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Bodies, Episode #1 of 3. Historian Thomas Lacquer's 1992 Making Sex argues that the one sex model dominated ancient and medieval medicine and popular ideas of sex, until, approximately, the Enlightenment, which gradually dispelled the one sex model in favor of the two-sex model--the strict dimorphic binary of sex, male and female, that most people are probably familiar with today. While numerous historians, and particularly historians of the ancient and medieval periods, have challenged the scope and specifics of Lacquer's thesis, the revolution in gender history that his work prompted is undeniable. To kick off this series on Bodies, we're going to talk about the history of how sex - or the meaning and value ascribed to genitals - was socially and scientifically constructed and reconstructed in Europe over the last two thousand years. For a full transcript, bibliography, and more, visit digpodcast.org Select Bibliography Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge, 1990). Joan Cadden, The Meanings of Sex Difference in the Middle Ages: Medicine, Science, and Culture (Cambridge University Press, 1995) Helen King, The One-Sex Body on Trial: The Classical and Early Modern Evidence (Routledge, 2013). Thomas Lacquer, Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud (Harvard University Press, 1992) Elizabeth Reis, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex (John Hopkins Press, 2021) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Season 2, Episode 2: "Am I Intersex?" with special guest: Elizabeth Reis For transcripts, follow the link here: Show notes: Elizabeth Reis, Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex (John Hopkins Univ. Press, updated edition 2021) Georgiann Davis, Contesting Intersex: The Dubious Diagnosis (NYU Press, 2015) Katrina Karkazis, Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority, and Lived Experience (Duke Univ. Press, 2008) Hida Viliora, Born Both: An Intersex Life (Hatchette Books, 2017) Kimberly Zieselman, XOXY: A Memoir (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2020) Anne Fausto-Sterling, Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality, 2nd ed. Stephanie Lohman and Eric Lohman, Raising Rosie: Our Story of Parenting an Intersex Child (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018) Sharon Preves, Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self (Rutgers Univ. Press, 2003) Hans Lindahl (hanslindahl.com) Pidgeon Pagonis (http://pid.ge/) Sean Saifa Wall on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dJduGC3HyQ&t=127s and (https://www.seansaifa.com/)
In August of 2009, the South African runner Caster Semenya won the 800 meter final in the world Championship leading by one minute. “Muscles bulging and triumphant hand aloft,” the news reported, “she crossed the line way ahead of the rest of the field and ran straight into accusations that she was far too strong, too fast and, to be blunt, too masculine to be a woman.” The International Association of Athletics Federation requested that Semenya undergo gender testing. For months, Semenya and the IAAF awaited reports from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, an internal medicine specialist, and an expert on gender. When the results were finally released, news headlines ranged from “Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite with no womb or ovaries” in the Sydney Daily Telegraph to Salon.com’s claim that “Castor Semenya is not a hermaphrodite…but intersex.” This news must have come as a shock to Semenya. Today we are going to talk to Elizabeth Reis, author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009). A women’s and Gender Studies scholar and Historian at the University of Oregon, Reis tells us about the history of those who are of ambiguous sex. From early America, when people looked at doubtful bodies as bodies that created legal and religious concern to the 19th century, when physicians began to take over the classification and management of bodies lacking a clear gender identity. This is a remarkable book. And we are glad to have Elizabeth Reis on our show today. The shock with which Semenya – and others like her — must have received this news – as well as the debate over the proper nomenclatura concerning individuals who show sex characteristics of both men and women are among the fascinating topics raised by Elizabeth Reis’ book Reis, a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and History at the University of Oregon, analyzes the history of bodies of doubtful gender from early America to the present. Her narrative illustrates how anomalous bodies were initially associated with monstrous births, of concern mostly to legal and clerical authorities. In the 19th century, physicians began to take over the classification of doubtful bodies. Soon, they were involved not only in identifying the sex of their patients’ bodies but also in altering doubtful bodies to create gender certainties. Reis traces the rise and fall of medical treatment protocols for the intersex. She concludes with a thoughtful chapter on naming in which she discusses the move away from the term hermaphrodite – which evoked images of mythical creatures and was considered derogatory. Hermaphrodite was followed by the term intersex. But to many, this term seemed too sexualized. It also suggested the existence of a third sex – when many really only wanted two. Recently, physicians have