Substantive Post #2: “Giving Sex”

When we talk about gender, yes we talk about it as something that we do that was given to us, but we also talk about it in a way that implies malleability. To us, societally, gender is a fluid concept on a sliding scale that can be different from the way we were born, different from the way we were told, just fluid.

Sex, on the other hand, is spoken about in rock-soild, definite, unchanging terms. The sex you were born as and that is on your birth certificate is one of two extremes. What if that wasn’t the way the world was structured? Well there is a “third sex” so to speak, encompassing everything between the extremes. Intersex.

The article “Giving Sex” describes the way that our medical system, as we know it, decides what sex is and how it has enforced this hard boundary line in sex that endures even beyond the hard boundaries in gender beginning to fall. Both trans and intersex people run into this wall where if we ever question our assigned sex, it is medically inconceivable that someone may exist in the grey area between. This is a product of the medical gaze, where doctors feel that they need to fit a patient’s background or story into the neatly defined biomedical paradigm that has been described and upheld for a long time.

Intersex people are required to undergo medical treatment to affirm a sex that was assigned by doctors based on a clitoral size gauge in most cases, in some completely based on what kind of surgery the surgeon thinks is easier. Trans people, on the other hand, are not allowed to have access to these treatments because they, for some reason, know what sex they feel correct as to a less complete extent than a doctor assessing a baby that has been born literally 3 minutes ago.

Davis, Georgiann, Jodie M. Dewey, Erin L. Murphy. 2016. “Giving Sex: Deconstructing Intersex and Trans Medicalization Practices.” Gender and Society 30:3:490-514

Substantive Post #1: “Toward an ‘African Intersex Reference of Intelligence’: Directions in Intersex Organizing”


Despite the topic of my final paper ultimately focusing on intersex movements in South Africa, I felt it was important to provide myself with background on intersex rights and intersex struggles across Africa, a continent that I had not done any meaningful research into before this paper.

Swarr (2023) starts the chapter with a quote:

We exist to amplify the voices of African Intersex people at the regional level. We
offer ourselves as the African Intersex reference of intelligence for stakeholders and
allies who are interested in strengthening the ongoing liberation work for intersex
peoples’ rights and autonomy. We affirm that intersex people are real, and we exist
in all countries of Africa. As intersex people in Africa, we live in a society that per-
petuates violence and killings of intersex people by cultural, religious, traditional
and medical beliefs and practices.

African Intersex Movement, statement on
July 3, 2019

This quote provides the foundation for the rest of the chapter, laying the groundwork for the explanations to come.

The African Intersex Movement finds its roots in the work of a few in the 1990s and the brave voices who spoke up in a time where it was dangerous to do so. This movement spread across Africa and addresses head-on the difficulties faced by African Intersex people, no matter the country. This is a truly continent-wide movement, operating through transnational and international means, an organized force for a continent.

This movement finally gained attention on the world stage when Caster Semenya was barred from competing in the Olympics because of the levels of testosterone she was found to have due to her own physiology. The test also brought to the world stage the way in which sex testing such as this has been dehumanizing African women and discrediting their identities and womanhood, regardless of if they are intersex or not. Let me be very clear, intersex women are women, just as they can be any other gender. Being intersex does not determine a person’s gender.

Sally Gross was an early intersex organizer and founded the organization Intersex South Africa, one of two organizations that have been making waves in normalizing and spreading awareness for intersex alongside Iranti. She was a pioneer in South African intersex rights, helping make the way for the 2005 amendment that defined intersex in the South African constitution and included that definition in the category of legally protected sex.




Reference:
Swarr, Amanda Lock. 2023. “Toward an ‘African Intersex Reference of Intelligence’: Directions in Intersex Organizing.” Pp. 132-155. Envisioning African Intersex: Challenging Colonial and Racist Legacies in South African Medicine

Op-Ed #2: Workplace Mistreatment of Women and Health

Mistreatment of women in the workplace has been a long-standing issue for decades, but has gained attention since the rise of the #MeToo movement in the United States in 2017. Even after the impact that #MeToo has had in the cultural mind, many still argue that workplace sexism does not truly happen, that it is all in the victim’s mind, or that it is such a subtle and/or rare experience that there is no need to implement any regulations to create a better work environment for women. In a more critical sense, some would argue that our patriarchal, misogynistic society does not recognize the issues women deal with in the workplace because it would necessitate a complete dismantling of the workplace, which could dismantle our society. 

