Great piece. I do think parents want neat boxes that their kids fit into. Otherwise things are complicated. It’s also hard to stand up to doctors, who sometimes act like gods. At the very least, they act like they are the authority. If being intersex is presented as a deformity or disability, I can see parents feeling pressured to “fix it.” Everyone (mostly) wants their kids to be happy, healthy, and free of pain.
Our society will be much better off when we can recognize that children may not be in a position to make life-altering decisions when they’re young, but they will grow up, and can make the decision then. I stood up to my husband on circumcision, (we’re not Jewish) saying I’d pay for it if our son wanted it when he was old enough. (We were really young when we had him.) Later, my husband admitted that I made the right choice. Just because we’ve always done something isn’t a good reason to keep doing it!
There needs to be a reasonable line somewhere about non-life threatening medical conditions that parents don’t get to decide for their kids. I don’t see it happening anytime soon though. People act like they own their children.
Not adding much here, but even circumcision is excused away as making a child look "normal."
yep.
standard circumcision is not a great idea, imo. it hurts and the medical justification for it is pretty weak.
Great piece. I do think parents want neat boxes that their kids fit into. Otherwise things are complicated. It’s also hard to stand up to doctors, who sometimes act like gods. At the very least, they act like they are the authority. If being intersex is presented as a deformity or disability, I can see parents feeling pressured to “fix it.” Everyone (mostly) wants their kids to be happy, healthy, and free of pain.
Our society will be much better off when we can recognize that children may not be in a position to make life-altering decisions when they’re young, but they will grow up, and can make the decision then. I stood up to my husband on circumcision, (we’re not Jewish) saying I’d pay for it if our son wanted it when he was old enough. (We were really young when we had him.) Later, my husband admitted that I made the right choice. Just because we’ve always done something isn’t a good reason to keep doing it!
There needs to be a reasonable line somewhere about non-life threatening medical conditions that parents don’t get to decide for their kids. I don’t see it happening anytime soon though. People act like they own their children.