Intersex Society of North America
The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to represent the interest of intersex people. [1][need quotation to verify] Their objective was to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries.[2][3][need quotation to verify] The organization ended in June 2008.
ISNA later sought to promote the term disorders of sex development, and in 2006 released Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Disorders of Sex Development in Childhood. The organization closed in 2008,[4] and its founder Cheryl Chase moved on to help found Accord Alliance, an organization set up to promote comprehensive and integrated approaches to care that enhance the health and well-being of people and families affected by intersex (disorders of sex development), by promoting collaboration and shared decision-making between patients, families, clinicians, and researchers interested in improving care and health outcomes.[citation needed]
ISNA made various efforts to spread intersex activism, and were a resource for the Colombian court case decision on the surgical guidelines for intersex children.[5]
Patient-Centered Model
The ISNA advocated a move from what is called the Concealment-Centered Model to the Patient-Centered Model. This push was to move away from a model that teaches both that “intersex is a rare anatomical abnormality” and that there need to be immediate surgery to normalize the child’s abnormal genitals, and moved toward the idea that “intersex is a relatively common anatomical variation from the ‘standard’ male and female types”. The attempt is to treat intersex as something that is natural, as to not ostracize the intersex community.[6]
The Patient-Centered Model wants people with intersex to be treated with the same ethical principles doctors show everyone else. One of the main things this implies is that newborn intersex genitals should be operated on, unless there need to be in order to maintain the child’s physical health. People with intersex should be allowed to opt for genital reconstruction, if they want to, when they can fully consent for the operations themselves.[6]
The Patient-Centered Model also believes that “psychological distress is a legitimate concern and should be addressed by properly trained professionals”. This means that both people with intersex and family members who feel burdened in anyway should seek both the help of counselors trained in sex and gender issues and supports form a community of peers experiencing the same situation. This allows a network of support to help everyone through any trying times that might arise.[6]
While some, like Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, see this new model that focus mainly on the interests of the patient as a opportunity to move away “from an era of sexual dimorphism to one of variety beyond the number two”[7] (77), the ISNA still believes that “newborns with intersex should be given a gender assignment as boy or girl”.[8] There reasoning is that and they think it would be impossible to know where male ends and intersex begins or where female ends and intersex begins and they want to “make the world a safe place for intersex kids”, and they believe that marking them as a third gender would exile them.[6]
Intersex in the Sex Anatomy Spectrum
The Intersex Society of North America claims that intersex is a socially constructed label that reflects actual biological variation. These variations range from chromosomal deviations from the standard male or female body, to deviations in reproductive organs that may or may not be visually expressed, to hormonal variations. The ISNA lists ambiguous genitalia as a commonly cited case of intersex, but there exist variations of lesser degree.[9] The INSA claims that intersex anatomy is not always present at birth, and sometimes does not manifest until the age of puberty.[9] Considering the wide range of variations that are considered intersex, as well as the perceived socially-constructed nature of gender and biological sex, the ISNA places intersex within a sex anatomy spectrum. The ISNA's argument is that intersex individuals can be thought of as being on a spectrum or continuum, in which there are no clear demarcations of where male ends and female begins.[9]
References
- ^ Hackford-Peer, Kim (2005). Cheryl Chase Founds the Intersex Society of North America. in GLBT History, 1993-2004; 2005, p28-30, 2p
- ^ Matthews, Karen (Oct 22, 2000). Debate Grows Over Using Surgery on Infants with Ambiguous Genitals. Los Angeles Times
- ^ Murrell, Nancy (October 28, 1998). Intersex group raises questions about genital surgery. Miami Herald
- ^ Staff report (June 28, 2008). Farewell message. via ISNA.org
- ^ "Case 1 Part I (Sentencia SU-337/99)".
- ^ a b c d "Shifting the Paradigm of Intersex Treatment"
- ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne “Of Gender and Genitals” from Sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of sexuality New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000, [Chapter 3, pp. 44-77]
- ^ "What does ISNA recommend for children with intersex?"
- ^ a b c http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex