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Intersex people suffer human rights abuses and harms because of non-consensual early medical interventions. They have historically been rendered outside of welfare regimes and equality, diversity and inclusion policies, or forcibly subsumed within sex-binaried institutions. This article draws on critical intersex studies to interrogate the policy silences and collusions that have taken place regarding intersex people's suffering. Using Ireland and England as case studies, we show that current formations of equality and diversity policies are inadequate in relation to intersex issues. Analysis of policy documents from Ireland and the UK using Bacchi's method reveals the erasure and/or marginalisation of intersex people, despite some stated commitments to gender and sexual equality. We conclude that there is a pressing need for social policy work around intersex issues and for reform to support intersex people's equality, diversity and inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersex people experience a range of human rights abuses, including non-consensual, irreversible medical interventions on minors. These abuses have lifelong effects, yet little is known about older intersex people. People in this diverse group face multiple marginalisations and erasures across different policy and practice arenas. This article reviews literature about intersex issues, drawing out materials relevant to older intersex people using an historically grounded approach. It focuses on the key issues affecting older intersex people living in a range of countries in the global North, as harmful medical practices originated in this region. Based on existing evidence, we found a pressing need for medical reform including a cessation of harmful medical practices and the development of appropriate healthcare that centres the needs and wishes of each intersex person. As intersex issues are currently heavily erased in most countries, research, cross-sectoral policy and practice work, and awareness-raising are all needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersex has been a topic of much discussion in courses on sex and gender in the academy. Rather than focusing on what intersex people I are, i this growing body of work has examined the challenges that intersex people face, which include systematic oppression, discrimination and human rights violations (Ghattas [24]; FRA [21]; Carpenter [5]; Crocetti et al. [10]). Intersex activists and advocates have asserted the human rights of intersex people, including the right to freedom from discrimination; the right to protection from torture and other cruel, harmful or degrading treatment; and the right to health (Horowicz [30]; Behrens [2]). Intersex rights movements and a range of international organisations and supranational legal bodies (including the United Nations, the Council of Europe and Yogyakarta Principles + 10) condemn cosmetic medical interventions on intersex minors and the routine termination of intersex foetuses on grounds of medical "abnormality" (Holmes [31]; Crocetti et al. [10]). [Extracted from the article]

Agency-based approaches to the health of intersex people and those with DSD focus on bodily autonomy and the cessation of normalising medical interventions until an under-age person can exercise fully informed choice regarding treatment. Discussions regarding intersex agency and health care can be inspired by the social model of health that emerged from disability theory. However, a purely social model is insufficient to address the harms that has been caused by DSD medical interventions, and the healthcare needs that some intersex people have. Drawing on original empirical research conducted in Italy, Switzerland and the UK, this article explores agency-based approaches to intersex and DSD, incorporating the social model's critique of the pathologisation of bodily diversities, whilst supporting the provision of effective healthcare where needed. The article addresses healthcare deficits and their cultural underpinnings. It identifies key impediments to intersex agency, including body normativity and sex and gender binarism. While there has been slight movement towards an agency-based approach to intersex in some national medical settings in the last ten years, there is still a need for change to the conceptualisation of intersex/DSD and subsequent revisions to healthcare provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This think piece provides a critical analysis of the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) from an international perspective that draws on citizenship studies, providing some indications of the implications for LGBTQ studies. It outlines difficulties with the LGBTQ acronym in the Global North and South. Internationally, scholarship to support the human rights of non-heterosexuals and gender-diverse people is badly needed, but the think piece concludes that it is crucial to consider the social context of different cases, and to address the materialist, cultural, neo-colonial, and other forces that affect the formation of non-heterosexual and gender-diverse identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship studies is highly relevant to understanding intersex, variations of sex characteristics (VSC), and Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), yet little scholarship exists to date about intersex citizenship. This article outlines and develops the foundations for a distinctive intersex citizenship studies, addressing health citizenship, children's citizenship, legal rights, and breaches of human rights experienced by intersex people and those with DSD. The paper presents original qualitative data from research in the UK, Italy and Switzerland with intersex people and their advocates, medics, and policy stakeholders. It shows that asserting citizenship is crucial for intersex people and those with VSC or DSD. This extremely marginalised population require social, intimate, children's and health citizenship. Intersex citizenship addresses both medical and human rights issues in an integrated way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersex people and those with variations of sex characteristics face significant health and social issues. This paper analyses the complexities of adult healthcare for this diverse population, including the root