There are two studies that outline that workplace mistreatment does occur, and how it impacts women in the workplace. Schilt (2006) conducts a study on stealth transgender men in the workplace to assess if and how men experience advantages in the workplace. These participants had the unique perspective of being a woman in the workplace pre-transition and being able to directly compare it to being a man in the workplace post-transition. Through this study, Schilt (2006) finds that these transgender men experienced several advantages in the workplace after their transition, including: increased beliefs by others of their authority and competency, increased respect and recognition, and possible economic gains. They received better evaluations from their higher-ups, coworkers listened to them more, they had an easier time getting jobs, they received increased support and resources to complete projects, and gained bodily autonomy – including less sexual harassment and comments.

As opposed to the advantages men receive in the workplace as perceived and explained by the transgender men in Schilt’s (2006) study, Manuel et. al (2017) measures workplace sexism to see how it affects women’s health and overall workplace experience, including job security, autonomy, and stress. The authors also measure these factors in combination with presenteeism, which is when an employee comes in to work sick instead of using a sick day. Throughout their study, Manuel et. al (2017) find that women who perceive that their workplace as sexist perceive lower job security and autonomy, more work-related stress, rate themselves as having more symptoms of poor health, and higher rates of presenteeism (or lower absenteeism).

Given the advantages that men experience within the workplace, as outlined by Schilt’s (2006) findings, are subtle to those in higher positions or not part of a marginalized community (like women, people of color, or those part of the LGBTQ+ community), it is seemingly hard to pinpoint whether workplace sexism happens. However, since the participants in Schilt’s (2006) study have experienced being in American workplaces as a man and a woman, her findings only bolster the findings in Manuel et. al’s (2017) study. Women don’t only miss out on the social and economic advantages that men receive in the workplace, but this form of workplace inequality through sexism also disadvantages women by impacting their overall job experience, their long-term health, and even leading them to go to work while sick (increased presenteeism) instead of recuperating at home. 

This fits within the U.S.’ neoliberal, capitalist, misogynistic ideals. Our society automatically deems women as unworthy, less knowledgeable, and incapable before she enters the workforce. Once she does enter the workforce, she is still unworthy and incapable, and is seen as less of a workplace asset and more of a loss (of a home asset). Women are dehumanized and objectified, with their sole worth being what service they can provide in the domestic sphere. This is where they are most valuable in a patriarchal and capitalist society, to help reproduce the next generation of workers and to help sustain current workers. By depriving women in the workplace of the social, physical, and economic benefits men in the workplace receive automatically, America’s patriarchal, neoliberal, capitalist system works overtime to push women back into the domestic sphere. If being disadvantaged and mistreated in the workplace doesn’t work, increasing women’s work stressors and having higher rates of presenteeism will surely nip their notion of gender equality and the right to work.

Manuel, Sara K., Kristina Howansky, Kimerly E. Chaney, and Diana T. Sanchez. 2017. “No Rest for the Stigmatized: A Model of Organizational Health and Workplace Sexism (OHWS)”. Sex Roles 77: 697-708. 

Schilt, Kristen. 2006. “Just One of the Guys?: How Transmen Make Gender Visible at Work”. Gender & Society 20(4):465-490. doi:10.1177/0891243206288077

Written by: Lily Philbrook

The Attack on Trans Youth’s Resources and Mental Health

It is hard not to hear about the laws being introduced at the state level and their biggest target being trans youth. One of the biggest resources for trans youth being targeted is gender affirming care such as hormone replacement therapy. As a trans young adult who in the past year has gained access to hormone replacement therapy, it is so hard to put into words the impact that it has on one’s mental health. Living with a heavy level of depression for 3.5-4 years before having access to this resource I tried counseling, therapy, and medication, with varying levels of minor success, receiving HRT was when I finally felt like I had gotten my life back. These impacts are often talked about but there isn’t a lot of longitudinal data to back our statements due to the lack of research revolving trans individuals.

This does not stop research from developing in the meantime and recently there was a study comparing individuals who did receive HRT and those who did not and the data has suggested that trans teens who receive HRT have a positive correlation with mental health. The only issue with the sample is that teens who are able to receive HRT must receive parental consent meaning that the participants who were receiving HRT were already living in an affirming and support family environment which could have an impact on positive mental health reporting rates.

