#igm

[gonyadaldysgenesis]

hello all, i noticed a lack of resource online for people who are curious about intersex genital mutilation scarring later in life without having to dig through surgery gore photos. i threw together some diagrams here (content warning for discussion of IGM and drawn genitalia diagrams) of the major surgeries that are completed on intersex children. worth noting this is based purely on my own research, and i am not a doctor, and i of course am not running around doing these surgeries myself. im absolutely free to corrections or adding more diagrams if other surgeries are brought up.

[intersexmenace]

may we live to see the day where the first photo results of your intersex variation aren't graphic photos of igm

[the-life-of-a-herm]

To say that somebody who's body was coercively changed into being more female/male is now "too much of a woman/man" to be trans, you are upholding the oppression and mutilation of intersex people. There truly is no way around it.

[atlantes96]

🚩David Cano Lemus 🇬🇹

📰 14.12.24

Instagram

[intersexcat-tboy]

Hei, you recently reblogged the post about the German intersex law from 2013. You may know this already but 2021/2022 it was followed by a law that specifically prohibits unnecessary/purely aesthetic surgery on infants/children.

It is by no means perfect and this is not a correction, but just additional information.

https://im-ev.de/pm-2021-03-26-gesetz-vdg/

Context (link)

Thank you! This is absolutely a good point to bring up, it sucks that it took so long and imo should've happened when it the I was passed to begin with. Iirc the intersex wiki has to be updated bc it's missing several places that have since banned IGM.

While it is great the second one removes one of the issues with the I law, I still honestly don't super like it either way. It should be opt in. I have concerns about discrimination in daily life where this identification can be seen. Another user included their own experiences in their tags, which was that it had made their life harder.

I often see people believe that no one is "assigned interse(X) at birth" or hat "everyone has an AGAB" despite the fact some places do use indeterminate, intersex, X, or it's blank, and how some individuals have no birth certificate at all!

[the-transgenda-agenda]

Today's updates to The Transgender Dictionary

updated links on intersex page

updated links on transandrophobia page

updated information and links on hair removal page (ill admit its mostly the section for shaving that has more information, but at least there are now categories instead of just a bulleted list of 3 methods and a sentence)

added IGM definition to I page

added link to surgeons page

updates links on miscellaneous page (i realized that a bunch of links had been added to more specific pages at this point. also moved a bunch of miscellaneous surgery links to the specific page on surgeons. the links are not gone from the site, just more sorted into other more specific pages. to de-clutter and make them easier to find. honestly, there are more links on this page that need to be sorted elsewhere, but i have not gotten around to doing that and im tired so this is probably all im going to do today)

[antiterf]

Doctors saying that it's best for surgery on intersex people to be done in infancy is not very convincing to someone who had surgery in infancy.

Like, I was told as a teen by my pediatric podiatrist that you can only predict so much on how the surgery will hold up in the future because your body grows and changes.

The surgeon I had was the same one who invented the foot brace that was tried to correct my club foot before surgery.

That brace ^

And I'm pointing that out to show that even an amazing doctor who pushes to make medicine better still couldn't fix clubfoot to where it was like it was never there surgically. There aren't many long term studies on surgically corrected club foot, but here's one of them

For the point of still not fitting a normal foot.

And so lack of flexibility, less sensitivity, scar pain, and not looking "normal" is all sort of standard. Some people have additional surgeries, but I did not. I will, but it's not for correction and instead for OA treatment.

So then I look back to IGM, how much sensitivity matters there, that they're usually purely cosmetic, and going "yeah this should be done in infancy when the body grows and changes, especially in this area during puberty" and its such a leap in logic.

Obviously, they see it as best in childhood because it's only done to make someone fit into the societal norm, but saying it with that urgency seems like they're talking about results regarding the body part itself. My entire childhood current and situation kind of goes against that, along with many others.

[tallerthantale]

A review came out recently on the research of the very much ongoing practice of "sex-normalizing" surgeries on intersex children. The review looks over how various research teams evaluated the outcomes of the practice. Dozens recoded the surgeon's opinion on how aesthetically pleasing the result looked, with no objective guidelines. Zero evaluated the quality of life of the children. Not a single study.

