Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice
Abstract
Babies are born intersexed, with ambiguous genitalia or other reproductive anatomical features, every day. Physical sexual ambiguity occurs frequently, affecting approximately one in 2000 births. Most infants born intersexed are surgically and hormonally altered to reflect the sexual anatomy associated with "standard" female or male sex assignment. This article explores the mobilization and methods of intersex individuals and their allies to destigmatize intersexuality and to alter the medical treatment they receive. I explore the intersex movement's use of mass media as a strategic activist tool and the implications of this mobilization for cultural and medical reform, arguing that media attention to intersex medicalization has been instrumental in initiating clinical reform.
Disciplines
Constitutional Law | Fourteenth Amendment | Human Rights Law | Law | Law and Gender | Medical Jurisprudence | Sexuality and the Law
Recommended Citation
Sharon E. Preves,
Out of the O.R. and into the Streets: Exploring the Impact of Intersex Media Activism,
12
Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just.
247
(2005).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol12/iss1/15
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, Fourteenth Amendment Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Medical Jurisprudence Commons, Sexuality and the Law Commons