In order to get around this a research team analyzed data from the 2015 U.S. transgender survey that had 27,000 respondents. They found that over 40% of trans youth who live in an unsupportive family environment have attempted suicide by the time they turn 18. They also found that HRT significantly improved mental health and that suicide rates for trans youth drop after having access to this resource with a 14.4% decrease.

Even with research coming out in support of trans resources the community is still facing a huge attack towards their rights. Back in June the Human Rights Campaign declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans due , more than 560 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced and 80 of which have passed.

The article ends with a statement that “If you are struggling or having suicidal thoughts, help is available. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or chat at 988lifeline.org. The Trans Lifeline (1-877-565-8860) and The Trevor Project (phone 1-866-488-7386, text 678-678, or chat thetrevorproject.org) also offer crisis support.”

These are resources many trans and other LGBTQ+ individuals know about due to the widespread understanding of the climate around us. Even though the climate is gloomy the LGBTQ+ movement has always been resilient and continues pass down resources of how to survive. Trans youth exist and have always existed; support trans youth.

Trans Artist and small business owner: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MegEmikoArt

Article: Trans youth are significantly more likely to attempt suicide when gender dysphoria is met with conversation therapy than with hormone treatment.

Jails Downsizing during COVID + Crime Trends

During the COVID pandemic there were numerous prisons and jails releasing people from incarceration and one of the biggest states to do so was California. Releasing thousands of people there was instant lash back towards the actions of the state with worry that crime rates would rise. Before the COVID pandemic started California had lowered their rate of incarceration from 329 per 100,000 residents to 290 from 2009 to 2019 without any impact on crime rates. However, in 2020 there was an increase in homicide rates with a total of 500 victims.

There is discourse on if this was due to incarceration or due to the pandemic as there was a lot going on in this year and correlation does not equal causation. So in order to tackle this question Charis Kubrin and Bradley Bartos took a quasi-experimental approach to better understand jail decarceration in California during COVID. In order to do this they gathered information on the 58 counties in california and identified 6 counties that had the highest amount of decarceration in reference to their jail populations the year before. They compared these groups to groups that had the least decarceration rate in order to look for any gaps in crime that would show if there was an increase in crime for the states with higher rates of decarceration.

Looking at rates of violent and property crimes there was not a set pattern of crime and the patterns ranged from increased crime in counties with higher decarceration to a null impact to even a decrease in crime in counties that had higher decarceration. Even though the study had a few limitation that the researchers go over, they still showcased that there is not a relationship between decarceration and crime rate.

The researchers left their article with a quote stating “In the words of one research team: “The pandemic created rare natural experiment research conditions that enable unique and potentially valuable insights … that may indicate future justice practices and policies.” The valuable insight from our study is knowing that we can downsize our prisons and jails without seeing crime rates skyrocket.”

Decarceration and Crime Do Not Go Hand in Hand

BY CHARIS E. KUBRIN & BRADLEY J. BARTOS

Trans Homicide in an Intersectional Lens (Op-Ed)

In the past few years there has been an increase of transgender violence as well as an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced and enacted in state and national legislature. Since this has been a recent increase research takes time to provide there is a lack of data to discuss how these issues might be connected. It takes time to be able to collect and analyze data but there also inst a lot of discussion about trans violence in reference to gender violence. There has been a call for including trans individuals in reference to gender violence by the scholar Daniela Jauk who points out the exclusion of trans individuals by the United Nations in intergovernmental negotiations based on gender (2013). Without this discussion it has erased and silenced trans experiences creating an unbalanced power dynamic pertaining to what might be considered gender violence.

The matrix of domination is a concept that was built by Patricia Hill Collin and analyses how political domination occurs at a macro level. This concept was adapted by Laurel Westbrook and is called the matrix of violence, an analysis that aims to explain how structures such as institutions and social systems shape patterns of violence (2023). The data that Westbrook uses is an accumulation of trans murders from 1990 up until 2019; gathered from sources such as activists, mainstream news, and government sources to collect information about the victims. Even though this is a very thorough collection of documentation there are also still trans victims that have fallen through the cracks due to trans invisibility or mislabeling of trans individuals unless the trans individual was out before the murder there is no way of knowing if someone is trans. Even with trans some victims unaccounted for, this is still one of the biggest datasets on trans homicide and allows for a better understanding of how trans people are affected and are at risk of violence compared to their cisgender peers.

