Research and Knowledge Exchange Webinars

Tuesday 21st of July 7 PM Central European Time

Cutting Across: Comparing Bodily Autonomy Across Intersex Care, Gender-Affirmative Care, and Genital Surgeries

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In recent years, questions surrounding sex and gender minorities have occupied an increasingly prominent position in public, political, and academic arenas. Debates concerning gender-affirming care, particularly those involving puberty-blocking interventions, have frequently been defined by intense polarisation and moral panic within many Western societies. Comparable degrees of scrutiny and contention have long characterised discussions of female genital cutting and male circumcision, which continue to be shaped by the enduring legacies of moral relativism, racialised assumptions, hierarchies of religious freedom, and postcolonial power structures. By contrast, medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children, though intrinsically linked to these debates, are often merely alluded to in passing and remain significantly underexplored in both public and academic spheres.

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This webinar moves beyond the issue-specific analyses that currently prevail by adopting a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to bodily interventions. By situating gender-affirming care for minors, intersex surgeries, female genital cutting, and male circumcision in direct conversation with one another, the webinar seeks to interrogate how norms and practices concerning bodily integrity, consent, human rights, and gender are formulated, contested, and transformed across various socio-legal and medical contexts.

Speakers:

Marissa Adams; Program Manager, InterConnect Support Group - formerly known as AIS-DSD Support Group, and PSI-I Steering Group member

Marissa has over a decade of experience working with people with variations of sex characteristics (VSC) and their families in peer support and advocacy capacities. In addition to her work in advocacy and peer support, Marissa is a researcher with interests including healthcare experiences of people with VSC and their families, demographic data collection, and clinical psychology. Marissa has a B.S. in psychology from Towson University (Baltimore, Maryland), has received training as an Inclusive Eating Disorder Professional, and has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Cecilia Frascaroli; PhD student in Politics at Newcastle University, funded by the NINE DTP (North East of England and Northern Ireland Doctoral Training Partnership), part of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). I have completed the master’s degree in “Philosophy of the Contemporary World” at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan (Italy).

My research project focuses on the issue of genital surgery on non-consenting minors, specifically examining Variations in sex characteristics (VSC) surgery, Male Circumcision, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The central aim of this research is to understand why these procedures are viewed differently within Western legal and moral frameworks.

Martin Gramc; bioethicist, sociologist and PSI-I Steering Group member.  Currently he is a Max Weber Fellow at the SPS and Law Department. They hold a PhD from the University of Zürich, where they were also awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. Their research spans across medical sciences, socio-legal studies and gender studies. Martins’ current project investigates how the intersection of medical and legal frameworks in intersex and gender-affirming care impacts the visibility and autonomy of intersex and transgender individuals.

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Meeting ID: 892 474 5991,  Passcode: veE6Pg