History of intersex surgery

Intersex surgery is when doctors perform an operation on a person's body because they were born with sex organs, chromosomes, or hormones that aren't typically male or female. These surgeries have a long history, but it's a complicated one, so let's break it down.

In the past, doctors believed that there were only two sexes, male and female. If a baby was born with sex organs or chromosomes that didn't fit into these categories, they were often subjected to surgery to "fix" them. This was done to make them look more like a typical male or female, and to make their bodies work more like one of those categories.

This often involved removing or altering sex organs to make them look more like typical male or female genitals. It was also common for doctors to perform surgeries to "fix" hormones or chromosomes, even though these things are not visible on the outside of a person's body.

However, many people who underwent these surgeries experienced serious problems later in life. Some lost the ability to feel pleasure during sex, while others experienced pain or difficulty urinating. Many were angry at the doctors and parents who made the decision to alter their bodies without their consent.

Today, doctors and experts in the intersex community recognize that these surgeries should only be performed when it's absolutely necessary for a person's health, and when the person is old enough to understand the risks and benefits of the surgery. Surgery should never be the only option, and people should be given a choice in what happens to their bodies.

So, in short, intersex surgery used to be much more common, but is now only done when necessary and with consent.