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Intersexed Infants: a Taboo Predicament

Kessler argues that medical professionals fail to consider the well-beings of inter-sexed children when deciding which sex the child will be. Rather, they decide based on the size of the penis and whether or not it would develop to be a standard and desirable size. This is extremely degrading to not only the child but also gender in general. It sends a message that smaller penises are less masculine, when masculinity is still highly regarded in today’s society. Someone brought up a good point in discussion during lecture: penises have one main purpose which is to reproduce. If all size penises are able to do so, what difference does it make what size it is? It is just that smaller penises are frowned upon by society; men are most typically embarrassed when their penis is not “up to par.�

Parents are at a disadvantage when having to make decisions concerning their inter-sexed infants. The majority of parents have nothing but the best interests of their child in mind, wanting their child to have the easiest and most fulfilling life possible. Yet they are not at fault for doing as medical professionals advise. Most parents probably do not expect to have an inter-sexed child; therefore, when the situation does come about, parents have no knowledge of how to handle the predicament. Of course they would act on medical professionals’ advice; doctors have more experience with the situation as well as more knowledge of it.

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