Ambiguous Genitalia and Gender

A detailed Summary of Ambiguous Genitalia and Gender

In about one out of every 1500 hospital deliveries, infants are born with ambiguous genitalia. Faced with such situations, physicians have worked towards creating a standard approach for treating these infants. Dr. John Money has been the leading theorist in this field. Between 1955 and 1972, Money and his associates developed procedures for dealing with both the intersexed infant and the parents. These procedures included quickly assigning and surgically creating a gender for each baby. Over the years, however, debate has surfaced regarding the validity of Money's theories. One scholar who voices opposition is Suzanne Kessler, a psychology professor at Purchase College, SUNY. In an article written in 1990, she presents and analyzes Money's methods and their consequences. Kessler disagrees with the means by which he chooses a gender and his justifications for doing so. Since the publication of Kessler's article, scientific evidence has emerged which disputes Money's theories. In a July 2000 article, Dr. Chanika Phornphutkul of the Brown University Department of Pediatrics spotlights flaws in Money's methods. On-going research indicates that some of Money's assumptions have proven fallacious and some of his techniques, q

Phornphutkul relies heavily on the research of Diamond and Sigmundson. These researchers

Brown University. "Gender Self-Reassignment in XY Adolescent Females Born with Ambiguous Genitalia." Pediatrics 2000; 106: 135-137. Posted on WWW. Academic Universe. Keywords: ambiguous genitalia.

Phornphutkul then states his thesis: "gender identification is a complex biological and psychological process that most certainly has both prenatal and postnatal components, although the relationship between prenatal biological processes and postnatal psychological processes is not understood" (Phornphutkul 3). For the moment, Phornphutkul concurs with Money's idea that performance of any gender-altering procedure should occur early on, but voices opposition to the belief that gender can be controlled by external forces. Though he maintains ignorance insofar as no one truly understands the genetic processes that establish gender, his tone reveals anticipation of discovery. He says that he and his colleagues at Brown have "reconsidered and modified their approach to gender assignment" (Phornphutkul 4).

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Approximate Word count = 1148
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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