Changes in medical practice do not happen overnight, but through the hard work of scholars, physicians, and patient advocates. It is important to acknowledge the breadth and depth of such alliances, because they offer insight into how to change social policy.
Anne Fausto-Sterling
Professor of Biology and Women's Studies
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
The article describes a study by William Reiner on the development of gender identity in genetic males with pelvic field defects who are raised as females.1 Many of these, Reiner's study shows, develop male gender identity despite castration and female rearing.
The article incorrectly implies that the experience of patient-advocacy groups such as the Intersex Society of
North America (ISNA) provides evidence that nature trumps nurture. In fact, gender identity development is complex, and available data make clear that neither nature nor nurture is fully determining. For instance, Jean Wilson has described siblings with 5-alpha-reductase ...