Scholars have discussed how inequalities between cisgender and transgender people have called for transgender violence but this does not identify why or why certain trans victims are targeted more than other trans individuals. Trans women are significantly more likely to be killed than Trans men but Trans women of color are killed more often than white trans women. The author points out that this race gap between trans homicides is significantly bigger than the race gap seen in homicides toward cisgender women. Trans women of color are also killed in different scenarios white trans women as trans women of color are killed more often in exchanges of sex for money while white trans women are killed more in nonmonetary sexual relationships.

Sex, gender, race, sexuality, class, age, and ability all shape how institutional systems work at an interpersonal level such as social, legal, educational, political, economic, media, family, religious, and healthcare institutions (Westbrook 2023). These social ideas can create a space for racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, ageism, and ableism which in turn enables violence. Trans Homicide shows us how intersectionality plays a role in violence in a way that cis – gender violence does not.

Westbrook, Laurel. 2023. The Matrix of Violence: Intersectionality and Necropolitics in the Murder of Transgender People in the United States, 1990-2019. GENDER & SOCIETY. 37(3), 413-446.


Jauk, Daniela. 2013. Invisible Lives, Silenced Violence: Transphobic Gender Violence in Global Perspective. Advances in Gender Research. 18, 111-136.

Substantive Blog Post 4: The cross section of environment and society

Branching off of my last created post, I will be talking about the last selection framework that aims to navigate societal evolution.

The third and final selection framework defined by Turner and Abrutyn is Marxian Selection and is used as a way to support their theory of Spencerian Selection. Marxian selection identifies the opposition to production and is identified as the marginalized groups that face resource deprivation and therefore lead to negative emotions and possible ideology of revolution. This is the conflict process to the ever-growing organism of society and creates counter ideology from the status quo. Conflict can lead to violence and in the past has led to the downfall of governments and other governing groups in power. Conflict arises from resource deprivation by institutional systems and is recognized as needs being unmet, issues being unaddressed, and an overall sense of subordination or marginalization. Turner and Abrutyn argue that these institutional systems have been able to become more flexible than Marx had originally believed and have created change to their systems in reference to these systems.

Marx projected that institutional systems would not be able to change and that these systems would be too rigid and would not be able to resolve inequality. Considerable efforts have been made to address the systematic oppression that underpins our institutional systems. However, as we develop new theories of evolution, particularly those emphasizing social contexts, it becomes crucial to underscore the power structures that perpetuate the dominance of these institutional systems. The second criticism of the selection is the amount of biological theory to back up evolution. Overall, this is a very useful theory to understand how societies interact with each other but it refrains from getting at the relationship between society and the environment. Our society influences the environment, and one example is the waste generated by capitalistic production. This environmental impact disproportionately affects lower-income neighborhoods and this issue exists at the intersection of Sociology, Ecology, and Biology. The environmental injustice that is created reinforces existing social disparities as lower-income communities bear a higher risk of exposure to harmful wastewater, amplifying the likelihood of health issues. Resulting in healthcare costs that can further deepen the cycle of poverty, perpetuating systemic economic disadvantages, especially among marginalized groups.

The reason I choose to emphasize the biology in my second criticism was to highlight the how in removing biology from the evolutionary discussion we are ignoring a part of something we need to identify. The biology field has been called out on their flaw of having androcentric tendencies—a predominant focus on males and the neglect of understanding females. Other biologists that have criticized biology, assert that this bias relegates women to an afterthought, hindering comprehensive analysis and limiting the scope of scientific research (Gowaty 1992 and Hoquet 2010). In response, a researcher, Zuk, proposes the transformative role feminism could have on biology (2002). They advocate for an objective and unbiased approach that addresses inherent biases within the field. By encouraging researchers to look at and address inherent biases within the field, feminism pushes for a broader and more inclusive understanding of biological phenomena. The acknowledgment and correction of biases can lead to more comprehensive and accurate scientific knowledge.

