Simply stated: corrective surgery in NOT necessary. Rather, why not change social views on intersexuality and be more open to and accepting of people who are blessed with a bit of both worlds?... Oh yeah, I forgot: we still live in a society that views gender distinctions quite rigidly. AND dinosaurs are still roaming this earth, pathologizing and demonizing anyone who doesn't fall into these tidy categories... One can only hope for the best, though.

"why not change social views on intersexuality and be more open to and accepting of people who are blessed with a bit of both worlds?"

Sure, lemme just snap my fingers and make that happen. Right or wrong, gender is the most basic criterion humans differentiate each other on--before age, race, nationality. We cant seem to eliminate prejudices based on those catagories, so I dont see how we can just make society gender-blind.

And another thing: dont go assuming all intersexed people want to be "in the middle." I have a good friend who was born intersexed, and she's eternally grateful her parents decided to raise her as a girl. Try living in the real world and not your Gender Studies textbook

I see you forgot to quote "Oh yeah, I forgot: we still live in a society that views gender distinctions quite rigidly. AND dinosaurs are still roaming this earth, pathologizing and demonizing anyone who doesn't fall into these tidy categories... "

That, my dear, was my way of saying "It aint gonna happen anytime soon, bitches, because the real world doesn't change that easily." That gave the first sentence some context, and pretty much summed up what you said afterward, thank you.

Who said anything about being "in the middle"?

Oh, right, Dan, because genitals are the be-all and end-all determiner of gender. If you'd actually read the article, you might have seen that the girl they mentioned whose parents didn't elect to operate on her IDENTIFIED AS A WOMAN and was just peachy with her junk.

I'm just as fond of the gender binary as anyone. But stop presuming that everyone else in the world is as uncomfortable with a potential partner having "ambiguous" genitalia as you are. Intersexed folks with non-cut-on genitals might have to weed out their dates more than some other folks, but that doesn't make their life miserable.

Touché, Nick! Well said.

Let's also remember that although your friend was highly uncomfortable being intersexed and is living in bliss now that she's a girl, she does not represent ALL intersexed individuals.

Also, one has to question WHY your friend felt an aversion toward the thought of remaining intersexed in the first place. Something tells me this is more (and forgive me for using such a binary example) 'nurture' (her upbringing and current conceptions of gender) rather than 'nature'.