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ipdxWIRE Digest for September 7, 2003
Hi everyone! Yes the summer is almost over and we are about to kick off the Speaker's Bureau for real. We'll be doing mailing in the next couple of weeks, so if you know some professor or student organization or grassroots nonprofit that might be interested in having us present about intersex, do send us their contact info. Meanwhile, below are some of the recent headlines/summaries from ipdxWIRE Intersex News:
British Surgeons call for Less Drastic Treatment for Intersex Children (09/07/2003)
"Laurence Rangecroft of the Royal Victoria Infirmary of Newcastle, U.K. published a paper in the latest issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood on behalf of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons Working Party on the Surgical Management of Children Born With Ambiguous Genitalia, which has been meeting for the past several years. In the 3-page report, Rangecroft calls for full disclosure of information, true informed consent, and a more restrained use of surgical procedures to treat children born with intersex conditions..."
(See http://www.ipdx.org/news/000045.html for more)
Intersex People As "Saviours of Humankind"? (09/03/2003)
"Australian genomics expert Dr. Jenny Graves of Australian National University is visiting New Zealand this week, giving a series of lectures about the 'decline of the Y chromosome and the future of humankind.' Among the arguments made by Graves, according to the press release and the handout prepared for Graves' talk, is the fantastic claim that 'humans might separate into two different species' as the result of the Y chromosome's shedding of genes over evolutionary timeframe, and 'how intersex individuals... could be the saviours of humankind.' Whoa. Wow. Damn..."
(See http://www.ipdx.org/news/000044.html for more)
Groundbreaking Japanese Comic Depicts Intersex Experiences (09/01/2003)
"'IS: Otoko demo onna demo nai sei (translation: the sex that is neither male or female)' is a groundbreaking new comic series by Chiyo Rokuhana, coming from the world capitol of the 'manga' (comic) subculture. Based on interviews the author conducted with intersex individuals, each episode of 'IS' (which spans about 100 pages) tells a multidimentional human story of an intersex person who lives and breathes in Japan. Our friends in Japan kindly sent us the September 2003 issue of One More Kiss, a romantic comic magazine for twenty-something Japanese women, in which the second episode of Rokuhana's 'IS' is published...."
(See http://www.ipdx.org/news/000043.html for more)
Hastings Center Report Features A Discussion Over Informed Consent and Cultural Values (08/30/2003)
"There is an interesting discussion in the July/August issue of The Hastings Center Report, published by The Hastings Center, over a complicated 'case' of treating a child with intersex conditions. The child, a thirteen-year old boy, was brought in for treatment for his hypospadias, breast development, and occasional bleeding through the urethra. It turns out that the child was genotypically female (46,XX) with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and had functioning ovaries and a uterus; the bleeding was in fact menstruation..."
(See http://www.ipdx.org/news/000042.html for more)
New England Journal of Medicine Acknowledges the Impact of Intersex Movement (08/24/2003)
"In the review article recently published in New England Journal of Medicine, pediatricians Phyllis W. Speiser and Perrin C. White briefly acknowledges the impact of intersex patient advocacy organizing. They state: 'Retrospective reviews suggest that both the cosmetic and functional outcomes of genital surgery procedures as formerly practiced were often unsatisfactory. Surgery during adolescence is often fraught with psychological and technical difficulties... Patient-advocacy groups have appealed to physicians to inform families about all the potential surgical pitfalls so that they can carefully consider whether and when surgery should be done. In addition, there is now heightened awareness of the need for psychological support for families with an affected child. Respect for patients' privacy has led to fewer genital examinations during childhood and adolescence.'..."
(See http://www.ipdx.org/news/000041.html for more)
Intersex Births Almost As Bad As Perinatal Death? (08/19/2003)
"There is an article about intersexuality in the new issue of Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, an Australian medical journal. Written by Low and Hutson of the Centre for Early Sexual Development at Royal Children's Hospital in Parkville, Australia, the article gives a basic technical overview of understanding and diagnosing several intersex conditions. While the article does not address any particular treatment for these conditions, authors' biases are obvious in the first line of the article: 'Next to perinatal death, genital ambiguity is likely the most devastating condition to face any parent of a newborn.'..."
(See http://www.ipdx.org/news/000040.html for more)
For older news about intersex and ipdx, visit http://www.ipdx.org/
Thanks for your support!
Emi Koyama
Director, Intersex Initiative
http://www.ipdx.org/
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