I was born this way

                Christopher Dewhurst and Ronald R. Gordon could be considered experts in their field of work. Dewhurst, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Gordon, a consultant pediatrician, both worked in the medical field and narrowed their focus on the tough subject of intersexuality. They studied medical views and surgical approaches on the topic and in the mid 20^th century published a book on what they discovered. 

                Within their book, they address the obstacle of intersexuality faced by both the parent and child. I was surprised, however, at what a negative approach they had on it. Considering that they are professionals and want to spread awareness about this condition through their work, it is alarming at how awful they make intersexuality sound; to me they make is sound as if it’s almost not worth living:

              “One can only attempt to imagine the anguish of the parents. That a newborn should have a deformity…(affecting) so fundamental an issue as the very sex of the child…is a tragic event which immediately conjures up visions of a hopeless psychological misfit doomed to live always as a sexual freak in loneliness and frustration.” (Fausto-Sterling 47)

I have underlined on the words with negative connotations to highlight the drastic effect this had on me as the reader, let alone anyone directly affected by intersexuality. It was quite astonishing to see such a pessimistic outtake by these men which got me to thinking about how this negativity affects our society. 

I think Sexing the Body has established thus far that people who are not in our society’s realm of “normal” are bound to face hurdles in their life. But why is this? Why is it that anyone whose appearance, personality, mannerisms, etc. diverge from a certain path we have accepted as right be ridiculed? Who are we to judge? After reading this chapter, I believe, at least in the case of hermaphrodites, that such negativity stems from the doctors, physicians and any other person who studies these cases. These people are where society gets their facts from and if all the information presented to us is as depressing as Dewhurst and Gordon put it, why should anyone think otherwise? But in the scheme of things, who are we to judge anyone else?  Easier said than done I guess.