begun to use Disorders of Sex Development [DSD] to refer to the intersex condition. The Disorders in DSD, however, pathologizes the condition. Reis herself suggests Divergence of Sex Development as a more neutral option. If nothing else, the evolution of terminology itself illustrates how sensitive and political the naming and categorizing of gender is. Bodies in Doubt is a terrific contribution to our understanding of sex, gender, and the creation of our two gender system. If you are as fascinated with these issues as I am, you must read this book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In August of 2009, the South African runner Caster Semenya won the 800 meter final in the world Championship leading by one minute. “Muscles bulging and triumphant hand aloft,” the news reported, “she crossed the line way ahead of the rest of the field and ran straight into accusations that she was far too strong, too fast and, to be blunt, too masculine to be a woman.” The International Association of Athletics Federation requested that Semenya undergo gender testing. For months, Semenya and the IAAF awaited reports from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, an internal medicine specialist, and an expert on gender. When the results were finally released, news headlines ranged from “Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite with no womb or ovaries” in the Sydney Daily Telegraph to Salon.com’s claim that “Castor Semenya is not a hermaphrodite…but intersex.” This news must have come as a shock to Semenya. Today we are going to talk to Elizabeth Reis, author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009). A women’s and Gender Studies scholar and Historian at the University of Oregon, Reis tells us about the history of those who are of ambiguous sex. From early America, when people looked at doubtful bodies as bodies that created legal and religious concern to the 19th century, when physicians began to take over the classification and management of bodies lacking a clear gender identity. This is a remarkable book. And we are glad to have Elizabeth Reis on our show today. The shock with which Semenya – and others like her — must have received this news – as well as the debate over the proper nomenclatura concerning individuals who show sex characteristics of both men and women are among the fascinating topics raised by Elizabeth Reis’ book Reis, a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and History at the University of Oregon, analyzes the history of bodies of doubtful gender from early America to the present. Her narrative illustrates how anomalous bodies were initially associated with monstrous births, of concern mostly to legal and clerical authorities. In the 19th century, physicians began to take over the classification of doubtful bodies. Soon, they were involved not only in identifying the sex of their patients’ bodies but also in altering doubtful bodies to create gender certainties. Reis traces the rise and fall of medical treatment protocols for the intersex. She concludes with a thoughtful chapter on naming in which she discusses the move away from the term hermaphrodite – which evoked images of mythical creatures and was considered derogatory. Hermaphrodite was followed by the term intersex. But to many, this term seemed too sexualized. It also suggested the existence of a third sex – when many really only wanted two. Recently, physicians have begun to use Disorders of Sex Development [DSD] to refer to the intersex condition. The Disorders in DSD, however, pathologizes the condition. Reis herself suggests Divergence of Sex Development as a more neutral option. If nothing else, the evolution of terminology itself illustrates how sensitive and political the naming and categorizing of gender is. Bodies in Doubt is a terrific contribution to our understanding of sex, gender, and the creation of our two gender system. If you are as fascinated with these issues as I am, you must read this book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In August of 2009, the South African runner Caster Semenya won the 800 meter final in the world Championship leading by one minute. “Muscles bulging and triumphant hand aloft,” the news reported, “she crossed the line way ahead of the rest of the field and ran straight into accusations that she was far too strong, too fast and, to be blunt, too masculine to be a woman.” The International Association of Athletics Federation requested that Semenya undergo gender testing. For months, Semenya and the IAAF awaited reports from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, an internal medicine specialist, and an expert on gender. When the results were finally released, news headlines ranged from “Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite with no womb or ovaries” in the Sydney Daily Telegraph to Salon.com’s claim that “Castor Semenya is not a hermaphrodite…but intersex.” This news must have come as a shock to Semenya. Today we are going to talk to Elizabeth Reis, author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009). A women’s and Gender Studies scholar and Historian at the University of Oregon, Reis tells us about the history of those who are of ambiguous sex. From early America, when people looked at doubtful bodies as bodies that created legal and religious concern to the 19th century, when physicians began to take over the classification and management of bodies lacking a clear gender identity. This is