Books on Intersex Health at the UCSF Library
Bodies in doubt : an American history of intersex by Call Number: RC883 .R45 2009ISBN: 0801891558Publication Date: 2009Traces the history of intersexuality in the United States, including conceptual confusion and the conflation of intersexuality with same-sex intimacy.
Between XX and XY : intersexuality and the myth of two sexes by Call Number: RC883 .C35 2009ISBN: 1556527853Publication Date: 2009Discusses historical and ideological reasons for the reduction of physical sexual variation to only two sexes, surgery and resulting problems, and alternative approaches.
Intersex and after by Call Number: RC883 H38 2009ISBN: 9780822367055Publication Date: 2009An edited collection discussing social, surgical, and treatment dimensions of intersex health.
Critical intersex by Call Number: RC883 .C75 2009ISBN: 0754673111Publication Date: 2009An edited collection exploring medical practices, legal constructions, and disability issues concerning intersex identity.
Fixing sex : intersex, medical authority, and lived experience by Call Number: QP267 .K37 2008ISBN: 0822343185Publication Date: 2008Discusses social categorizations of intersexuality since the 1950s, questioning traditional medical paradigms and approaches, and concluding with activism by intersexed people as a challenge to medical "fixes."
Intersex by Call Number: RC883 .H37 2007ISBN: 1845201833Publication Date: 2007Tells the stories of numerous intersex people, describes the most frequent sexual variations, and considers changes in standards of care.
Ethics and intersex by Call Number: RC883 .E84 2006 & RC883 .E84 2006ebISBN: 1402043139Publication Date: 2006Contains 20 chapters contributed by a variety of scholars, analyzing historical and technological conditions and future alternatives. Available as both an e-book and print title through the UCSF Library.
Intersex and identity : the contested self by Call Number: RC883 .P74 2003ISBN: 0813532299Publication Date: 2003Discusses surgical sex assignment, the often resulting stigma, secrecy and shame, and the implications of intersex social and political mobilization.
Sexing the body : gender politics and the construction of sexuality by Call Number: HQ1075 .F38 2000ISBN: 0465077145Publication Date: 2000Discusses intersexuality within the history of binary gender and gender oppression.
Intersex in the age of ethics by Call Number: RC883 .I58 1999ISBN: 1555721257Publication Date: 1999An edited collection including both research articles by academic theorists and activist articles by writers in the intersex movement.
Hermaphrodites and the medical invention of sex by Call Number: RC883 .D695 1998ISBN: 0674089278Publication Date: 1998Explores the complex medical history of "hermaphroditism" and forms of treatment of intersexed people.
Intersex Health Organizations and Resources
Image by jemufo via Flickr (Creative Commons)
A controversy has risen in recent years over the question of intersex health and medical treatment. Intersex people are not easy to categorize in male/female terms because of atypical or ambiguous genitalia, chromosomes, or bodily organs.
Since the late 1950s, intersex infants have routinely been surgically altered to conform as much as possible to a selected gender. Surgery has been followed by hormone treatment and often by shame and secrecy within the child's family.
In many cases intersex people have had painful and unsuccessful adjustments to surgery and arbitrary gender assignment. Activists argue that surgery should not occur or should be deferred to the intersex individual's mature decision.
- Accord AllianceAccord Alliance seeks to enhance the health and well-being of intersex people and their families, and to collaborate with clinicians and researchers on intersex issues. The organization has created a model of intersex health and clinical guidelines calling for interdisciplinary healthcare teams.
- Clinical Guidelines & Handbook for Parents (Accord Alliance)This page offers Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Disorders of Sex Development in Childhood, and a Handbook for Parents dealing with the health of intersex children.
- Organisation Intersex International (OII) - USAA global advocacy group for intersex people, takes issue with the "disorders of sex development" (DSD) terminology used by other organizations.
- Intersex Society of North America (ISNA)This organization is no longer active, but maintains its website with an electronic archive of FAQs and resources.
- MedlinePlus: IntersexProduced by the National Library of Medicine, this MedlinePlus resource discusses a variety of intersex conditions and treatment approaches, and offers support organizations.
- A Human Rights Investigation into the "Normalization" of Intersex PeopleThis 2005 report by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission takes a strong position against invasive "normalization" of intersex people during infancy.