Customer Reviews

Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self

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I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn what intersex means and what it means to be intersexed. The stories are heart breaking and heart warming all at the same time. I found myself experiencing a wide range of emotions from the deepest sense of compassion to outright rage at the medical community and the closed-minded behaviors of parents and families. There is so little known about this subject that the behavior of physicians and families isn't really all that surprising but it is still maddening! This book helped demystify the topic and make it a very real "condition" that needs much more than a biological definition and diagnosis. It pleases me to know someone is out there studying, learning and educating people on this topic. It is extremely complex and I look forward to seeing more mainstream literature on the subject.

I purchased this book to read while taking a Sociology class that was actually taught by the author. I entered the class already knowing quite a bit about intersexuality, but this book taught me more than I could ever dream of. Much of the book is related to the history of and key players in the intersex movement--which is fascinating in and of itself. But the most interesting part was the personal accounts we received from her interviewee's, who were relating personal stories about being diagnosed with the intersex condition.

All in all, a great resource. I ended up reading the entire book in the space of two days. I could hardly put it down. It might not be for everyone, but it is noteworthy that this is one of the few books I didn't sell back to the bookstore. As a starving college student that says a lot.