True crossovers between the disciplines might be hard to navigate due to the number of scholarly arguments discussing evolutionary theory and feminism. Some argue for evolutionary psychology and feminist theory to merge while some argue that feminist theory altogether has already influenced biology enough and there is no need for further assimilation (Ah-King 2007). Despite the roughed-up conversations on how to move forward, there might be room for more advanced research in the future once researchers have learned how to bounce off of each other and pull in different perspectives for different projects that calls for them. Personally I hope to work on various projects and work with other scholars outside of my discipline to call upon new perspectives as we face new issues.

This project allows for the possibility of analyzing evolution in different stages which can possible help identify how to better account for issues such as global warming and other environmental justice issues as it exists at the cross section of society and environment.

Op-Ed Style Post #2: Based on Short Paper No.2: Femicide: An Ignored Problem in the United States

“Well I was and yet I was invisible, that was the fundamental contradiction. I was and yet I was unseen.” Ralph Ellison (1952). This statement eloquently illustrates how femicide persists in the United States today as it has done throughout history. The lack of the term in American society shows how invisible women’s murders are despite their severity and scope. There were 1,604 women killed by men they knew in the US in 2020. In line with the worldwide pattern of femicide, this seems to be happening in the United States too. Despite having a strong feminist presence, the US hasn’t kept up with the rest of the world in terms of putting a name to the problem. Many countries across the world frequently use the terms femicide and feminicide and some have even enacted policies. In contrast, this problem of gendered violence remains nameless and largely ignored in the United States. There seems to be a lack of attention from both the public and private sectors despite the problem’s severity and scope. I want to emphasize that without a label, it’s hard to draw attention to the issue and make it a social issue. There have been a lot of social problems throughout history that are blatant, but when they stay nameless, invisible, and unspoken, little can be done about them. Often, unnamed societal problems go unnoticed for years. Without public attention, the mass media cannot report on it, social movements cannot emerge, and legislators cannot enact laws and legislation. Examples of this occurring in the United States include the discovery of child abuse. It was not until the mid-1960s that laws were enacted to protect children. Before this, they were essentially unprotected under the law since no laws existed protecting them from abusive parents or guardians. Once the label was created, people were able to advocate for laws, and change was pushed forward. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement and Black femicide are current issues that relate to femicide in the US. It is not comparable to the amount of media coverage other movements or news have received, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Furthermore, both cases involve women who have been killed largely due to their gender. A compelling argument can be made that each of these cases constitutes feminicide, as the US government has failed to adequately intervene to prevent such abuse from occurring. Due to our society’s heavy patriarchy, murders of Black and Indigenous women are directly related to their gender. A lower social status probably influences how the government responds as well. As an example, the Mexican state failed to intervene when many women were murdered in Ciudad Juarez in the 1990s. Many people attribute the government’s failure to act to the fact that they were women and low status. I have aimed to demonstrate how femicide and feminicide remain largely ignored in the United States because there are no labels for them. We might be able to bring more attention to this issue if we embraced the terms. The use of such framing in other countries around the world has been quite successful in bringing about this change by showing that it violates women’s human rights. In the absence of naming the problem, the United States suffers from the phenomenon without gaining sufficient attention. I believe we should look at what other countries who suffer from the same condition have done to encourage recognition and even legislation. The fact that these other countries have adopted laws, such as Mexico, does not mean that the problem has been solved. In no way am I implying that everything has been resolved. However, recognizing that a problem exists, naming it, and creating a law, etc. creates the momentum for meaningful conversations to be held and lasting changes to be implemented. It is a slow and arduous process but worth all of the work.

Ellison, Ralph. (1952) Invisible Man. New York: Random House.

Substantive Post #4: Perceptions of men’s victimization and #MeToo

The next study I discuss by Lisnek et. al (2022) that I will be using for my paper uses a survey to conduct three separate studies on linkages/perceptions between women having more of a voice – through movements like #MeToo – and men feeling increasingly victimized. When this study talks about men’s victimization, they are referring to the notion that innocent men are being accused of sexual assault/harassment that they did not commit. 

The first study explores the connection between women having an increased voice and power and increased perceptions of men’s victimization. Lisnek et. al (2022) found that participants being conservative was positively associated with increased perceptions of men’s victimization, increased perceptions of women having an increased voice was positively associated with perceptions of men’s victimization, and male participants were more likely to perceive men’s victimization than female participants.

