Intersex Initiative: Resources for Students

Resource for Students

What is This?

As you might imagine, we receive a lot of requests from students seeking information or interview subjects for their term paper on intersex. We are thrilled that you are interested in researching about intersex (or, in case your teacher assigned it to you--thanks, professor!), but we are often too busy to help these students individually, and also students often do not have clear direction at that point, making it difficult for us to assist them. So we thought: if we put all the resources for students in one place, we could both save time and then you will write a great paper. At least, that's the idea behind this page.

That does not mean that we don't want to hear from you. We do. But we thought that it would be easier on both of us if you read this section before firing off those questions.

The Shortest Reading List

Here are some of the very basic information on intersex (short articles):

If you are approaching from feminist or queer/gender theory point of view, the articles below may be useful in avoiding common misperceptions.

Of course, if you are working on a larger paper or project, you should probably read an actual book or two. We recommend the following books (the link goes to In Other Words, our local independent feminist bookstore).

Intersex in the Age of Ethics by Alice Dreger
Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self by Sharon Preves
Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex by Alice Dreger
Lessons from the Intersexed by Suzanne Kessler

Themes for Discussion

Here are some ideas for potential themes that could be explored in your paper.

What should be the basis of medical ethics? How does the standard treatment of intersex adhere to it?
What are the competing interests and realities that factor into parents' decision to have surgeries performed on their children?
What sort of ideologies regarding human sex, gender and sexuality are intersex surgeries based on? What are the alternative views?
How does the treatment of female genital mutilation in media compare to that of intersex cosmetic surgeries in the West? Why?
How does the medicine regulate and enforce normalcy? Are there other examples?
Historically, how has intersex been treated in the Western societies? Where are we going tomorrow? (Hint: read "Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex")
How does the intersex movement relate to the LGBT movement? Pro-choice movement? Global human rights movement? Disability rights movement? Where does intersex fit into the broader struggles for justice and freedom for all?
What resources are missing from the society if we were to promote acceptance of intersex children? How can we build them?

Things to Avoid

Do not simply use intersex to illustrate theoretical point, such as why gender is socially constructed or the prohibition of same-sex marriages makes no sense. Use theories to support intersex people, not the other way around.
Recognize that intersex is not just about gender. Do not assume that intersex people are suffering from gender mismatch or confusion; often, they are not having a gender problem, but a childhood sexual trauma problem.
Do not "include" intersex in a paper that is fundamentally about transgender or transsexual issues; if your paper is primarily about transgender or transsexual, stick with it. While the source of the oppression against intersex people may be similar to that of trans people, the actual lived experiences and concerns are very different.
Understand that web sites and email lists are not a good way to conduct a survey. This is generally true, but especially so in the case of intersex because there is so much secrecy and misperceptions about what intersex is.

Interviews

In general, we do not give or facilitate personal interviews (i.e. personal experiences, stories) for term papers (we may make an exception if the project will be presented or published outside of your institution). We will, however, answer any questions you may have about intersex issues, intersex activism, or Intersex Initiative the organization. Please feel free to contact us if you don't find an answer to your question after referring to FAQ.

Also, here is a list of questions a UC Berkeley student sent us for a paper she was writing, along with our answers. While it is not a polished interview per se, we thought it might answer some questions you may have and help you come up with better questions to ask.

Back to Resources for Intersex Studies