Main Menu
Projects
Resources
© 2003-2005 Intersex Initiative
Unless otherwise indicated, you may copy, reprint, distribute, and even modify contents of this web site under the Creative Commons license.
Note: Information contained in the back issue of newsletter may be outdated.
Hello friends of IPDX,
First of all, welcome to the 42 people from PSU & PCC classes (in which I presented this week) who have just signed up to receive ipdxWIRE Digest, an electronic newsletter from Intersex Initiative! I'm so happy that many of you expressed interest in doing some volunteer work for IPDX.
Speaking of which, we are holding our 2004 Speakers & Activist training on SATURDAY, MARCH 27 at Portland State University. This all-day training is originally designed for people who wish to join the speaker's bureau, but we've found that it's just a good general intro to people who wish to volunteer in other ways, so we are opening it up for everyone who is interested in joining the movement to end shame, secrecy and unwanted cosmetic surgeries on children's genitals. You do not need to have an intersex condition to become a speaker or an activist; in fact, we will specifically address as part of the training the question of what it means to speak out as an ally.
If you are interested in joining us for the Speaker & Activist training, please download the application from <http://www.ipdx.org/speakers/>. The form may look intimidating, but please don't feel so intimidated that you won't join--if you have any problem with the format or the language of the application, please feel free to contact us.
Also, please spread the word about the training to anyone who might be interested in getting involved! (We do have a limited space for people from other activist or social service agencies who wish to learn about intersex--please inquire.)
Finally, we are tabling at PSU (Feb. 13 and 15) and PCC (Feb. 14) for "The Vagina Monologues" and I'd love it if some of you could table with me. This will give you the chance to learn more about the organization and talk about how you can get involved. You can see the play, too. And if you can't table with me but wish to start doing something before March 27, then we'll set up a time to meet and talk about possibilities--please email and let me know when you have the time to get together.
Thanks everyone for your support!
#####
Meanwhile: The latest headlines from ipdxWIRE Intersex News:
STUDY QUESTIONS SEX CHANGE FOR CHILDREN WITH CLOACAL EXSTROPHY
"Boys will be boys" and "nature trumps nurture" were two of the cliché expressions echoed throughout the media as they reported the latest findings by Johns Hopkins researchers (and intersex allies) William G. Reiner and John P. Gearhart on genetic males assigned as females at birth due to cloacal exstrophy. "Cloacal exstrophy" is a rare medical condition in which the development of lower abdominal wall structures is incomplete, causing a portion of the child's intestines to be exposed outside of the body. It can occur in both genetic males as well as females, but gender assignment becomes a concern in the case of genetic males with cloacal exstrophy, where the penis is short, absent, or split in half. Over the past 25 years, it was standard practice for these genetic males to be assigned female sex, with corresponding genital "reconstructive" surgeries.
FULL STORY AT: <http://www.intersexinitiative.org/news/000103.html>
PRO-SURGERY DOCTORS CONTINUE TO NEGLECT PATIENTS, REFUSE DISCUSSION
Harvard Medical School physicians David MacLaughlin and Patricia Donahoe published review article in the January 22, 2004 issue of New England Journal of Medicine--the same issue in which a paper questioning sex change surgery for genetically and hormonally male intersex children was also published. MacLaughlin and Donahoe are ardent supporters of the surgery-centered medical approach to intersexuality and frequent contributor to medical journals; Donahoe has co-authored one of the most influential textbook chapters on intersex treatment, which endorsed the surgical quick-fix...
FULL STORY AT: <http://www.intersexinitiative.org/news/000130.html>
WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO HER MRKH DAUGHTER'S TWIN BABIES
As reported in The Times of India and elsewhere, a British woman gave birth to twin boy and girl who are genetically her grandchildren. The grandmother agreed to become the surrogate mother because the twins' genetic mother had a congenital condition in which her uterus and a few other reproductive organs are missing--but her ovary was intact and could provide an ova for IVF treatment. Her condition is known as MRKH--Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster Hauser syndrome (simply referred to as the "Rokitansky syndrome" in the article)--and occurs in about one in 5,000 women. For more information about MRKH, see MRKH.org, a Boston-based support organization for women born with MRKH and related conditions.
URL: <http://www.intersexinitiative.org/news/000131.html>
#####
Emi Koyama
Director, Intersex Initiative
<http://www.intersexinitiative.org/>
To subscribe to ipdxWIRE Digest, the newsletter of Intersex Initiative, enter your email address in the field below and click "Subscribe." Our newsletter is low-volume (1-2 times a month) and we will not sell or give away your email address to anyone else, so it won't clog your mailbox. In addition, each message sent to ipdxWIRE Digest will have a link you can use to quickly unsubscribe if you choose to do so.