causes of deficiencies in care provision. Many minors with variations of sex characteristics are subjected to irreversible, non-consensual medical interventions, which can have negative effects on their health and wellbeing as adults. This 'emergency' approach to intersex paediatric healthcare has been challenged since the 1990s, but there is still a lack of understanding about how the paradigm affects adult care. This paper aims to raise awareness of the health challenges faced by adults with variations of sex characteristics. It identifies themes related to the challenges associated with accessing appropriate adult care, including the repercussions of childhood treatment, the lack of transitional services and psychological support, the limited general medical knowledge about variations of sex characteristics, and the reluctance to access services due to fear of stigma or past medical trauma. The paper indicates the need for more attention to intersex people's health needs as adults, moving away from attempts to 'fix' them as minors towards approaches which consider and provide for their diverse healthcare needs in a broader temporal context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on the field of non-binary and genderqueer. It mentions that the Genderqueer identities are diverse but share dis-identification with rigid gender binaries. It reports that the non-binary can be traced to the work of transgender and transsexual authors who resisted or transcended gender binaries. It overviews the discussion on increased visibility of nonbinary and genderqueer (NBGQ) people in clinical settings.

The author talks about an increase in interest in sexualities studies in the past 20 years. Topics discussed include normalization of varied sexual identities, particularly lesbian and gay identities, LGBTQ human rights breaches, an increase in crime against LGBTQ people in African countries, the importance of globalized human rights frameworks, and social acceptance of LBGT people.

The last decade has seen the expansion of trans* identities that are gender queer, non-binary, androgynous, or multiply-sexed and gendered in Western Europe. These developments mark a shift from a uniformly gender-binaried system to one that encompasses some degree of gender pluralism, as reflected to an extent in policy changes in some European countries. However, gender binarism is still prevalent. This article uses the case of Norway to demonstrate a contrast between the citizenship statuses afforded to transsexual men and women, and the lack of citizenship rights that people with non-binary identities, and other gender-variant people who are not diagnosed as transsexual, face. The article addresses the historical role of the Norwegian state in perpetuating gender binaries, in key areas such as identity recognition. It then explores the ways in which Norwegian social policy is changing towards more trans-sensitive positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports findings from research about trans* citizenship in 14 post-socialist countries. It evidences substantial deficits concerning trans policy making, and a lack of policy debate in this area. Most examined countries have a lack of protocols for official gender change in birth certificates, IDs, passports and other documents. Usually there are no guidelines, measures and procedures defining the standards of healthcare for trans persons. Practice concerning healthcare varies widely, and trans people and advocates exercise agency in negotiating access to care. The article suggests that trans citizenship studies need to foreground legal and social aspects of citizenship, as these are highlighted in the post-socialist context. Policy implications are discussed in relation to key citizenship debates including those concerning challenges to normative models of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a review of sexualities scholarship within the social sciences between 1970 and 2015. It takes an innovative approach by focusing on the way in which bisexuality is addressed in this body of literature. The article reveals the marginalisation, under-representation and invisibility of bisexuality within and across the social sciences in relation to both bisexual experience and identity. Reasons for this varied across the different eras, including the heterosexist nature of the literature, the impact of gay and lesbian-focused identity politics, and queer deconstructionism. In addition, patterns of bisexual erasure and invisibility were uneven, with some scholarship taking inclusive approaches or criticising prejudice against bisexuality. The initial findings of the review were enriched by critical commentary from key relevant sociologists and political scientists. The article concludes that future sexualities scholarship could be enhanced by greater consideration of bisexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rather than critiquing social institutions and practices that have historically excluded lesbians and gay men, as did earlier social movements in the 1960s and 1970s, since the 1990s the politics of sexuality has increasingly been about demanding equal rights of citizenship. These citizenship demands have, at least to a degree, been answered via a raft of recent legislation in the UK including the Adoption and Children Act 2002, Employment Equality ( Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, and by associated changes in policy making and practice that emphasize ' Equality and Diversity'. In this article we consider how the implementation of sexualities equalities policies is related to processes of privatization and individualization. This is illustrated by using sexualities equalities work in local government as a case study to indicate how processes of change and resistance are aided by these processes. The article draws on findings from a study of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT) equalities initiatives in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which examined the views of those who now have a public duty to implement recent legislative and policy shifts and are obliged to develop equalities initiatives concerning 'sexual orientation' and 'gender reassignment'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of intersectionality has been the subject of uncertainty, with debates taking place as to whether intersectionality studies should focus on the interstices between social characteristics, or should encompass approaches that interrogate the structuring effects of specific social forces. This article contributes to these debates by exploring intersectionality in relation to lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) equalities initiatives in UK local government. The article demonstrates the importance of two social categories, sexuality and the spatial, in structuring LGB equalities work. By citing analysis partially at the institutional level, it also reveals the way in which an individualizing approach to intersectionality studies, which focuses only on the interstices, is problematic. The article therefore provides an argument for an intersectionality studies that incorporates category-based analysis, whilst retaining a concern with the interstices between foundational categories. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent statutory and policy changes have raised the profile of lesbian, gay and bisexual equalities initiatives in the local government arena. These initiatives are increasingly developed and delivered via inter-agency partnerships. This article applies concepts from the sociological branch of new institutionalism to the field of sexualities equalities partnership work in local government, drawing on findings from a large empirical project. Notions of norms, ritual, templates and isomorphism all have purchase in this sensitive, value-laden field, providing insight into the organizational dynamics associated with inter-agency and partnership working. The article introduces the notion of institutional hybridization as a means of understanding the collaborative, and sometimes conflicting, processes associated with governance in the field of sexualities equalities work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgender explodes the notion that male and female are discrete categories. Transgender people change sex or inhabit third (or multiple) sex, androgynous, or fluid identities. I theorize this by developing and then critiquing poststructuralist transgender theory. A poststructuralist theory of transgender disassociates sex and gender, models both as constructed, and emphasizes the technologisation and commodification of the body. Poststructuralist accounts can, however, entail denial of bodily limitations, erase transgender people's subjective experience, and overlook social and political factors, such as the importance of gender categories as a basis for identity politics. I argue for the deconstruction of gender binaries to be combined with the development of a gender-pluralist, flexible, model of gender. This points to the replacement of bipolar models of gender with a gender spectrum, with important implications for conceptualizing gender. My analysis is based on empirical research with a range of transgender people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgender people are currently excluded from full citizenship in the UK. However, this is being challenged by a number of transgender groups. Sexual and feminist models of citizenship provide useful alternatives to mainstream models of citizenship, sharing a considerable amount of ground with transgender citizenship. However, transgender citizenship differs from sexual and feminist models in various ways. This article examines the commonalties and divergences between transgender citizenship and sexual and feminist approaches to citizenship, and explores some of the issues emerging in the area of transgender citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops notions of transgender citizenship in relation to existing approaches to citizenship, including liberalism, neoliberalism and communitarianism. Changes relating to New Labour's Third Way provide some support for transgender citizenship. However, these are limited because New Labour has yet to fully support gender diversity, to embrace different forms of morality, to tackle underlying structural inequalities and to develop sufficiently strong mechanisms for participation. The article argues that a robust participatory democracy is necessary for ensuring transgender political participation and social inclusion. Full transgender citizenship would lead to fundamental changes in the social organization of gender and social policy positions concerning gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on original field research, this article explores the relationship between lesbian and gay municipal politics and the local state. More particularly, it uses lesbian and gay work between 1990 and 2001 as a lens through which to examine local government's state identities. Focusing on local government's relationship to state power, its corporeality, agency, representative role and ties to local residents, the article argues that the lens brought by lesbian and gay work, for the most part, coincided rather than conflicted with dominant narratives. Yet lesbian and gay municipal activities offered more than a lens on the local state. The final part of the article examines the extent to which it also impacted upon local government's identities, in particular local government's relationship to heterosexuality and desire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participative research was conducted with a range of transsexual and transgender individuals. Findings outline recent developments among the transsexual and transgender communities, which challenge traditional medical models of transsexuality and transgender. Postmodernism provides a useful base for theorizing alternative models; however, postmodernism and poststructuralism are problematic in terms of their notions of identity and lack of attention to the structuring of gender at the social level. Social structure is suggested to be key in understanding transgender and transsexuality, with inequalities affecting transgender people's health and ability to participate in society as active citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifies the principal tasks of General Practitioner (GP) counselors and some of the professional dilemmas which need to be addressed. Discussion of the results of a survey of GP counsellors in Great Britain and primary health care teams concerning their role and contributions in primary care; Description of conditions under which they are employed; Counselling services.

