People with variations of sex characteristics (VSC) are born with chromosomal, gonadal, and/or anatomical diversities that do not fit the typical definition of male or female. This book develops a social science of VSC, Intersex, and Disorders of Sex Development (DSD).
Issues of bodily autonomy, sex, gender, and sexuality are highly topical. Yet, little is heard about people with VSCs, or the unique issues they face. This book is a collaborative project between intersex and endosex (nonintersex) authors that gives uninitiated readers a way into the complex debates surrounding IVSC. It breaks new ground theoretically whilst also presenting novel empirical material from a range of international sources. Issues of power, discrimination, identity, and agency are key to understanding the current situation for people with VSCs.
Bridging between intersex studies, medical literatures, and broader social science debates, this text will be of interest to those working in practice and policy positions, as well as students and scholars across a range of disciplines, especially those studying social inequality, embodiment, healthcare, sex and gender, LGBTQ+ issues, disability, globalisation, and political change.
Surya Monro is Professor in Sociology and Social Policy based at Loughborough University, UK. Surya has published substantially in the fields of gender, sex, and sexuality, notably on LGBT and on Intersex issues. She is the author of Gender Politics: Citizenship, Activism, and Sexual Diversity (2005) and co-editor of Queer in Africa (2018).
Adeline Berry is a transgender and intersex research fellow at the University of Huddersfield. Their PhD research focuses on the life experiences and needs of older European intersex people. Their research interests include mental health, healthcare, gender, sex, sex work, and epistemic injustice.
Morgan Carpenter is an Associate Professor of Practice at Sydney Health Ethics in the University of Sydney School of Public Health. His doctoral research focused on epistemic injustice and the human rights and health of people with innate variations of sex characteristics. Morgan Carpenter has lived experience of an innate variation of sex characteristics.
Daniela Crocetti is a Research Fellow in medical anthropology at Bar-Ilan University. Their research has addressed the social history of the gendered body, genetic testing, rights mobilisation in medical contexts, intersex rights, and parenting journeys.
Sean Saifa Wall (he/him/his) is a Black queer intersex activist and rising scholar. Since graduating from Williams, he has worked on many research projects that amplify the voices of queer, transgender, and people of colour communities. Saifa was a Marie Skłowdoska-Curie fellow on the INIA project and received his PhD from the University of Huddersfield in April 2024.
