Lung Cancer Link to HRT

September 2009: Hormone replacement therapy is again under a safety cloud amid new findings that women taking the combined version of the treatment face a 70 per cent higher risk of dying from lung cancer, if they are first unlucky enough to develop it. More here.

AISSG Australia Website Archived by PANDORA

September 2009: This website has been archived for future generations by PANDORA. PANDORA, Australia's Web Archive, is a growing collection of Australian online publications, established initially by the National Library of Australia in 1996, and now built in collaboration with nine other Australian libraries and cultural collecting organisations.

Vile Campaign against South African athlete Caster Semenya

September 2009: There have been numerous reports recently in the mainstream media questioning the gender of young South African athlete Caster Semenya, suggesting that she has an intersex condition such as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Sadly the 'row' about whether she is female, male or intersex has produced a great deal of reportage and opinion that is homophobic, racist, disrespectful, deceptive, fear-laden and shameful. The International Association of Athletics Federations' actions and motives for creating such an unnecessary furore must be questioned as well.

However, a number of articles are now coming out in support of Semenya around the world, many trying to clarify what intersex is and how the various conditions work, some even interviewing women with AIS (including AISSG Australia President Phoebe Hart and Vice-President Tony Briffa - see below "The uncertain sex: 'Nothing in nature is normal'"). Perhaps the controversy will lead to a greater understanding of intersex conditions by the wider population but at what cost to Semenya and her family? As Gordon Farquar points out in his blog for the BBC, Indian runner Santhi Soundarajan attempted suicide in 2007 after failing gender tests and being stripped of the silver medal she won in the 800m at the 2006 Asian Games.

If we accept the situation is: Semenya has three times the average testosterone levels for a woman (note "average" and not "normal"), does not have ovaries or a uterus, was born with internal testes, and has not had any medical intervention. This means her condition is likely to be Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS). She is not a drug cheat, but was born with a genetic condition and probably didn't even know about it.

Relevance of having ovaries/uterus and testes: Irrelevant. The fact Semenya does not have ovaries or a uterus does nothing to her status as a woman. Lots of women have their ovaries and uterus removed, or are born without them, and they are women. Semenya's testes are not the same as testes in a normal male. They cannot produce sperm and she cannot father children. Ironically, this is because they don't respond sufficiently to male hormones!

Relevance of testosterone level and a possible undue advantage: The level of testosterone means nothing if a person's body is unable to process and respond to it properly. That is exactly the case in women with AIS. In fact, if Semenya had a average response to testosterone (a type of androgen) she would not have AIS! The fact Semenya was born and raised as a girl means her genital appearance at birth and childhood was typical of a girl. This can only be the case if her response to androgens is poor. If her response was mild to good, she would have had masculinised genitalia. Semenya does not have an undue advantage because of her testosterone levels because the testosterone is not having an affect on her body. An Endocrinologist can confirm the reason her testosterone level is so high is that her body does not recognise the testosterone in her system, so is stimulating the testis to produce more testosterone. However, it is not having an affect. If it were, Semenya would have a beard, greater musculature, masculinised genital appearance, etc.

Law and the Olympics/World Championships Women with AIS are recognised under law as being women. They can marry, adopt and be legally entitled to all rights and responsibilities conferred to every other woman. There have been athletes in the Olympics and World Championships with AIS in the past, and they were accepted as women. The Sydney 2000 Olympics were the most liberal yet in terms of gender testing. The only difference in this case is that Semenya won. The fact her ethnicity tends to result in women looking more muscular certainly has also had an (albeit unspoken) influence in this case. Human rights This is clearly a case of discrimination on the basis of a genetic condition and sex (in some states this could also constitute discrimination on the basis of an impairment, physical variation, disability and gender identity).

The uncertain sex: 'Nothing in nature is normal' 

Shameful treatment: South African athlete deserves better

I feel for Caster Semenya - I am a woman with male chromosomes 

Science Is Forcing Sports to Re-examine Their Core Principles 

'I was treated like a circus sideshow' 

Semenaya should compete 'as woman'

Semenya's sex test explained

Scant support for sex test on champion athlete

Gender is not just a matter of chromosomes

Where’s the Rulebook for Sex Verification?

Think before you say 'she's a man'

Gender row athlete: What is intersexuality?

Gender dilemma: Was Semenya really first among equals?

HREOC and Intersex

July 2009: The Australian Human Rights Commission has just tabled a report on surgery on intersex infants and their human rights, after conducting an a project on human rights and sex and gender diversity in 2008. For more information please download the pdf version of the report located here.

Pandemic Flu

June 2009: There has been extensive media coverage over the past couple months regarding the spread of a new virus, also called “swine flu”.

