex and Identity Preves has produced the most up-to-date, comprehensive account available of what it is like to grow up and live with a body that isn't simply male or female. This work is compassionate, intelligent, and beautifully written, and promises to be well read and highly valued."
—Alice Dreger, author of Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex
"Sharon Preves's analysis of her interviews with adult intersexuals illuminates the power of the coming out process in transforming stigma into pride. This book is an invaluable resource in the ongoing discourse on the clinical management of intersexuality."
—Walter Bockting, assistant professor, Program in Human Sexuality, University of Minnesota Medical School
Approximately one in every two thousand infants born in the United States each year is sexually ambiguous in such a way that doctors cannot immediately determine the child's sex. Some children's chromosomal sexuality contradicts their sexual characteristics. Others have the physical traits of both sexes, or of neither.
Drawing upon life history interviews with adults who were treated for intersexuality as children, Sharon E. Preves explores how such individuals experience and cope with being labeled sexual deviants in a society that demands sexual conformity. By demonstrating how intersexed people manage and create their own identities, often in conflict with their medical diagnosis, Preves argues that medical intervention into intersexuality often creates, rather than mitigates, the stigma these people suffer.
Sharon E. Preves is an associate professor of sociology at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
232 pages, Paperback
First published April 8, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 13, 2013
The appalling length of time it's taken me to read this book is no reflection at all on the content or my response to it! Just the usual matters of being too busy and having skewed priorities...
As I mentioned in a status update, this is exactly the book I was looking for on this subject.
Here, a professor of sociology tackles intersex via the study of identity. I am not intersex myself, but like many of us my gender identity isn't a neat match with my biology. Also, again like many of us, I have spent most of my life frustrated by our society's binary approach to gender and the hetero-normative approach to sexuality that goes with it.
People who are intersex aren't a neat fit with our society's pigeonholes for sexual biology, let alone for gender identity or for conventional notions of sexuality. Every day we are all compartmentalised into male and female, often (I think) completely unnecessarily... What do you do if you don't fit neatly into either compartment, on the most basic level of chromosomes or genitals? It's tough enough for those of us who have an unambiguously male or female body!
The book includes some very useful consideration on the history behind why intersex is currently seen as falling under the purview of medicine. It certainly doesn't have to be. In the majority of instances where there is nothing life-threatening about the physical manifestations, why isn't intersex something to be handled on a social basis, with the support of the legal and (where applicable) religious systems...?
Preves' dedication reads: "For those with the wisdom and courage to forge a new path". We need to forge a new path, indeed, in which the birth of an intersex child isn't automatically treated as a medical emergency.
In her concluding chapter, Preves says, "... the clear message from my research is to decrease sex and gender categorization rather than to create yet a third rigid sex or gender line for us all to ponder. Instead, we should focus on loving and accepting children as they are, not because of or in spite of their differences, but rather just because they are terrific kids in their own right with or without bodies that vary from some mythical standard."
Three cheers for that! The sooner we can all be people free to find our own identities and attractions, the better. Amen.
{And I'll climb down off my soapbox now.}
As I mentioned in a status update, this is exactly the book I was looking for on this subject.
Here, a professor of sociology tackles intersex via the study of identity. I am not intersex myself, but like many of us my gender identity isn't a neat match with my biology. Also, again like many of us, I have spent most of my life frustrated by our society's binary approach to gender and the hetero-normative approach to sexuality that goes with it.
People who are intersex aren't a neat fit with our society's pigeonholes for sexual biology, let alone for gender identity or for conventional notions of sexuality. Every day we are all compartmentalised into male and female, often (I think) completely unnecessarily... What do you do if you don't fit neatly into either compartment, on the most basic level of chromosomes or genitals? It's tough enough for those of us who have an unambiguously male or female body!
The book includes some very useful consideration on the history behind why intersex is currently seen as falling under the purview of medicine. It certainly doesn't have to be. In the majority of instances where there is nothing life-threatening about the physical manifestations, why isn't intersex something to be handled on a social basis, with the support of the legal and (where applicable) religious systems...?
Preves' dedication reads: "For those with the wisdom and courage to forge a new path". We need to forge a new path, indeed, in which the birth of an intersex child isn't automatically treated as a medical emergency.
In her concluding chapter, Preves says, "... the clear message from my research is to decrease sex and gender categorization rather than to create yet a third rigid sex or gender line for us all to ponder. Instead, we should focus on loving and accepting children as they are, not because of or in spite of their differences, but rather just because they are terrific kids in their own right with or without bodies that vary from some mythical standard."
Three cheers for that! The sooner we can all be people free to find our own identities and attractions, the better. Amen.
{And I'll climb down off my soapbox now.}
November 20, 2011
This book provides a really great look at a group of people that is marginalized in our society. Personally, I knew very little about intersex conditions and those who had them so this book really opened my eyes to the issues facing this community both in the way that the medical community treats them and the way that society as a whole treats them.
