Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex

Bodies in Doubt, by Elizabeth Reis, is a comprehensive history of intersex in America that has been updated to reflect recent shifts in attitudes, bioethics, and medical and legal practices. Reis argues that medical practice must be understood within its broader cultural context and how physicians have been influenced by social anxieties about marriage, heterosexuality, and same-sex desire.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2021
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

This renowned history of intersex in America has undergone a comprehensive update to reflect the recent shifts in attitudes, bioethics, and medical and legal practices. In Bodies in Doubt, Elizabeth Reis delves into the evolving definitions, perceptions, and medical management of intersex (atypical sex development) in America, spanning from the colonial period to the present. Reis argues that medical practice must be understood within its broader cultural context, showcasing how social anxieties about marriage, heterosexuality, and same-sex desire have deeply influenced physicians throughout American history.

In this second edition, Reis has added two new chapters, a new preface, and a revised introduction to assess the recent dramatic shifts in attitudes, bioethics, and medical and legal practices. Human rights organizations have declared early genital surgeries a form of torture and abuse, yet doctors continue to offer surgical repair, and parents continue to seek it for their children. While many are responding to the human rights call, controversies persist, and Reis provides an insightful explanation as to why best practices in this field remain fiercely contested.

Weight: 410g
Dimension: 153 x 227 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421441849
Edition number: second edition