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中間性
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怎樣對待中間性 |
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社會-文化的態度
- 醫學傳統
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正象法律一樣，醫學也有宗教根源。只有幽靈、神仙或上帝能夠給人治病。當巫師、巫醫(巫婆)和法術師或牧師設法治療病人的時候，人們總以為惟有他們才能夠有回春之術。更重要的是(他們有)神力相助。在西方世界，古希臘與古羅馬的內科醫生是打破這種傳統認識的首批凡人。他們開始不理會這種所謂超自然的魔力，並且把科學原理運用於醫學實踐。在中世紀，古希臘和古羅馬醫生的醫術完好地被繼承下來並進一步由偉大的伊斯蘭醫生所發揚。繼而，融為一爐的古希臘、古羅馬和伊斯蘭醫生的醫術知識為歐洲第一個醫學院奠定了基礎，隨後的醫學研究積累與快速發展推動了無數醫學院的發展，最終產生了我們當今所見到的非凡的醫學科學進步。
然而，有一個被遺忘的角落：直到進入20世紀晚期，性醫學仍舊沉浸在不被公認的宗教和現代科學發展之前的幻想之中，愚蠢地把陳腐的違反宗教(或道德規範)行為和缺陷重新定義成疾病，以拯救或恢復性的秩序為己任。所以，正象他們前輩神學家一樣，性醫學的醫生們對任何類型的性變異(sexual variations)也不耐煩。在對待中間性的病例中，這就通常意味著儘早地對病人作出性別指派(sex assignment)甚或“矯正”手術。沒有人質疑對中間性者所迅即實施的“標準化手術”，卻有人堂而皇之地認為手術終究“體現了孩子的最大利益”。在人們看來，世界上畢竟只有兩個性別，任何介於這兩者之間的性特徵現象必須當作病態加以消除或抑制。像“缺陷(defect)”、“紊亂(disorder)”、“畸形(malformation)”和“變態(abnormality)”的醫學術語就反映了這種觀點。
誠然，長久以來，中間性的原因曾未可知。惟有現代基因與激素研究才最終揭開了基礎發現的帷幕，不過，甚至於到了今天，還沒有完全瞭解所有中間性的原因。儘管如此，醫生們至少已經懂得了要更加謹慎，他們懂得了尊重個體的差異。因此，他們現在照例承認每一個病人自主決定的權利。只要個人對自己異常的生理發育感到滿意，他們逐漸發現他們會根據自己的主張而被人所接納。畢竟，即便“非矯正的”中間性症狀也不會以任何形式貶低個人的尊嚴。 |
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Intersexuality - Dealing with Intersexuality |
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Socio-cultural Attitudes - Medical Traditions
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Just as the law, medicine also has religious roots. For many thousands of years, only the spirits, the gods or God could heal. When a shaman, witch doctor, medicine man, or priest tried to cure the sick, it was well understood that his treatment alone could not make them well again. Much more important was the help of divine forces. In the Western world, the physicians of ancient Greece and Rome were the first to break with this tradition. They began to disregard the supernatural and to apply scientific principles to the practice of medicine. In the Middle Ages, their work was preserved and further developed by great Islamic doctors. Their combined knowledge, in turn, laid the groundwork for the first Medical Schools in Europe, and the accumulation and acceleration of research conducted in these institutions eventually produced the enormous scientific advances we have seen in modern times.
However, there was one exception:
Well into the 20th century, sexual medicine remained tied to unacknowledged religious, prescientific notions. It simply redefined the old sins and vices as diseases and saw its duty in preserving or restoring sexual conformity. Therefore, just as the theologians before them, the doctors had little patience with sexual variations of any kind. In the case of intersexuality this usually meant the earliest possible sex assignment and “corrective” surgery. There was no doubt that a prompt “normalization” of an intersexual body was always “in the best interest of the child”. After all, there were only two sexes, and anything in between had to be eliminated or suppressed as unhealthy. Medical terms like “defect”, “disorder”, “malformation”, and “abnormality” reflected this view.
Of course, for a very long time the causes of intersexualty were unknown.
Only modern genetic and hormonal research finally opened the door to the essential discoveries, but even today not everything is fully understood. Still, doctors have learned enough to be more cautious and to respect personal differences. Accordingly, they now grant every patient the right to self-determination as a matter of course. As long as individuals are content with their atypical physical development, they increasingly find themselves accepted on their own terms. After all, even an “uncorrected” intersexual condition does not diminish a person’s dignity in any way. |
