Monday, July 29, 2019
The Medical Practices Pertaining to Gender
I've been taking a Women's Studies class this summer and also reading Brave New World. Once you take a Women's Studies course you cant think about anything else because it affects the whole world around you. I got to thinking, and this is a stretch, about gender and the way that we handle it in our society. The way of procreation in Brave New World led me to think about this topic but gender is an interesting topic to write about. Until very recently the common medical practice was to perform surgery on intersex babies (babies with both male and female genitalia) and raise them as girls often without their knowledge. Now its recommended to wait for children to reach puberty although doctors and/or parents may still choose to do surgery on infants. I guess what i'm asking is, Do you think this is ethical? why or why not?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
As of right now, I am unable to root for or against cosmetic surgery on intersex infants. Performing this type of surgery is essentially life changing. I would agree to allowing a doctor perform this surgery only because I wouldn't want my child to feel abnormal and frustrated with their body as they grow older. Even though as a mother I would encourage body positivity as much as possible, it can be extremely hard to come into terms with such a condition. However, I am a very avid supporter of freedom of choice. The gender of my child is not my choice and I'd want to respect whatever they feel best represents them. Even more, they might even have intersex pride and decide that they don't want to conform to societal norms. That being said, I'd most likely wait till my child has a say in the matter.
ReplyDeleteHonesty, this is a difficult question to answer because someone will always be on the opposing side. Also, it makes it even more difficult, since we have't gone through what those parents had to. Is it ethical to do that surgery on infants? Well, I do not know, but I know that when the infants grow up they will not know anything different. Therefore, I can't really form an opinion on this topic.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I would like to make an analogy, but note that it isn't has serious as performing a surgery. For example, I was only a baby when I got my ears pierced. This is a decision made by my mother to put holes in my earlobes, so I can wear jewelry. It is permanent and can't be undid. Therefore, was it right for my mother to change my body without my consent? Well, again I can't form an opinion on this question either, because she only did what the majority of society does. Most women have their ears pierced, so she wanted me to have my ears pierced. Similarly, that is what the parents that have decided to perform this surgery essentially want for their children. I don't know if there is a health benefit to performing the surgery, but I guess parents just want their children to live a "normal" life. Just to state, but I do not believe piercing a baby's ears is as severe of a process as changing the sex of your infant. I just wanted to make a more simple comparison to this complex surgery. I do know that my example of pierced ears isn't lie changing as the intersex surgery is, and not at all am I trying to say it is.