Aotearoa childhood genital (re)assignment surgery: A case for the right to bodily integrity

Abstract
Sex and gender are established on the appearance of two body types, male/female, boy/girl. Expressions at variance to these forms often summon the need for standardisation. Of concern is the practice of Childhood Genital (Re)assignment Surgery on intersex children. The study aimed to identify discourses and practices constituting the experience of Child Genital Reassignment Surgery (CGRS) from a perspective of an adult. A collaborative qualitative intrinsic single case study draws from personal experience and poststructuralist ideas to analyse discourses and disciplinary practices shaping CGRS. Data included a written autobiographical recollection of childhood memories of genital reassignment surgery. Thematic analysis was used to identify discourse and practices shaping the meaning of CGRS. Two predominant discourses, hetero-normativity and medicine were identified, from which four broad themes filtered: an historical context; finishing and feminising; silencing possibilities for self; and a (dis) embodied self. Each were tangential to a discursive practice. CGRS has enduring consequences for children and adults alike. Nurses can make a difference by supporting parents’ informed decisions as to their child’s care while respecting a child’s right to bodily integrity.

Ngā ariā matua
He mea āta tautuhi te ira me te tuakiri ira i runga i te āhua o ngā momo tinana e rua, tāne/wahine, me te tama/kōtiro. Ina puta he rerekētanga i waho i ēnei āhuatanga e rua, ka rangona te hiahia kia whakahāngaitia ki tētahi o ēnei. Tētahi āwangawanga i ēnei rā ko ngā Tīpokatanga Huripoki Taihemahema i te Tamarikitanga mō ngā tamariki waenga-ira. Tētahi whāinga o te rangahau he tautuhi i ngā kōrero me ngā tikanga mahi o ngā wheako o Te Tīpokatanga Huripoki Taihemahema Tamariki, ki tā te pakeke titiro. Ka waihangatia tētahi rangahau putanga takitahi taketake ā-momo āhuatanga mahitahi i ngā wheako whaiaro me ngā ariā turaki maioro hei wetewete i ngā whakawhitinga kōrero me ngā tikanga ngaio e arataki ana i Te Tīpokatanga Huripoki Taihemahema te Tamariki. I roto i ngā raraunga ko tētahi kohinga haukiri i āta tuhia mō ngā maharatanga a ngā tamariki mō ngā tīpokatanga huripoki taihemahema. I whakamahia he tātaritanga ā-kōwae whakaaro hei tautuhi i ngā kōrero me ngā ritenga mahi e tārei ana i te tikanga o te Tīpokatanga Huripoki Taihemahema Tamariki. E rua ngā whakawhitinga kōrero matua i tautuhitia, ko te tāne piri ki te wahine hei huarahi mō te nuinga me ngā rongoā, ā, e whā ngā ariā whakaaro i tātaritia: ngā tātai kōrero o mua; te whakaoti me te whakawahine; te whakangū i ngā huarahi mō te tuakiri; me te tuakiri whai tinana, (kore-tinana). I haere tahi ēnei mea katoa me tētahi kawenga mahi toro-whānui. He whānui, he mauroa hoki te Tīpokatanga Huripoki Taihemahema Tamariki mā te tamariki, mā te pakeke anō hoki. Ka taea e ngā tapuhi te āwhina mā te tautoko i ngā hiahia a ngā mātua mō te tiaki i ā rātou tamariki, me te whakamana hoki i te tika o te tamaiti kia noho kotahi tonu tōna tinana.

Keywords/Ngā kupu matua
Sex-gender binary/ Takirua ira-tuakiri ira, intersex/ waenga ira, hetero-normativity/ tāne piri ki te wahine hei huarahi mō te nuinga, pathologizing/ te kī māuiui.