Against the quiet revolution: The rhetorical construction of intersex individuals as disordered

Abstract

There has been a widespread change in nomenclature surrounding intersex since a consortium of doctors issued a consensus document that stated the term intersex was imprecise and outdated. Suggesting Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) as the alternative, the document has been widely adopted by doctors internationally. Although some have celebrated the reform as a quiet revolution, the decision to label intersex individuals as disordered dangerously pathologizes them, labeling them as defective and in need of correction. This article analyzes the effects of the new nomenclature on intersex identities and offers Differences of Sex Development as a corrective.