Main Menu
Resources
Projects
© Intersex Initiative
Unless otherwise indicated, you may copy, reprint, distribute, and even modify contents of this web site under the Creative Commons license.
Women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) are more likely to report unsatisfactory sexual experience, according to a group of researchers led by the British intersex experts and intersex allies Catherine Minto and Sarah Creighton. But not all of their difficulties can be explained by their physiological difference.
In the new study published in July 2003 issue of Fertility and Sterility, they state: "We found that 90% of women with CAIS in this study had sexual difficulties when compared with the general female population, most commonly sexual infrequency and vaginal penetration difficulty; 77% perceived their vagina as small, but on genital examination only 35% had vaginal hypoplasia."
Obviously, the physical condition of vaginal hypoplasia (i.e. short or narrow vagina) would cause sexual intercourse to be less successful, but researchers also suggest a social factor, that is "negative psychological adaptation to living with an intersex condition." Thus, simply extending the size of vagina via surgery or dilation may not be enough for many CAIS women to have satisfactory sexual experiences, and in fact vaginoplasty may actually contribute to creating more psychological barriers if it is done in shaming, secretive, and unconsentual ways.
Authors argue that any treatment for vaginal hypoplasia needs to be evaluated on the basis of long-term sexual function, quality of life, and satisfaction, rather than simply measuring the size. They also urge clinical providers to incorporate multidisciplinary approach to address patients' psychological as well as physical needs.
Source: Minto CL, Liao KL, Conway GS, Creighton SM. (2003). "Sexual function in women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome." Fertility and Sterility, 80(1): 157-164.
Minto, Creighton and colleagues also published a response to the "Consensus Statement on 21-hydroxylase Deficiency," a position paper released last year by the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society and the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology. We haven't read this paper yet, but here's the citation in case you are interested:
Creighton S, Ransley P, Duffy P, Wilcox D, Mushtaq I, Cuckow P, Woodhouse C, Minto C, Crouch N, Stanhope R, Hughes I, Dattani M, Hindmarsh P, Brain C, Achermann J, Conway G, Liao LM, Barnicoat A, Perry L. (2003). "Regarding the consensus statement on 21-hydroxylase deficiency from the lawson wilkins pediatric endocrine society and the European society for paediatric endocrinology." Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 88(7): 3455.
Posted by Emi on Jul 10, 2003