The Five Sexes Why Male And Female Are Not Enough Analysis

Fix periods and uppercase hermaphadie

Garrett Pilling

Professor Elizabeth Brule

AP/HREQ1920

November 24th 2015

Article Review and Analysis In Anne Fausto-Sterling’s article The Five Sexes Why Male and Female Are Not Enough, Sterling argues that Western culture is deeply committed to the straight forward idea of there only being two sexes, when really there are at least five sexes. Sterling argues that states have a major interest in maintaining a two-sex system. She further claims that the government, law and the medical fields are implemented to reserve this binary (39 )

Sterling argues that at least 5 sexes make up our genders, not two. These 5 sexes consist of male, female, true hermaphrodite, male pseudo -hermaphrodite, and

Modern society shames intersex people and tries to create that perfect two sex world and that improvements in scientific technology are created to maintain that view. The creation of Bio Power now allows the control of one’s sex. (Sterling 41 ) This allows surgeons the power to determine the sex of the human, ensuring that we get that a male or female child. Sterling argues that now with this new technology we are able to eliminate intersexual people all together, further creating a two-sex world. The advancement in physiology and surgical technology also allows doctors and surgeons the ability to catch most intersexuality at the moment of birth. Infants are entered into a program of “hormonal and surgical management” (Sterling 41) fixing any problems or birth defects that doctors may see as troubling, allowing children to enter society as normal heterosexual males and females. Sterling claims that medical professionals see intersex people as having some kind of disorder. “ The birth of an intersex was thought to cause nothing but harm and pain to themself and their parents”. (Sterling 42) This is the main reason why parents were ok with their children having surgeries at a young age. This tries to fix any altercations and problems. Medical professionals claim that Hermaphrodites would not be able to fall into a binary class and the only way to put them in that class is through surgery. Sterling points

I knew there was such thing as hermaphrodites, but I did not know the variations of intersex people. I also had no idea of the medical procedures done to intersex people. I was in shock when reading about this. Doctors would physically change the child, and tell the parents to raise that child a certain way. I think change needs to be done to create more than a two-gender world. I agree with Sterling’s view of a utopia. A world where medical science is used to make life better for people, not change it, and create a world that is best fit for everyone. I do agree with Sterling, on how this world is geared towards two binary sexes. I do not think our society has much room now for accepting more than two sexes. It makes me wonder what measures are going to be taken in the future? Are we going to see multiple gender bathrooms other than male and female? Or are we still stuck in this binary way of thinking? I thought the article was good at explaining the history if intersex people. I had no idea that intersex people have existed throughout. Sterling gives a great overview of how these people lived, and the similar prejudices that our culture and society still have in today’s world. I think more needs to be done in terms of education when talking about intersex individuals. I know in my experience when growing up and sitting through a sex education class, intersex people were never even mentioned. I think