Biomedical Ethics
Katrina Karkazis and Rebecca Jordan-Young on Olympic sex testing
An important podcast by Stanford School of Medicine: Olympic athletes potentially face new sex verification policies following the controversial investigation of South African runner Caster Semenya, who was tested repeatedly to prove she was female. Stanford medical anthropologist Katrina Karkazis, PhD, and Rebecca Jordan-Young, PhD, a sociomedical scientist at Barnard College, challenge the proposed policies…
Read MoreReexamining Rationales of “Fairness”: An Athlete and Insider’s Perspective on the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite Female Athletes
OII global chair, Hida Viloria, and former Olympic athlete Maria Jose Martínez-Patino write in The American Journal of Bioethics on proposed policies by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the IOC relating to hyperandrogenism in women athletes (but notably not male athletes). Read full article Reexamining Rationales of Fairness An Athlete and Insider s…
Read More“Out of Bounds? A Critique of the New Policies on Hyperandrogenism in Elite Female Athletes”
Katrina Karkazis, Rebecca Jordan-Young, Georgiann Davis and Silva Comporesi write in The American Journal of Bioethics on new IAAF/IOC policies on hyperandrogenism in female athletes: In May 2011, more than a decade after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) abandoned sex testing, they devised new policies in response…
Read MoreOII Australa/OII NZ release submission on DSM-5 and SOC-7
OII Australia, together with OII Aotearoa/NZ, has recently released a submission [PDF] to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), regarding the draft Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition. Submission short url: http://tinyurl.com/bud47jq The APA is the body that, until 1973, classified homosexuality as a mental disorder. The APA currently regards gender non-conformity to…
Read MoreOnline petition for the United States government to end intersex genital mutilation – IGM
AN intersex activist in the United States of America has placed a petition online, asking for the end of intersex genital mutilation – IGM – in that country. Female genital mutilation – FGM – is illegal in the US but intersex genital mutilation continues unabated. Melissa Lynn’s petition is directed at Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department…
Read MoreOn Health Care for 2012
“Being intersex is often treated as a medical issue, simply because we’re different. Just as being male or female is not a medical issue, although there are specific health issues specific to being male or female, neither is being intersex. Intersex people simply have a naturally occurring variation — just like having red hair —…
Read MoreIntersex and Medically Unnecessary, Irreversible Treatments
Discriminatory Views Create Discriminatory Medical Treatment Author: Hida Viloria, Chairperson, Organisation Intersex International (OII) Note: A small percentage of intersex variations sometimes require medical attention for immediate health reasons. This treatment is necessary, and is not what I am referring to below. People who promote nonconsensual genital surgeries and/or hormone therapy for intersex infants and children…
Read MoreOII’s Petition to the IOC: Depathologization & Fair Policies for Intersex Athletes
OII’s Human Rights Spokesperson, writer and activist Hida Viloria, has authored a petition to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on behalf of the Organization intersex international (OII). The petition was inspired by the negligent, discriminatory treatment of South African track star Caster Semenya, who, on August 19th, 2009, had her gold medal and her…
Read MoreIntersex and Identity: The Contested Self
Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self (Rutgers University Press, 2003), by Sharon Preeves, is a groundbreaking text about intersex people, our identities and medical treatment. Professor Preeves is a professor and chair of the Sociology Department and director of the Public Health Sciences Program at Hamline University who recently served as a faculty research collaborator…
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