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NOTE TO USERS Page(s) not included in the original manuscript and are unavailable from the author or university. The manuscript was microfilmed as received. 1 (qty) missing between pages 112 and 121 also 129 This reproduction is the best copy available. EMBODIED STORES, PRAGMATIC LMS: INTERSEX BODY NARRATIVES ON THE NET Michal Rachel Nahrnan A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fùlfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in Social Anthropology York University Toronto, Ontario National Library Bibliothèque nationale I*I of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services se~icesbibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada Your fi& Voire rdfemce Our 61e krre refdrence The author has graoted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distnbute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othenivise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Embodied Stories, Pragmatic Lives: Intersex Body Narratives on the Net by Michal Rachel Nahrnan a thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts O Permission has been granted tc the L18RARY OF YORK UNI- VERSITY to lend or sel1 copies of this thesis. to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this thesis and to lend or seIl copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publication rights. and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or other- wise reproduced without the author's written permission. ABSTRACT This is a study of the pragmatic ways in which intersex-identified people negotiate bodies ori the Internet. For approximately five years 'intersexuals', people previously known as hermaphrodites, have been developing websites, posting testirnonials and participating in emaii discussions which focus on th& experiences of medical mistreatrnent. For four months in 1999 1 spoke with, wrote to and read the online testimonials of intersex-identified people. This cyber- fieldwork has Ied to the deveIopment of this thesis. My study traces some of the developments of online communication by and arnong intersex-identified people. I focus on expressions of embodiment in intersex body narratives as a way of thinking about feminist theories of the body. Acknowledgments This thesis was influenced by the ideas of many people. They are clearly not responsible for any mistakes I have made here, but they have certainly helped shape my ideas. Dr. Naomi Adelson, my thesis advisor encouraged me to take on this research project when I first conceived it, and reminded me that I was capable of conducting it. Dr. Shubhra Gururani, saw me through many moments of writer's block and inteIlectuaI uncertainty. Dr. Georgina Feldberg, served as a mentor and provided endless encouragement and advice. My former roommates Drs. Sharonie Valin and Brian Buck, conscientious physicians, were there for me throughout the years of my research and were interesting sounding boards. To my dear friends Louise Smith and lan Cosh both of whom read, re-read and offered insight at various stages of my writing. I am indebted to Morgan Holmes for many reasons, not the least of which are her constant intellectual and moral support. Thank you to rny parents whose perseverance and faith in me was solid, even when they were unsure about just why I chose to do this particular project. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to my sister, Lila Nahrnan, a strong young feminist who struggles and Iaughs in the face of adversity. "1am intersexed! " By Lee, Intersex Voices i was not born female he stole myseiffrom me i luas not born male i was nof born female my mother screamed i was not born male the doctor rubbed his hands wifh glee i was made, created female myfather spat wirh dhgust made tominto your tuorCd the doctor rubbed his handi wirh glee your limited, two-gender world interesting, #te mlcsed, interesting your frightened, unnaturai world he iooked af my vagina i am your shme interesting, h e mused, interesting so you make mefeel ashanred he iooked af my penis i am your fear an interesting medical problem so you make mefeel afraid whaf do we do said my mother i am your Iridden self trust me said the doctor so yoii make me need to hide what do we do said myfather i am the mystes, you hate trust me said the doctor so you make me Irate myself what we have here ik yes i was not female he tested and studied su yoii said i had a probiem what we have here IS a i was not male he poked and he prodded so yort said i had a problem gid, simpïy a girl with a problem yori stole myself from me a very, very interesting problem you are my problem don 'd worry, just trust me your srnail fwo-gendered world he picked up the scalpel i am your other i know what to do i am not female he stole my penk from me i amyour other don 't worry, i'm the expert i am not male he stole my beardfrom me i amyour 0ther i'l1jmt fi! nature's rniktake i am intersex i am hermaphrodite i am your otiier and i celebrate Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgments Frontispiece Chapter One: Inter(net)sexuality: An Ethnographic Study in Cyberspace 1. Introduction II. Background a. Medical Management b. Defining intersex 'conditions' 1. Examining 'Intersex/ualityled' ii. Some Medical Definitions iii. Satirical Definitions III. Situating Myself 13 IV. ldentity politics of intersexuality on the Internet 15 V. The Politics of Representation 16 a. lntersex Body Narratives b. Other representations of lntersexuality VI. The Romance of Virtuality and (Dis)embodiment 22 a. lntroducing Embodirnent b. Disembodiment and Virtuality in Popular Culture c. (Dis)embodiment In Feminist Literature 1. "lt's Intersexed!": Negotiating Body1 Sex/Gender VIL Cyborg Bodies 29 VIII. The Research 32 lx. Summary 33 Chapter Two: Siting Inter(net)sexuality: Refiections on Methods 1. Introduction 36 II. Fieldwork Methods 38 III. Examining Cyberanthropology 44 IV. Summary 51 Chapter Three: Re-evaluating the Feminist Quest for Resistance 52 1. The many Facets of the lntersex vii 'Movernent' a. lntersex Society of North America i. The Website b. lntersex Voices c. Androgen lnsensitivity Syndrome Support Group i. The Website d. =KU e. Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia II. lntersex Movement? Some Similarities and Differences 62 III. Sallie: "Living in a world that expects you to be either male and female" 69 IV. Stepping in, out and around the boxes 81 a. D and Shellie b. Chromosomes V. Surnmary 88 Chapter Four: Embodiment on the Net: Managing lntersexuality 90 1. (Un1Re)marking the Body or "My hermaphroditic Hair follicle" 92 Il Narrating medical (mis)treatrnent 96 111. "lt's Easier to Make a Hole Than Build a Pole" 100 Chapter Five: lntersex Pragmatics, Conclusions IO1 Appendixes (AJ) 105 Sources Cited 122 Tables and Figures Table 1 Figure 1 viii Chapter 1: Inter(net)sexuality: An Ethnographie Study in Cyberspace f. Introduction In this thesis 1 explore the ways in which intersex body narratives on the lnternet challenge the myths of a unitary, resistant 'intersexual body' and 'intersex movernent'. These intersex body narratives have led me to develop this feminist ethnography of embodiment. From May to September 1999 1 collected diverse anecdotes which describe acceptance, resistance and ambivalence toward rnedical diagnosis and treatrnent(s) of intersexuality. The multiplicity of perspectives which intersex-identified people express in online communication dernonstrate that they are diverse individuals with particular histories. The narratives also help me to reflect on a central probfem in recent feminist theories of the body and therefore to write this feminist ethnography of embodiment. Feminist theory has reached a crisis in which the tension between the body's materiality and its discursive construction is central (Balsamo 1996). 'Intersexuality', with its discursive and material bridging of boundaries between male/female and nature/culture, provides an apt opportunity to explore this crisis. Despite the ways in which others have portrayed them (Fausto-Sterling 2000, Kaplan 7999, Kessler 1998) intersexuals are not necessarily politically active. socially resistant individuals. Not al1 of the people I spoke to were invested in or concerned with the 'intersex movement'. These people's lives do not always revolve around intersexuality or the desire to correct medical practice. Several people in my study, however, are deeply cornrnitted to the goals of the 'intersex movement' (see Chapter 3). Concern over medical protocols for treating intersexuality has unified these more resistant individuals (and has sometimes caused rifts amongst them). Yet, even these politically active people do not pursue their resistance to rnedical (rnis)management of intersexuality on a daily basis. In my conversations with them, intersex-identified peopie dernonstrated many ways of negotiating medical and social treatrnent. Their reflections on and assertions of bioiogically sexed bodies are the focus of this thesis.