The issue of medical and social treatment of intersex individuals will be addressed today during a discussion hosted by the Undergraduate Bioethics Society.
Intersex individuals are people with a wide variety of physical abnormalities that cause the genitals to differ from the "normal" conception of male or female anatomy, said Alice Dreger, a Lyman Briggs associate professor.
"We like to increase awareness about some of the ethical issues concerned with reproductive health in this society," said Annika Storey, chairwoman of the society and a physiology senior.
Dreger will lead the discussion, "Gender, Sex and Ethics," at 7:30 p.m. in 116 Farrall Hall, also known as the Agricultural Engineering Building.
Dreger is considered to be an expert on the issue of intersex people both from a medical and an ethical standpoint, Storey said. Dreger is involved with the intersex rights movement and has written several books on issues surrounding intersexuality.
The expected format of the discussion includes an introduction by Dreger on the topic and then a question-and-answer session.
Franny Howes, external vice chairwoman of the Alliance of Lesbian, Bi, Gay and Transgender Students, said the social aspect of identifying as intersex is an often overlooked hurdle for individuals to overcome.
There is often pressure for intersex people, as children or adults, to receive a surgery to normalize their genitals, Howes said.
"Our culture has a serious problem with people who don't fit its norms and will become violent against them - and this is an incidence of that," said Howes, a social relations senior.
There are a wide variety of treatments, including surgery, which is controversial, and hormones, to control the gender of intersex individuals, Dreger said.
Surgery, however, is not the best way to treat intersexuality, she said, as it can cause negative emotional backlashes, even if a child does not remember the procedures.
"A lot of medical centers have the impression surgery makes it go away, but it just leaves you with genitals that look strange," Dreger said. "Most psychiatrists don't think that's the right way to treat it."
Counseling is an important aspect in regards to intersex individuals because of the trauma often experienced from surgery or the pressure of hiding the ambiguity of a child's gender, Dreger said.
Howes said the pressure to be reassigned a gender and fit that conception is damaging.
"It usually impairs sexual function and is emotionally difficult for people," Howes said. "I can't speak from personal experience, but this is a pretty big issue there is consensus on."
Storey said she hopes today's discussion today spur questions and debates about these issues and more. The society is expecting about 40-60 people.
"There are social aspects in medicine and medical aspects in sociology," she said. "You can't have one without the other, both will be equally represented."
