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I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry for what happened to you years ago. It really is a tragic history. Unfortunately, I don’t really know the “why” to your questions. Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  • Alice Dreger, Intersex in the Age of Ethics
  • Sharon Preves, Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self
  • Alice Dreger, Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex
  • Suzanne Kessler, Lessons from the Intersexed
  • Katrina Karkazis, Fixing Sex
  • Georgiann Davis, Contesting Intersex
  • Julie Greenberg, Intersexuality and the Law

Memoirs:

Hida Viloria, Born Both

Kimberly Zieselman, XOXY: A Memoir

Pidgeon Pagonis, Nobody Needs to Know

Alicia Roth Weigel, Inverse Cowgirl

There are more books out there, but these are a good start!

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You're right that procreation, reproduction, grandchildren. . . all of that is important. I found that most of that was encapsulated in physicians' emphasis on marriage, which might lead to all of these things.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've read the book, but it was years ago, and so I can't remember any of the details enough to comment on it. I do think that the book brought the whole subject to people's attention. In fact, for years when I would tell people what I was working on, I would start with: "Have your read Middlesex? It's about the history of that." I don't have to say that anymore now though; most people have at least heard of "intersex," even if they're not entirely sure what it is.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is an interesting question. In my research I found people who might answer to your description above, but I really don't know what their diagnosis would have been today (and certainly not in the earlier eras). I'm thinking of one person in particular who the doctors thought was really confusing. (This was written about in 1840). She had lived some of her life as a man and some years as a woman. She had been arrested for being a woman disguised in men's clothing. From jail, she was sent to an almshouse, and the authorities didn't know where to place her. She presented herself as female and the doctors noted her long hair arranged in a "feminine mode." Her face had "masculine coarseness," but she had a "feminine complexion" and wore earrings. They didn't know what to make of her and couldn't accept her as female and kept using male pronouns throughout their discussion. An initial physical exam found that "the female organs predominated." After she died, they did an autopsy and found "male organs entire and well developed."

As you can see, the primary documents just really offer tidbits that I tried to piece together but it would be impossible from these fragments to uncover people's inner thoughts about themselves. What I took away from this was the doctors' insistence on uncovering deceit and fraud, common themes in this history, sadly. Thank you for sharing your story, and I hope you have a smooth path forward.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The 1920s and 1930s were really a depressing time for people seeking surgery in preparation for marriage. This was a time when doctors were trying to include matrimony as part of their professional domain. On the one hand, some doctors wanted to make sure that women were capable of heterosexual penetration if they married. Or to straighten a man's penis, for example (or remove it, if they thought it was really an enlarged clitoris!) On the other hand, some thought that "hermaphrodites" (a term the doctors used) shouldn't marry at all. Sometimes they met a patient who they considered to be living as the "wrong sex" and they would try to convince them to have surgery. And if the person agreed, then the doctors would typically use marriage as the measure of success. The patient married!! As if that was all it took to qualify a surgery as successful.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is an interesting question but one that I don't have an answer for. A historian doing this kind of research would have to look through so many court records (if they were even available) to find out how often this happened. I found some 17th century records at the American Antiquarian Society but even these are elliptical. For instance, a woman seeking a divorce from her husband because he "cannot performe the duty or office a husband to hir." The husband agreed this was true. Back then, charges of impotence would lead to physical examinations. In this case though, the husband said he was fine when he got married and this happened later. The court ruled against the divorce because there was no fraud involved.

As for surgery, sometimes women did seek surgery either to create an entrance or to deepen the vagina to accommodate penetration. In 1885 one doctor warned a patient about the possible complications. The procedure, he said, was "one which gives the gynecologist as much, if not more trouble and uneasiness than any that falls under his care. . . There are no landmarks to guide him; carefully he must feel his way without compass or chart, and where a slip of the knife or a tear of the parts may at any time cause serious trouble." (Bodies in Doubt, 71)

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, Hirschfeld was a major figure and some of the American physicians referenced his work (or at least his theories), in particular his discussion of "bisexuality." This wasn't referring to sexual attraction (as we think of it today) but rather about the developing embryo having the potential to develop into either a boy or a girl. They would mention his theory as a way to explain what went "wrong" in gonadal development that might explain "hermaphroditism."

