Search

It is well-documented that schools fail to adequately engage with contemporary content about intersex awareness and education or inclusion of people with intersex variations. Where sexuality and relationships education are the remit of Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum in countries such as Australia, the learning area shows little obligation/response-ability towards the needs of students with intersex variations. It also fails to pay nuanced attention to non-dominant issues, knowledge, or people with respect to sex, gender and sexuality. Similarly, the normative endosex nature/focus of HPE/PE/sport and related professional education bodies (e.g. in teaching and coaching) ignore the need for relevant and affirming content about intersex bodies. A recent project reported here, created a collective narrative addressing how such HPE bodies of learning and teaching can advocate for and enact approaches that are inclusive, affirming, visible, and supportive in promoting and upholding the human rights and health needs of students with intersex variations. The research question driving the project was: What part can HPE bodies of learning and teaching play concerning intersex awareness and education? This original empirical research draws on the methodology and theory of narrative inquiry. The narrative was created between artefacts from a cohort of second year Australian pre-service HPE teacher education students in dialogue with teacher/researcher/expert/author bodies. The paper employs a recently developed Strategic Framework for intersex inclusion that promotes a positive whole-school approach, for educational institutions to be more inclusive, humane, safe and educationally relevant for people with intersex variations. This framework assists critical reflection on project findings. We argue that such engagement, as illustrated in this project's scope, promotes a positive and diverse understanding about intersex in educational spaces, curriculum and pedagogies, guidelines, and policies, and ultimately reflect Australian Human Rights Commission recommendations and Australian anti-discrimination legislation.

Purpose: This paper examines the subjective experience of medical interventions on intersex bodies to reduce cancer risk. Methods: Twenty-five individuals with intersex variations took part in semi-structured interviews, analysed through thematic discourse analysis. Results: Intersex bodies were positioned as inherently sick and in need of modification, with cancer risk legitimating surgical and hormonal intervention. This resulted in embodied shame, with negative impacts on fertility and sexual wellbeing. However, many participants resisted discourses of bio-pathologisation and embraced intersex status. Some medical interventions, such as HRT, were perceived to have increased the risk of cancer. Absence of informed consent, and lack of information about intersex status and the consequences of medical intervention, was positioned as a human rights violation. This was compounded by ongoing medical mismanagement, including health care professional lack of understanding of intersex variations, and the objectification or stigmatization of intersex people within healthcare. The consequence was non-disclosure of intersex status in health contexts and lack of trust in health care professionals. Conclusions: The legitimacy of poorly-evidenced cancer risk discourses to justify medical intervention on intersex bodies needs to be challenged. Healthcare practitioners need to be provided with education and training about cultural safety practices for working with intersex people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with intersex variation/s have sex characteristics determined by reproductive anatomy or chromosomal, gonadal, or hormonal expressions that are not typical of medical and societal norms for male or female bodies and are widely subjected to irreversible medical interventions at an early age to reinforce sex assignment. These interventions may be accompanied by experiences of lack of autonomy for the individual and, at times, lack of fully informed consent on the part of the individual or their parents/carers. People with intersex variations additionally experience high rates of mental health concerns relating to stigma, discrimination and poor healthcare experiences. The intersections between LGBTQ identities and intersex variations are poorly understood but are important given a high proportion of people with intersex variations identify as LGBTQ. This study explored associations between healthcare experiences and mental health outcomes among 46 LGBTQ people aged between 18 and 67 years old with intersex variations in Australia. Findings provide evidence of associations between suicidal thinking, suicidal attempts, depression or anxiety and negative healthcare experiences, including limited autonomy and consent, and challenges accessing psychological support. These highlight the need for further research and proactive intervention to advance human rights and improve health outcomes for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersex people have diverse bodies and identities but are unified by experiences of pathologisation, enduring human rights violations, stigmatisation, and mental health issues stemming from shame and secrecy. Medical interventions aimed at mitigating inferred psychosocial or parental distress occur without substantial evidence of their benefit and have been found to be themselves, stigmatising. Medically unnecessary and non-consensual interventions have been identified as human rights violations. Access to psychosocial and peer support for intersex people has been inconsistently facilitated by clinical multidisciplinary teams and intersex people are at danger of epistemic injustice in healthcare settings. A manuscript of 26 collated narratives written and illustrated by people aged 18–87 with intersex lived experience (N = 17) was examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate and 13 constituent themes emerged describing experiences of trauma and posttraumatic growth. Narratives depicted how experiences of systematic pathologisation of intersex bodies were negatively internalised and affected sense of self, family function, and social agency. Posttraumatic growth was facilitated through overcoming epistemic injustice, developing self-acceptance and increasing social connection. The findings are discussed in terms of posttraumatic growth and their implication for development of affirmative healthcare services for intersex people and the importance of psychosocial support as a primary intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]