July 28, 2011
This should be recommended reading for everyone on the planet. It blows the lid off the two gender myth and exposes how children in particular are vulnerable to radical genital mutilation in the name of arbitrary standards and social pressure. One of my favorite life-changing books of all time.
December 21, 2024
Before reading this I had little to no knowledge about intersex identity and the experiences of those who have the variation. Learning about the medicalization of intersex identities and the medical practices used to force people who’s biology does not conform to the rigid binary standards we’ve created was both eye opening and devastating. I was always under the impression that people born with this variation would just exist and any medical treatment would be given on necessity basis. Never did I consider that people would have to endure borderline mutilation and experimentation on their bodies, for the sake of social conformity. Though outdated, this is one of the first books to discuss and highlight the experiences of people who have intersex variation as well as the lifelong physical and psychological impact. I’ve had the pleasure of having Dr. Preves as a professor and was able to gain further insight from her courses. If you know nothing about intersex identity I’d highly recommend this text to learn about this beyond the medical perspective.
March 16, 2023
I am a Sharon Preves fangirl, she is everything to me. She was the most phenomenal mentor and professor and paved the way for me to do my own qualitative research in undergrad. I owe my passion and ambition to her and getting to read this published book of her own work was so incredibly motivating as a young student. It is a must read for anyone who is studying gender, sex, or sociology as a whole.
August 10, 2016
A meticulously cited discussion of the efforts of intersex individuals to gain independence and recognition apart from the demands and contrivances of the medical establishment.
Preves spends an appropriate amount of time debating assorted social psychology theories pertaining to the construction (socialization) of gender in contemporary western culture and the (at times, damaging) effect this has on the autonomy of individuals forming their self-concept as they age. Additional time is spent on the erasure of sexual variation, the influence of institutionalized stigmatization, the psychological effects of medical intervention, the pluses and minuses of identity politics, and more. This book is highly technical when it needs to be, yet remains focused on the personal narratives when a more focused touch is necessary.
There are several personal narratives that buttress Preves' research, and one certainly wishes there was more. However, due to the personal nature of the subject matter, and the relatively empty academic landscape into which this material was published, I think the small sample size can be forgiven.
Preves spends an appropriate amount of time debating assorted social psychology theories pertaining to the construction (socialization) of gender in contemporary western culture and the (at times, damaging) effect this has on the autonomy of individuals forming their self-concept as they age. Additional time is spent on the erasure of sexual variation, the influence of institutionalized stigmatization, the psychological effects of medical intervention, the pluses and minuses of identity politics, and more. This book is highly technical when it needs to be, yet remains focused on the personal narratives when a more focused touch is necessary.
There are several personal narratives that buttress Preves' research, and one certainly wishes there was more. However, due to the personal nature of the subject matter, and the relatively empty academic landscape into which this material was published, I think the small sample size can be forgiven.
April 3, 2014
Intersex people are those born without a clear gender. This can be for a variety of reasons: something other than the usual XX or XY chromosomes, ambiguous genitals, both types of genitals (hermaphrodism), and others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex
According to this book, there are more intersex people than you might think; and their existence has long been a source of extreme confusion and discomfort for parents, medical authorities, and religious authorities.
There's something very odd about society that we assign so much weight to gender. A baby cannot be considered a person until its sex is determined: most names are gendered, birth certificates typically require the sex to be recorded, and even something like standard cultural gifts (think "It's a girl!" / "It's a boy!" balloons) require this information.
I think this is a really interesting topic and was glad to find this book. Unfortunately it was rather hard to read: it has the dryness of an academic text, a pervasive judgmental disdain for medical practices related to childbirth, and really bad typography in the Kindle version. So I gave up about halfway through.
According to this book, there are more intersex people than you might think; and their existence has long been a source of extreme confusion and discomfort for parents, medical authorities, and religious authorities.
There's something very odd about society that we assign so much weight to gender. A baby cannot be considered a person until its sex is determined: most names are gendered, birth certificates typically require the sex to be recorded, and even something like standard cultural gifts (think "It's a girl!" / "It's a boy!" balloons) require this information.
I think this is a really interesting topic and was glad to find this book. Unfortunately it was rather hard to read: it has the dryness of an academic text, a pervasive judgmental disdain for medical practices related to childbirth, and really bad typography in the Kindle version. So I gave up about halfway through.
February 9, 2014
Eye-opening...medicine has similar sex/gender problems to the culture at large, but more power; this book really effectively illustrates how well-meaning people (parents, doctors) within a violent system can do a lot of violence. Preves seems a little out of her element when talking about some of the socioeconomic aspects of marginalization but this is an important read anyway I think.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews