‘They did not have a word’: The parental quest to locate a ‘true sex’ for their intersex children

Abstract

Given the paucity of research in this area, the primary aim of this study was to explore how parents of infants with unclear sex at birth made sense of ‘intersex’. Qualitative methods were used (semi-structured interviews, interpretative phenomenological analysis) with 10 parents to generate pertinent themes and provide ideas for further research. Our analysis highlights the fundamental shock engendered by the uncertain sex status of children, and documents parental struggles to negotiate a coherent sex identity for their children. Findings are discussed in light of the rigid two-sex system which pervades medicine and everyday life, and we argue that greater understanding of the complexity of sex and gender is required in order to facilitate better service provision and, ultimately, greater informed consent and parental participation regarding decisions about their children's status.

Keywords:

• Intersex
• ambiguous genitalia
• gender
• qualitative
• parents

Notes

Note

[1] Quotation conventions. Pseudonyms are used throughout to protect anonymity. Any words given particular emphasis by a participant are underlined. A pause in the conversation is indicated by the symbol (·). Where parts of text have been omitted this will be indicated by { }. Where notation has been inserted or replaced, either to protect confidentiality, or to aid understanding, the text will is within square brackets [ ].