Intersex IGM is still happening worldwide and the people studying how 'successful' it is aren't even bothering to measure quality of life outcomes for the kids. It's that irrelevant to them.

The linked review itself is critical of the research not measuring quality of life, and of the "sex-normalizing" practices broadly.

[trans-intersex-confessions]

Tw IGM

Intersex transfem culture is being assumed to be an afab with PCOS no matter what you do (and don't even get me started on fully rejecting my AGAB and getting called a cisgender invader because I refuse to disclose my genitals at birth other than "they were ambiguous and operated on without my consent" )

Yes this!

No hate to anyone with PCOS or course but the way people have started to see every single intersex person ever as having that specific condition when there's various other ones.

[the-life-of-a-herm]

This is a rushed paper I wrote to my professor as an introduction to intersex genital mutilation. It was all done and researched in less then a day because I was hospitalized. I know it's not the best, but I think it holds up well... (and no the MLA did not transfer over very well when i copy and pasted lol)

-

Intersex Genital Mutilation (IGM) refers to a type of surgery enacted on intersex individuals, typically children. The term intersex refers to when an individual has sex variations from the norm. Examples of this could be somebody who went through a feminizing puberty but also a typically closer to male body, somebody who has XXY chromosomes, CAH (Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia), which can cause various mixed primary and secondary sex characteristics depending on the type, somebody with XY chromosomes and CAIS (Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome) will have their body reject all androgens in development and cause them not to develop as male and many more experiences. In the case of IGM, this affects people with variations that cause atypical/ambiguous genitalia. This is genitalia that is between male and female. Because of how humans develop in the womb, this is not as uncommon as one might think. Humans only have one reproductive system, which means that while growing in the womb, our parts start from the same thing and then grow differently depending on other factors like chromosomes and hormones. This is also why SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery) is possible. So, for people with atypical genitalia, their genitalia grows between the standard male and female genitalia. This could look like an enlarged clitoris, an imperforate hymen (no vaginal opening) on somebody with otherwise typically female genitalia, somebody with fused labioscrotal folds, meaning they have a labia on an otherwise male body and many more variations. Now, while some variations need to be changed to prevent health issues/pain while growing down the road, many are completely fine with being left alone. Despite this, it has been standard practice for decades to operate on babies who have genital sex variations for purely cosmetic reasons. This is still a type of surgery many get today. Despite it being common practice, I believe putting intersex individuals through surgeries they do not need is a violation of bodily autonomy and wrong.

One of the most common reasons people object to ridding children of unnecessary changes to their genitalia is because of social norms. Doctors and parents alike believe that by ‘fixing’ the child’s ambiguous genitalia to look as close as possible to typical male or female genitalia, they are saving the kid from a lifetime of social scrutiny. Or, as Dr. Kenneth I. Glassberg put it, they would be “considered freaks” (Lerner) by their peers. Of course, society can be cruel to people who deviate from the norm, but I hardly think this is a valid reason to support something as life-changing as IGM. If the real issue was that kids would be bullied, then the answer should not be to cut kids up until they conform. The problem will only worsen if we continue to treat intersex individuals’ existence as something inherently needing to be fixed or ashamed of. The correct response to social issues is not to make everybody conform to the majority but to educate people. Children especially need this education. If a child is made fun of for their mixed sex characteristics at school, the answer is to use that as a teaching opportunity for the offending child to understand the world is bigger and more diverse than just themselves. It is illogical to imply that forcing people into conformity is doing anything more than promoting the same societal standards that ostracized intersex people in the first place. Additionally, there is “insufficient evidence that growing up with atypical genitalia leads to psychosocial distress” (Elders et al.) Meaning the entire argument here that most people defending IGM use is based on speculation. Forced conformity to the sex binary does not help those who lie outside of it because it is the enforcement of the comfort of the same people who you claim you are protecting them from.