The second study by Lisnek et. al (2022) tested to see how perceptions of women’s increased voice, perceptions of men’s victimization, and the #MeToo movement interact with each other. In this study, the authors found that men had increased perceptions of women having increased voice and power and conservative political affiliation had a positive relationship with perceptions of men’s victimization. 

The third study by Lisnek et. al (2022) wanted to see how perceptions of women’s increased voice among conservative participants related to perceptions of men’s victimization. The authors found that conservative men were more likely to prefer to not work alone with women, and even more so if they were exposed to an article about #MeToo; conservative male participants were less likely to advocate for #MeToo policies (like less sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace); and conservative male participants rated women as more comfortable working alone with men than the liberal male participants rated them.

Overall, Lisnek et. al’s (2022) study finds that not only does gender matter in perceptions of increased women’s voice, men’s victimization, and #MeToo issues, but so does political ideology. More specifically, male conservatives are less receptive of #MeToo issues, are hyper-aware and less accepting of women having increased voice and power and perceive men as facing increased possibility of being accused (when innocent) due to #MeToo and women’s empowerment. This article is important and relevant to my paper because it showcases how in a society that is dominated by masculinity, neoliberalism, capitalism, and the patriarchy, that a movement like #MeToo empowering women will be perceived as directly trying to dismantle men’s power and the status quo. This will lead to more harsh media framing to subdue women’s voices, which directly impacts the efficacy of the #MeToo movement.

Lisnek, Jaclyn A., Clara L. Wilkins, Megan E. Wilson, and Pierce D. Ekstrom. 2022. “Backlash Against the #MeToo Movement: How Women’s Voice Causes Men to Feel Victimized.” Group Processes and Intergroup Relations Volume 25(3): 682-702.

Written by: Lily Philbrook

Op-Ed #2: Intersex Medicalization and the Medical Gaze

When we look at dystopian young adult fiction we think of the concepts presented as preposterous, things that could never happen in our world. One of those tropes we look at as somewhat unrealistic and farfetched is the idea of being sorted into factions against your own will. Unfortunately, that’s a part of our reality, just not in the way those novels may present it.

Sex is defined for us at birth. We have no control over how that happens, we’re told its based on purely biological traits, but have you ever questioned what happens when someone doesn’t fit the neat and tidy categories that are so plainly laid out in medicine and society? Have you ever seen a purple beanie at the hospital for newborns who seem to be neither male nor female but somewhere in between? I’m willing to bet your answer to that second question is no, though I, as an intersex person myself, really wish there was a picture of me in a sea of pink and blue with a little purple hat. Alas, the doctors felt that they needed to make a decision. A decision that came down to a size chart that determined if the somewhat phallic, somewhat vaginal genitalia I possessed indicated that I was closer to one side of the binary than the other. Ultimately the doctors decided I would be classified as a female though my specialist was understanding when 17 years later I told him that I would rather go by they/them pronouns and present in a neutral way. That interaction made me one of the lucky ones. Most would have experienced intense scrutiny and evaluation due to the mere idea that they would question their place in the medical sex binary.

This anecdote, though rambling, has a point. I was born with genitalia that made labor and delivery doctors call in endocrinologists to fully understand what they were looking at and yet I was so definitely classified as female. This is the medical gaze at work.

The medical gaze is a concept developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault to describe the way doctors will go to great lengths to fit a patient into the neatly defined biomedical paradigm. In the case of intersex people this is taking a baby that has no business being put on either end of the binary and forcing them into one of two boxes based on the size of the clitoral/penile structure between their legs to satisfy the need for individuals to fit one or the other. Though up to this point I have written about this in the context of babies, it is something intersex and non-intersex people alike do not escape for the duration of their lives.

Intersex people are often given hormone replacement therapy to better “normalize” them as the assigned sex they were given. Intersex people who were assigned female are given dilators from a very young age to ensure they can accommodate penile insertion during intercourse later in life (prompting a further conversation about heterosexism and heteronormativity too long to include here).

While I am lucky enough to have undergone minimal unnecessary treatment, many people like me have not been this lucky and will continue to experience the same medical abuse that I have described. Intersex people are not deformed, no matter what the medical community and pop culture may say. Intersex people are not in need of correction or normalization. We exist. Our lives and bodies are important and beautiful. One day this medical abuse will end, at least, I hope it will.