Honesty is the Best Policy

      First of all I'd like to say I was astounded (and a little confused) by all the many complex different "conditions" (as doctors would say) of intersex individuals, the different surgeries that are performed to change those individuals, and their resulting sexualities and quality of life. There are so many different combinations that it is no wonder that doctors, parents and inevitably the patients are left confused by the outcome.
      I understand that everything done in the hospital, and in raising the intersex child is done trying to make the best possible quality of life for the child, but I was shocked at the sheer amount of lying, and indirect truths that have been said to parents and children alike. I do not think the doctors should be at blame given that they are just trying to fit each intersex child they encounter into the correct binary sex category as dictated by society. However something needs to be changed to better the lives of intersex children. I do not believe that keeping the truth about surgeries from parents and children is ethical, and I do not believe it is ethical either for babies to have their genitals changed as they have no say in the matter (an exception is to be made however for the cases where the baby's life is at stake). Unfortunately our culture is such that only two sexes are seen as acceptable, male and female. Any combination of the two is seen as abnormal and must be fixed so that the individual can be categorized as one sex.
     I do not expect that this binary sex system will change anywhere in the near future (since it is so rigid within our society), and so I would like to advocate for Fausto-Sterling's idea of allowing intersex children to at least grow older and decide for themselves which gender they would prefer to be. Then they may undergo surgery if they choose. Choice is something that is clearly missing from the lives of intersex children, and I, believe that it is their right to have it back. Reading about the different cases that Fausto-Sterling brought up in this chapter made it clear to me that these individuals felt like they were missing something from their life. The stress, confusion, and often lack of identity intersex individuals face could be alleviated by greater freedom.
     And for those circumstances that surgery is performed, I think it should be a requirement that doctors disclose the full details, at least to the parents, of what their child is going through. While the doctors are trying to shelter and protect the children so that they can grow up believing they are "normal", it simply isn't right that they don't know. Sure, it might lead to an easier, less complicated day for doctor, parents and child, but at the end of it all, I'm sure the child will  be better off knowing the truth about their identity. Then if they ever had that nagging feeling that they didn't quite fit in, they could know why. They could make informed decisions about how they want to lead their lives, not how the doctors want them to lead their lives.