Additionally, the harm that IGM can cause far outweighs the possibility of saving people from bullying and social consequences for being different. A lot of the time normalizing surgeries can lead to medical complications such as, but not limited to, painful sex, loss of sensation, frequent UTIs, need for additional surgeries later to fix the previous ones, etc. Mind you, these surgeries are often done on infants and toddlers, meaning oftentimes they are too small to know for certain what the results will look like after the kid grows or if it will cause more issues as they grow. Sure, it looks normal when they are an infant, but what about later on? Many opposers to ending invasive procedures act as if these children are “..never going to grow up,”(Fae) and have more complications as they age or loss of function. Surgeons are creating more issues medically than if you just left the child alone. Additionally, many times people don’t know they have had surgery until years later, meaning there could be major complications because of surgery they ignore because they don’t know it’s not normal. Not knowing about your own body and medical history can be an extremely dangerous situation for people. Yet intersex people who go through IGM are oftentimes left in the dark. Few intersex people look back and are happy with the invasive procedures they went through in childhood. (Lerner) When people find out they went through these procedures later on in life, it is common for them to feel violated or like they have been lied to, some even saying they grew up with “deception and shame for years” (Lerner) after they learned the truth. Commonly, intersex individuals will not have the full story about their medical history so they are still left to wonder even after finding out about their surgery. People who never asked for genital normalizing surgery are left to deal with the consequences of the medical system’s decision to think their bodies needed changing.

Furthermore, rarely are these surgeries necessary. In some instances, such as somebody with atypical genitalia will have a variation that can cause pain as the kid grows up, which is a valid reason for considering giving a newborn surgery. However, most times the surgeries that are performed are purely aesthetical. Since around the 50s, the primary reason for IGM has been “...to ‘normalize’ gendered appearance, not to improve function.” (Elders et al.) This means the surgeries don’t aim to improve the child’s physical well-being or make it so their genitals will perform proper functions without difficulty, instead, they seek to force people into a more clear box of male or female. The existence of normalizing surgeries for children is based entirely on the need to make people fit the status quo. These intersex individuals have to experience growing up being uneducated about their bodies and healthcare needs, life-altering complications from surgery, and left coping with “great stress and confusion, often [paired] with incomplete information” (Gregorio) about their medical history and the knowledge they were born in a body seen unfit to live a normal life with. All of these struggles are because of a type of surgery that’s sole purpose is to focus on what a baby’s genitals look like, instead of their own best interest. Leaving babies who do not need medical intervention alone will ultimately cause more good than harm. A kid who was left alone can grow up and decide as an older person they want to have surgery on their genitals, but a kid who had corrective surgery done on them as a child cannot grow up and choose to have it never done in the first place.

Another segment of this issue is intersectionality with other social issues like medical misogyny and medical racism, because of how intersex bodies, and by extension the people with them, are seen as inherently medicalized. Intersectionality is a concept of when oppressions intersect, an example of this is how black women will face certain experiences for being both black and a woman that white women will not, often referred to as misogynoir. Intersex people who are viewed as women/closer to female commonly have to deal with doctors who dismiss their worries. Some women are even being “referred to a mental health professional” (Fae) for merely discussing the pain they experienced. Many medical professionals are uneducated on female anatomy and dismiss the concerns they have. This only gets worse when you are also somebody with mixed sex characteristics, which many doctors don’t know enough to treat properly. Similarly, with medical racism many people with complications have issues getting the care they need. Many doctors are still under the false impression black people of colour have a higher pain tolerance than their white counterparts or dismiss them as drug-seeking. Because of this, people with serious health complications later on as a result of their surgery can have trouble being taken seriously by doctors. Intersex people in general don’t have a good experience with getting healthcare that benefits their needs. However, when you intersect these problems with things like racism or misogyny, the matter gets more complex and harder to navigate for these individuals.

