Navigating Intersex Realities: Perspectives on ethics, healthcare and activism

Abstract

This interdisciplinary panel seeks to enhance our understanding of intersex realities. The examination revolves around three interconnected lenses: ethics, healthcare, and activism. The diverse perspectives presented aim to stimulate dialogue and critical reflection on the challenges and opportunities within the intricate landscape of intersex experiences. Within intersex healthcare, three papers take center stage. The initial paper analyzes interviews conducted by Gijs Hablous with parents of intersex children and their healthcare professionals, unveiling struggles with binary language and gender norms. The second paper delves into the contentious role of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in intersex healthcare. Shana Riethof emphasizes the ethical dilemma of informing parents about atypical sex chromosomes. Martin Gramc's paper proposes a social model as an alternative to the dominant medical approach, incorporating disability studies. Two additional abstracts in the panel explore the evolution of intersex activism, acknowledging its pivotal role in shaping critiques of intersex healthcare. The first paper by Angelika von Wahl compares early intersex activism in the US and Germany. Despite the movements starting with similar grievances, the paper reveals divergent paths influenced by specific alliances and political structures. In the second paper, Audrey Aegerter explores the intricate dynamics of integrating intersex identities within LGBTI activism, unveiling a spectrum of viewpoints and temporal challenges. Throughout the panel, the discussion centers on temporalities. At every stage of a person's life with intersex traits, decisions impacting their long-term experience are made. Prenatal and postnatal healthcare decisions are pivotal, and shaped by social norms. In adulthood, strategic decision-making regarding political alliances becomes crucial to safeguard one's interests. Overall, intersex activism is acknowledged as a catalyst for critical examinations and reforms in intersex healthcare.

Title	Details
Breaking or Bending Binaries? How Gender Norms Constrain and Enable Parents of Intersex Children and Healthcare Professionals	View Paper Details
The politics of disclosure: prenatal testing for intersex variations in Belgium	View Paper Details
Uncertainty in Care for Intersex People: Medical Model vs. Social Model of Disability?	View Paper Details
Seen But Not Heard: Early Intersex Activism in the US and Germany	View Paper Details
Intersecting identities: revisiting intersex inclusion in LGBTI Activism	View Paper Details