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The Best Decision for Intersexual Infants

Jennifer Villalba

University of Texas at El Paso

Moushumi Biswas
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The Best Decision for Intersexual Infants

About 1 in 1500 infants are born intersexual just in the United States. Almost the

same percentage of babies being born with red hair. That means a baby was not born

with the society normal reproductive system and gender genetic of a female or male.

Instead was born with both or a combination of both. Doctors persuade parents to

consent a surgery that is in most cases is unnecessary just to normalize the newborn.

Parents feel the pressure from doctor to give consent to this surgeries with the argument

that they would have a better chance to grow a normal life. Even if this procedure can

have irreversible and permanent effects such as irreversible infertility and causing

severe mental suffering. All this taking place when the infant is not able nor conscious to

have an opinion in his or her body. It is okay if these intersexual people want the

surgeries later in life but it should be their own decision, not a doctors or just their

parents. It is better for an infant to grow a little different than to grow traumatized

because a surgery that was done to him/her when it was impossible for the baby to have

an opinion.

This essay will analyze two genres that will help to introduce and support the

argument. This because of the intended audience and purpose that both genres choose.

Also, because how their style and structure bring up the rhetorical issues. The first genre

is The Five Sexes, Revisits is a reading passage by Anne Fausto-Sterling. The author of

the reading focus in the reasons why these surgeries may not be the best options and

why they are still happening. The second genre is the video US: End Irreversible

Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants by Human Rights Watch organization. This video

shows real-life cases and information that explain why these operations should be

stopped on infants.
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Audience and Purpose

The reading intended audience are people without the knowledge of what

intersexuality is. Also, the author seems to have in mind feminists and intersexual activist

groups so they can be more aware of the complications that intersexual people may have

and how can they help it. Fausto-Sterling is trying to inform people what intersexuality

and she explain that is more common than what people think it is. Her main purpose is

to give a solution on why and how intersexuality can be normalized.

Human Rights Watch organization intended audience are families expecting a

newborn with the possibility to born with some type of intersexuality. Also, it can help

parents to learn and get information about this, when the parents may be in this situation

where they are being persuaded for a doctor to give consent to an unnecessary surgery.

The main purpose of the video is to persuade parents to postpone the surgery until the

infant becomes able to decide what she or he wants. Also, to inform all the bad irreversible

consequences that come with the genital infant surgery.

Both genres seem to have the same purpose and both support the argument.

Nevertheless, they do not share the same audience. The reading is more to inform people

and create more activist to defend gender and the video is more direct to families with an

intersexual baby.

Structure and Delivery

The Fausto-Sterlings reading is a traditional genre. The author begins the passage

by talking directly to activist groups. Afterwards, she starts the argument giving a

solutions to normalize intersexuality. I argued that the two-sex system embedded in our

society is not adequate to encompass the full spectrum of human sexuality (Fausto-

Sterling) Then she proposes another three genders that came from different aspects of
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intersexuality. Then following the solution, she explains what intersexuality is and gives

some research examples when the genital infant surgery was rejected by someone when

this person became an adult.

The video begins with a family telling their story about their intersexual baby,

they explain why they decided not to proceed with the surgery on their baby. In between

the family story the video show different kind of experts giving more details about cases

like the one form the family in the video. The video also shows an intersexual activist that

suffer many now unwanted surgeries when she was an infant that she wishes her parents

never approve.

The reading is more about to inform about intersexuality and persuade people to

be open-minded about it. The video is more visual and it makes you understand why

intersexuality so not have to be unnormal. Even if the two genes may have a different

structure the delivery message is same.

Rhetorical Issues

The three rhetorical appeals can be found during both genres the video and the

reading passage. Even if both exhibit a little bit of the three appeals they have one that is

stronger. Indeed, the video show more pathos and the reading passage ethos. The three

rhetorical appeals make documents to have more credibility. The video is more emotional.

It catches more the attention because people can get emotional and are able to understand

more why this genital surgery on infants are wrong. The audience can get this feeling

because they are able to see the body language from the video. Even if the reading passage

does not really show many emotional appeals. However, it used information and facts to

catch peoples attention.

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Ethos

The appeal to credibility. During the video, it is being shown many times. First

when after the introduction of the family story Dr. Susan E. Stred Professor of Pediatrics

appear. She explains why the intersex newborns surgical procedures are happening.

After her explanation, the narrator of the video is present as part of the Human Rights

Watch organization member. He is the one informing the consequences that these

surgeries can have on the infants. Then Dr. Joshua Safer Associate Professor give a brief

explanation on how hospitals and doctor manage intersexual infants situations.

Through the reading, the author gives us organizations such as Lawson Wilkins

Pediatric Endocrine Society (LWPES). Many doctors names, for example, medical

ethicist Laurence B. McCullough. Both authors mention many people with a high

education and experience that establish trust in the genres.

Pathos

The emotional appeal. When the video shows the family directly telling the story

it makes the audience to understand more personally an intersexual infant case. When

the dad is talking about their baby the audience can see how he was scared at the

beginning because it was also unknown to the topic for him. So, because the audience

can have visual contact with the parent and they can see how his voice breaks a little

when he talks about it is easy to understand him. Also, when the intersexual activist an

intersexual person itself is shown as a real case of how the surgery on infants can be bad,

the audience can understand the impotence that a person can have because someone

change her body without her consent. The reading does not exhibit photos at all, there

are stories of people like in the video but they are more informative than emotional.
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Logos

Logos is the logical appeal. Unfortunately, is the rhetorical issue that the video

does not show as much as the other two appeals. However, is not in existence and the

beginning of the video informed the percentage and approximately number of infants

being born with intersexuality. The reading has little more facts and numbers.

Effectiveness

After the analysis of both genres the conclusion is that the video is more effective.

Both the video and the reading passage show the three appeals but they are stronger in

the video. Because of the style and structure that the video have is easy to catch people

attentions and make them go back to the video again. The reading passage is not less

worth it but is hard to process is someone is not open to learn about this at the

beginning.

Conclusion

Both genres have their own way to get people inform. Even if The Five Sexes,

Revisits by Anne Fausto-Sterling is a reading passage and the US: End Irreversible

Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants by Human Rights Watch organization video are

very different genres both support them argument by using rhetorical appeals. Their

audience is not intended for the same discourse communities, the video is more to

parents and the reading with activist groups. Nevertheless, both try to persuade people

to accept different gender and to get rid of the genital infant surgery.
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References

HumanRightsWatch. US: End Irreversible Genital Surgeries on Intersex

Infants. YouTube, YouTube, 24 July 2017,
www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=67&v=KeAVdOJOfKk.

US: Harmful Surgery on Intersex Children. Human Rights Watch, 11 Aug. 2017,
www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/25/us-harmful-surgery-intersex-children.

Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000). The five sexes, revisited. The Sciences, 40(4), 18-23.