Finally, the major problem with corrective surgeries for atypical genitalia is consent. A baby cannot consent to going through a normalizing surgery, and arguably parents are most times not educated enough to either. Sure, in some cases medical practices override consent. An example of this is giving NARCAN to somebody who overdosed, there are laws protecting doctors in this case from being sued because the person cannot consent, but their life still needs to be saved. However, intersex variations are not an overdose. Intersex genital variations are rarely in need of medical intervention. There is no reason consent should be overridden for a nonessential invasive surgery that can commonly lead to tons of complications down the road. The key difference here is necessity. Changing an infant’s genitals because they need that to function and changing it because they would look more typically male or female are not the same. The situation isn’t dire, and consent matters. If they grow up and wish to change it themselves, that is entirely fine. The difference between somebody older deciding to get surgery and somebody who is a baby is that the older person is exercising bodily autonomy. To do often irreversible invasive surgeries on infants to normalize their genitalia is to rob them of their “right to personal autonomy over their own future.”(Elders et al.) Intersex people deserve to choose what is best for their own lives, not doctors or parents. It is their body that is getting a life-altering change, the consent should lie on their shoulders.

Intersex Genital Mutilation is a standard practice thing that happens all around the world with many repercussions. These people grow up to feel violated and confused and are often lied to about their medical history enough to where many will never know the full truth of what happened to them. These are aesthetical surgeries that are oftentimes nonessential, but cause complications that can last a lifetime. IGM rips people of their bodily autonomy and right to consent to major changes to their bodies. This is an issue that’s been being fought for decades, but through activism, things have started to change a bit. Social and systemic change happens through hard work and education. This will only end if we all educate ourselves and others on intersex issues and urge our government to make a change to protect people’s right to their bodies. Right now IGM is standard practice, but it does not have to be. Organizations like InterACT Youth or Intersex Society of North America are a few activist groups fighting right now for the rights of intersex people. Without more education and more perisex (non-intersex) people standing up for these practices to change, nothing will happen. A better future is possible through social activism, which is spreading information through social means, and joining together to urge our government to say no to IGM.

Elders, Joycelyn, et al. “Re-Thinking Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants.” Palm Center, June 2017.

Fae, Jane. “Normality under the Knife.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 21 June 2010, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/21/normality-under-knife-surgery-genitalia.

Gregorio, I. W. “When Emergency Pediatric Surgery Is Anything But.” Scientific American, 17 May 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/when-emergency-pediatric-surgery-is-anything-but/?WT.mc_id=SA_FB_POLE_BLOG.

Lerner, Barron H. “BEHAVIOR; If Biology Is Destiny, When Shouldn’t It Be?” The New York Times, 27 May 2003, www.nytimes.com/2003/05/27/health/behavior-if-biology-is-destiny-when-shouldn-t-it-be.html.

[atlantes96]

💣 Javier @monteroo_11 (insta) 1.1.25

Instagram

[ghost-jester-sys]

ill never get to fully know myself or my body because of what they did

but sure, go ahead and walk all over me because u dont like it when people point out ur intersexism

[battytucute]

so not only did i possibly go thru igm, but i may actually have cah like i thought and it was hid from me.

great. (sarcasm)

[intersex-questions]

tw// IGM

Hey, I have a question. Is IGM only done to babies, or can they be done after the child has gotten older?

Also, is it possible for IGM to happen(as a baby) but not be put on their medical book? Like the doctor does the surgery, then writes down that their genitals are male/female.

IGM (intersex genital mutilation) absolutely can and does happen to individuals older than babies. It happens to children, teenagers, and adults. Many individuals undergo "corrective" surgery to their genitalia under the guise of being told it is medically necessary, they'll be infertile otherwise, they can't have sex otherwise, and more.

And yes, that is possible. Although it shouldn't happen, doctors absolutely can and do medical procedures or similar things without listing them or being explicit about what they are. This is medical malpractice, but it does happen. And, often when things like IGM do happen to babies, they don't share the real/true/actual reason behind the mutilation/surgery and instead say it is medically necessary.

[masherbrum]

Composite of French IGN, Swiss Swisstopo and Italian IGM topo maps at FR-CH-IT tripoint.

From Skitourenguru. Currently they can only use the Swiss one though, because the French license is just too cryptic and the Italians don't answer their open data request (even though EU law basically requires them to grant permission...).