Doctors Reevaluate “Disorders of Sex Development”!
“Based on their results, the authors recommend that the DSD term be updated through a collaborative effort between the medical, research and advocacy communities.”
— from “Term ‘Disorders of Sex Development’ May Have Negative Impact”
OII and OII-USA have advocated against the stigmatizing, harmful term “Disorders of Sex Development/DSD” since it was introduced in 2006, and we are thrilled to finally see this development! Big thanks to Dr. Emilie K. Johnson for authoring this article, and to the AIS-DSD Support group for conducting the study which informs it.
Disorder should not imply a pathology, it may suggest an order of embryological events other than the average / normal.
Misnomers should be avoided and stigmatizing words should be omitted.
I look forward to online capacity building programs for doctors like myself, and other healthcare providers so they can start practicing patient centered care-giving in regions like Pakistan.