Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels (Web)

Time: 31.01.-01.02.2024
Venue: Brussels|Bruxelles
Proposals by: 30.06.2023

Intersex studies are an emergent field that developed in the 1990s and early 2000s. This field has changed the ways intersex people and their bodies are addressed. As such, it articulates the debate, and brings into focus issues such as rights, autonomy, subjectivity, and social movements. It insists on intersex people’s knowledge and epistemologies and questions the medical authority over intersex bodies. This growing body of literature in sciences and humanities has started a new conversation on intersex issues, arguably one directed towards a more ‘critical’ approach that goes beyond the scope of medical practices and clinical research. Critical intersex studies aim to show how the medicalization of intersex bodies and the jurisdiction of medical power classify intersex variations as ‘disorders’ and intersect with other systems of oppression, such as gender, race, class, disability and religion which restrain the rights and autonomy of intersex people. This conference aims to bring together researchers in the field of critical intersex studies from multi- and interdisciplinary approaches to show the current state of intersex research.
For the larger part of the 20th century, intersex people have only been seen and understood through medical lenses. From the ‘optimal gender policy’ to the Chicago Consensus Statement, intersex bodies have been institutionalized within the medical discipline. As research indicates, intersex people face numerous challenges and barriers throughout their lives. One of the main abuses and claims, as social movements highlight, is the unnecessary and non-consensual medical interventions aimed to ‘normalize’ their bodies and a lack of recognition of their human rights as well as stigma and discrimination. Despite this, intersex-related research has mostly focused on the medical and clinical fields, leaving other approaches behind or invisible until recently. Read more and source … (Web)