Gender Assignment

Summary of a 1998 Mademoiselle article about intersex activist Angela Moreno in which she describes the lingering effects of her gender assignment surgery.

An article by Deborah E. Brown, Director Intersex Support Group International, urging parents to avoid early invasive treatments.

Text of a New York Times article examining the legal issue of gender assignment surgery and comparing the practice to female genital mutilation.

Draft statement of the Working Party on the surgical management of children born with ambiguous genitalia. Lists the members of the party, defines the various conditions that cause ambiguous genitalia, and gives references. Also has an appendix describing the forms of clitoral surgery, their indications, and their effects.

An article examining the nature vs. nuture argument that encourages parents to make an informed decision about whether or not to consent to surgery.

A letter from Cheryl Chase, Executive Director, Intersex Society of North America to a judge in Colombia, South America expressing the opinion that choices involving sexual identity and cosmetic genital surgery should be left to the patient.

Article from Johns Hopkins Magazine about William Reiner and his change of heart with regards to the treatment of intersexed children.

Article from Ms. Magazine tracing the history of clitoridectomy from the 1800s when it was used to prevent masturbation to the modern practice of assigning gender to sexually ambiguous children.

An editorial with references and responses arguing that most vaginal surgery in children should be deferred.

Doctor's Peter Lee and Philip Gruppuso argue the issue of whether cosmetic surgery should be performed on children born with ambiguous genitals.

Summary of a symposium titled "Genitals, Identity, and Gender," at the 1995 convention of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex.

Article from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine examining the sex of rearing, the long term outcomes of feminization, and the patient's view. Includes references.

Story of an anonymous baby boy who was turned into a girl by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1967 after the boy's penis was burned by an electro-cautery needle during circumcision.