Cary Gabriel Costello

Every year, many thousands of babies are born in the U.S. with intermediate genitals. Most receive genital reconstructive surgery under current best practice standards of care, despite the advocacy of intersex adults against such infant genital surgeries. The aim of a best practice standard being articulated is to guide medical professionals to treat patients with the same condition consistently and well. But in the case of sex-variant infants, children born with the same phalloclitoral anatomy receive wildly different tests, diagnoses, and treatments. This talk will explore these inconsistencies, seek to explain why they emerge, and consider the impacts on the lives of sex-variant individuals.

The NSS lecture series is made possible by generous contributions from Con Edison.