In this article we address activist, patient advocate and medic perspectives on framing intersex, variations of sex characteristics and disorders/differences in sex development medical treatment as human rights abuses. Problematic aspects of intersex medical treatment have increasingly been highlighted in national debates and international human rights bodies. Some intersex activists have framed aspects of intersex medical treatment as human rights abuses since the 1990s. Other stakeholders in shaping medical treatment, such as patient advocates and medical professionals, are not always content with human rights framing, or even the term intersex. In order to address the different perspectives in this arena we provide background on the primary rights claims that have arisen followed by key human rights framing of these claims. We provide a short discussion of activism styles, looking at pan‐intersex social movements and variation‐specific patient associations as different styles of health social movements. The analysis of stakeholder perspectives on the use of human rights strategy in health areas provides a useful case study for medical sociology and policy in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents study on thoughts and experiences of occupational therapists (OTs) who broached sexual health with their patients. It mentions application of core skills by therapists to ensure the holistic exploration of patient concerns. It adds role for OTs in sexual health by supporting patients with impairment or illness in gaining or maintaining their sexual health as a meaningful occupation.

This research aims to understand the eroticism of consensual bondage, discipline, dominance & submission and sadism & masochism (BDSM). Eroticism is considered a central feature of most sexual experiences, yet there is limited research that examines erotic components of BDSM as lived by practitioners themselves. By adopting an experiential approach to the study using phenomenological psychology, the lived experiences of BDSM practitioners were foregrounded in order to clarify erotic meanings and extend existing understandings of consensual BDSM. Nine frequent practitioners of consensual BDSM were interviewed, discussing specific accounts of their BDSM experiences. Template analysis was utilised to analyse data, within an interpretive phenomenological framework. Findings illustrated that one of the most important erotic aspects was the co-collaboration between practitioners in order to create, maintain and engage with the erotic fantasy. The unpacking of the complexity of eroticised power exchange that occurred when BDSM practitioners adopted their sexual roles was also an important finding to emerge from the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the emphasis of the New Labour government on partnership and civil renewal has opened up new governance spaces in the UK These spaces have provided new opportunities for voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) but also posed new dilemmas. This article draws on research into the role of these organisations in the policy process, exploring how open the new spaces are, who is engaged in them and what scope for influence they offer. It concludes that, while there is room for optimism, operating in these new spaces can be risky and challenging. It welcomes the growing dialogue between North and South and the resource that this offers for negotiating the challenges they pose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article charts the past, present and future of the BiReCon event, which was the inspiration for this special issue of the Journal of Bisexuality. We provide the historical context for such an academic conference on bisexuality, and the key research which had been conducted on bisexuality in the UK prior to this. The aims of the 2010 BiReCon event are summarized, and a brief overview of the event is presented. Finally, we chart some potential future directions for BiReCon and other similar conferences. The full program for BiReCon can be found at the end of the article, along with links to YouTube clips from the event and other related Websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces the articles published in the March 1, 2005 issue of the "Social & Legal Studies" journal. Examination of the interplay between national and international legal arenas in the governance and regulation of gender and sexuality; Investigation of what happens to international policy when it moves to the applied level; Critique of the British judicial response to the claims of gay and lesbian refugees; Analysis of the construction of the white slavery problem in the Netherlands in the 19th and early 20th centuries.