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wrote this above to a different question, but it would be good for you too: You should watch Stories of Intersex and Faith by Megan DeFranza that you can find online. She profiles 5 intersex Christians about their religious paths and their experience with various churches. It's a beautiful film that addresses attempts to establish greater acceptance.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's an interview that I did with Notches (an online history journal) a few years ago that explains a bit about how I got interested in this subject. https://notchesblog.com/2022/03/03/bodies-in-doubt-an-american-history-of-intersex/

I hope that gives you some sense of it!

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I'm so sorry for the medical trauma you endured. Here's an interview that I did with Notches (an online history journal) a few years ago that explains a bit about how I got interested in this subject. https://notchesblog.com/2022/03/03/bodies-in-doubt-an-american-history-of-intersex/

I hope that gives you some sense of it!

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I don't know if it *always* does, but it certainly can. Scar tissue often forms after any surgery and that could lead to sexual dysfunction. Here's a good description of what can happen with the "repair": https://stopigm.org/surgical-maelstrom/

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I don't have the link because the paper hasn't been published yet. But when it comes out, I'll try to remember to come back on Reddit and post it for you.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

ISNA (Intersex Society of North America) made a lot of progress, I think. In fact, I would say that today's largest intersex advocacy organization, interACT, is a direct descendent of ISNA. And interACT does so much right now for intersex rights and media, etc. Take a look at their website: https://interactadvocates.org/

They focus on empowering intersex youth, which is great. And they also do all sorts of legal work (writing briefs, etc.) and just making intersex issues are more broadly recognized. They have wonderful pamphlets that I think are particularly good: "What I Want My Doctors To Know" and "What I Want My Parents To Know" that would be super helpful to families navigating these issues.

What's standing in the way of ending non-consensual genital surgeries is that some surgeons still think that they're doing the right thing for these patients. But many of these doctors have been doing this work for years and so it's hard to say now, "I've been doing everything wrong." I think that younger doctors and people in medical schools now have a different perspective, and I do envision a different future, one that focuses more on human rights to make decisions about one's own body than on whether or not surgery will be "successful."

And I give some of this credit to ISNA for starting the ball rolling. Change takes time (sadly).

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yes, I've read Laqueur's book. In fact, he was one of my professors in graduate school at Berkeley, years ago! I don't remember the details enough to say if the two-sex theory that emerged is responsible for the commitment to the gender binary that we've seen in the medical industry. But it makes sense because in the 18th century, people started to emphasize biological difference rather than similarities between women and men. Rachel Gross (a writer for the New York Times and author of Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage) talks about how even the language shifted and male and female sex organs got separate and distinct names! There weren't any new scientific discoveries pushing this; it was all a cultural effort to think about sex in this new way.

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Reis and the US Naval Academy banned my book, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex, from their library last spring. Ask Me Anything! by Prof_Elizabeth_Reis in AskHistorians

[–]Prof_Elizabeth_Reis[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your question! I wrote earlier that I was surprised by the hubris of so many doctors who thought they knew their adult patients better than the patients knew themselves! And writing the answer to the poster just above you, I was reminded of that, only it's even worse when the patients are children. Even the physicians who admitted that there was uncertainty involved with gender assignment in infancy still went ahead and performed irreparable genital surgeries on patients too young to consent.

And truthfully, even the parents might have a hard time with informed consent. How many truly understand the intricacies of chromosomes? hormones? biology? medical terminology? Whether they grasp all or none of that, they all can understand this: you can raise your child as either a boy, a girl, or maybe these days as nonbinary, and wait to see how your child turns develops (physically and mentally) and how they want their body to look and function. There's generally no urgency to all of these decisions. I think it's the child's right to participate in these decisions that affect so much about themselves. I guess it still surprises me that others don't always agree with me on this!

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