Thesis: There is a misrepresentation of the two sex system that is used in society. The central theme which is addressed by Fausto- Sterling is the fact that there are lots of people who are born of other genders away from the most recognized dimorphism and that many other people do not understand the normality of this possibility. People should, therefore, understand that apart from the two known and acceptable genders, there are three more which should also be accepted which are herms, “merms” and “ferms”.
Summary: The author acknowledges that out of .. “every 1000 children born, seventeen are intersexual in some form” (3), and they should not be neglected. It, therefore, means that there are children who are born in between the female and male genders. People should then realize that in between babies are in existence and should be accommodated. She goes on to give the example of Max Beck: “Born intersexual, Max was surgically assigned as a female and consistently raised as such. Had her medical team followed her into her early twenties, they would have deemed her assignment a success because she was married to a man. Within a few years, however, Beck had come out as a butch lesbian” (5). It becomes clear through her illustrations, that the world becomes accommodating to persons who are not classified to belong to any acceptable gender. She feels that children born with such issues would be proud of them if they become recognized as normal or like everyone else.
Response: A related or contributing problem not yet discussed is that of how this integration of the other genders should be done. It cannot just begin by telling a child that they are “merms” or “ferms” because that may be too much for them to handle. There has to be a way in which society can go about this problem. Ethical concerns about these children should be given much importance when intersexual children grow older so do they face a world that is biased, and this may make them feel like they are living in a world where they are marginalized (Eugenides 44). But then, Fausto- Sterling has ringed the wake up call.
Works Cited
Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. Toronto: Knopf. 2011
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. The Five Sexes, Revisited. PDF File