a remarkable book. And we are glad to have Elizabeth Reis on our show today. The shock with which Semenya – and others like her — must have received this news – as well as the debate over the proper nomenclatura concerning individuals who show sex characteristics of both men and women are among the fascinating topics raised by Elizabeth Reis’ book Reis, a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and History at the University of Oregon, analyzes the history of bodies of doubtful gender from early America to the present. Her narrative illustrates how anomalous bodies were initially associated with monstrous births, of concern mostly to legal and clerical authorities. In the 19th century, physicians began to take over the classification of doubtful bodies. Soon, they were involved not only in identifying the sex of their patients’ bodies but also in altering doubtful bodies to create gender certainties. Reis traces the rise and fall of medical treatment protocols for the intersex. She concludes with a thoughtful chapter on naming in which she discusses the move away from the term hermaphrodite – which evoked images of mythical creatures and was considered derogatory. Hermaphrodite was followed by the term intersex. But to many, this term seemed too sexualized. It also suggested the existence of a third sex – when many really only wanted two. Recently, physicians have begun to use Disorders of Sex Development [DSD] to refer to the intersex condition. The Disorders in DSD, however, pathologizes the condition. Reis herself suggests Divergence of Sex Development as a more neutral option. If nothing else, the evolution of terminology itself illustrates how sensitive and political the naming and categorizing of gender is. Bodies in Doubt is a terrific contribution to our understanding of sex, gender, and the creation of our two gender system. If you are as fascinated with these issues as I am, you must read this book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In August of 2009, the South African runner Caster Semenya won the 800 meter final in the world Championship leading by one minute. “Muscles bulging and triumphant hand aloft,” the news reported, “she crossed the line way ahead of the rest of the field and ran straight into accusations that she was far too strong, too fast and, to be blunt, too masculine to be a woman.” The International Association of Athletics Federation requested that Semenya undergo gender testing. For months, Semenya and the IAAF awaited reports from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, an internal medicine specialist, and an expert on gender. When the results were finally released, news headlines ranged from “Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite with no womb or ovaries” in the Sydney Daily Telegraph to Salon.com’s claim that “Castor Semenya is not a hermaphrodite…but intersex.” This news must have come as a shock to Semenya. Today we are going to talk to Elizabeth Reis, author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009). A women’s and Gender Studies scholar and Historian at the University of Oregon, Reis tells us about the history of those who are of ambiguous sex. From early America, when people looked at doubtful bodies as bodies that created legal and religious concern to the 19th century, when physicians began to take over the classification and management of bodies lacking a clear gender identity. This is a remarkable book. And we are glad to have Elizabeth Reis on our show today. The shock with which Semenya – and others like her — must have received this news – as well as the debate over the proper nomenclatura concerning individuals who show sex characteristics of both men and women are among the fascinating topics raised by Elizabeth Reis’ book Reis, a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and History at the University of Oregon, analyzes the history of bodies of doubtful gender from early America to the present. Her narrative illustrates how anomalous bodies were initially associated with monstrous births, of concern mostly to legal and clerical authorities. In the 19th century, physicians began to take over the classification of doubtful bodies. Soon, they were involved not only in identifying the sex of their patients’ bodies but also in altering doubtful bodies to create gender certainties. Reis traces the rise and fall of medical treatment protocols for the intersex. She concludes with a thoughtful chapter on naming in which she discusses the move away from the term hermaphrodite – which evoked images of mythical creatures and was considered derogatory. Hermaphrodite was followed by the term intersex. But to many, this term seemed too sexualized. It also suggested the existence of a third sex – when many really only wanted two. Recently, physicians have begun to use Disorders of Sex Development [DSD] to refer to the intersex condition. The Disorders in DSD, however, pathologizes the condition. Reis herself suggests Divergence of Sex Development as a more neutral option. If nothing else, the evolution of terminology itself illustrates how sensitive and political the naming and categorizing of gender is. Bodies in Doubt is a terrific contribution to our understanding of sex, gender, and the creation of our two gender system. If you are as fascinated with these issues as I am, you must read this book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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