While we are still in the early stages of this flu outbreak, the World Health Organisation has advised that the infection can spread between humans and that appropriate precautions should be taken. The link here provides useful information about this flu.

If you are planning to travel overseas need to be alert to the risks associated with the destinations of your travel. If planning to travel you should closely monitor the Federal Government’s Foreign Affairs website for travel advisories.

At this time, we can all help reduce the spread of any influenza virus by taking these steps recommended by health authorities:

· Wash hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based anti-bacterial hand gel.

· Wash hands prior to touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

· When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues which should be disposed of immediately.

· Don't share items such as cigarettes, glasses or cups, lipstick, or anything which could be contaminated with respiratory secretions.

· Consult your doctor if you have flu–like symptoms and follow their instructions, including remaining at home and taking medicine as prescribed.

· If you don’t have a doctor you can call 13 HEALTH (13 432 584).

· If planning to attend a medical practice or hospital Emergency Department, telephone beforehand so that they can arrange for you to be seen away from other people.

Altruistic Surrogacy to be Decriminalised

The Bligh Government will decriminalise altruistic surrogacy in Queensland, giving hundreds of women and couples the opportunity to have children. The announcement came 23 April, 2009. For the full story, please click here. Also visit our page on infertility.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) Gender Diversity Paper

The AISSG Australia had the opportunity to make a submission to HREOC's Gender Diversity Paper, and also to meet with the Commissioner in June 2008.

We welcome HREOC'S valuable contribution to the understanding and legal recognition of the ethical issues surrounding the gender diverse community. And it seems that HREOC have listened!

As recently reported in various News Limited newspapers, the Federal Government's human rights arm plans to invent a new official status called "intersex" adding it to male and female as a legally recognised gender.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission wants people to be able to change their gender on their passports and driving licences even if they do not undergo surgery.

We look forward to working further with HREOC in the future.

'House' on the Rampage

An episode of House (Network Ten) entitled "Skin Deep" will be broadcast as a repeat on 11/6/08. The subject of the episode is an unwell supermodel under Dr House's care who turns out to have AIS.

Be warned the episode is not supposed to be a good or accurate reflection of AIS. Here is what the Intersex Society of North America says about this episode on their website:

For those who didn’t see the show, allow me to summarize the painful episode. A 15 year old supermodel presents with mysterious symptoms, such as erratic behavior and uncontrollable twitching. Throughout the show, much is made of her feminine physique, with comments about her beautiful breasts and buttocks playing a lead role in the dialogue—even among the doctors. In the course of searching for a diagnosis, the medical team discovers that the young woman has been using heroin and that her father sexually abused her once while he was intoxicated. After ruling out effects from the heroin and possible post traumatic stress disorder resulting from the sexual abuse, House finally reaches the conclusion that the young supermodel must have cancer and a series of scans reveal internal testes that are malignant.

When House enters the hospital room to tell the young supermodel and her father what the team has found, he immediately questions the young woman’s sex identity, calling her “him” and announcing that he will schedule “him” for surgery. In what appeared to be an incredibly bungled and inaccurate explanation of AIS, House tells the young woman and her father that she is really a man because her DNA says so. He refers to the young woman as a male pseudohermaphrodite and callously comments that the ultimate woman (the supermodel type) is really a man. When the young woman becomes upset and protests, crying out that she is a woman and ripping her hospital gown off to show her body to the doctor as proof, House quips that he’s going to “cut her balls off” and then she’ll be fine. In a final offensive twist, House tells the father that he supposes knowing his daughter is really a man will keep him from sexually abusing his daughter again because doing so would now be “gross” and would mean the father was a “homo.”

From the use of the supermodel stereotype to represent a woman with AIS, to the backward assumption that chromosomes reveal the “truth” about sex, to the refusal to listen to the young woman when she clearly states that she is female, this episode mocks both people with Disorders of Sex Development and the work that the intersex community has done to end shame. The frequency of Disorders of Sex Development is grossly under-estimated in the program at one in 150,000 (one in 1,500 is a more accurate frequency). Dr. House also claimed, inaccurately, that ovaries differentiate into testes. And, of course, there’s also the trivialization of sexual abuse and the homophobia inherent in House’s comments about why the father won’t abuse his daughter again. Frankly, the episode was so flawed that I can’t even begin to address all its sins in this blog.

ISNA Board Member, Jane Goto, happens to be a woman with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, the condition likely referenced in the “Skin Deep” episode of House. Jane found this program particularly disturbing and states “My biggest fear is that some poor gal with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome or a similar condition is going to watch this program and be profoundly damaged as a result, wrapping herself in a shroud of shame, avoiding medical care and the excellent peer support currently available. Shame on the producers of this show and medical consultant/writers including David Foster MD for not only being mean-spirited but squandering a golden opportunity to inform.”

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