It is generally thought that in amphibians, thyroid hormones (THs) regulate metamorphosis, while sex steroids (estrogens and androgens) regulate gonadal differentiation. However, inhibition of TH synthesis in frogs alters gonadal differentiation, suggesting instead that these two endocrine axes interact during development. Specifically, THs may be involved in male development, while estrogens may inhibit tadpole metamorphosis. However, we do not currently know the mechanisms that account for these interactions, let alone how such mechanisms may differ between species. To develop and test new hypotheses on the roles of sex steroids and THs, I first examined transcriptional profiles (mRNA) of enzymes and receptors related to sex steroids and THs during embryogenesis and metamorphosis in Silurana tropicalis. Tadpoles were exposed to either an estrogen synthesis inhibitor (fadrozole) or TH (triiodothyronine, T3) during early larval or tadpole development. Acute exposures of S. tropicalis to fadrozole or T3 during early development resulted in increased expression of androgen- and TH-related genes in whole body larvae, while chronic exposure to fadrozole during metamorphosis affected gonadal differentiation but did not affect tadpole development. On the other hand, acute exposure to T3 during metamorphosis increased the expression of androgen-related transcripts both in the brain and gonad. In S. tropicalis, the results suggested that cross-talk is primarily in one direction (i.e., effect of THs on the reproductive axis) with a strong relationship between TH and androgen status. Lastly, I established developmental transcript profiles and investigated T3 regulation of brain and gonad transcripts in Engystomops pustulosus. I then compared these results with S. tropicalis and an earlier study in Lithobates pipiens. While each species developed with similar profiles, they differed in their response to T3. Exposure to T3 resulted in either an increase in androgen-related genes (S. tropicalis) or a decrease in estrogen-related genes (E. pustulosus and L. pipiens). In conclusion, these data demonstrated that cross-talk mechanisms differ among these three evolutionary separate species, but in all cases, T3 appears to affect the balance of sex steroids, stimulating the androgen system and providing potential mechanisms of the masculinising effects of THs. These results will contribute to understanding the mechanisms of hormone interactions and their evolutionary basis in frogs.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 90).

This thesis considers how understandings of the sexed body changed in Britain during the 1930s. Popular versions of sex changeability were grounded in medical science and I examine how medico-scientific research into hormones changed understandings of where sex was located in the body. I examine the historically specific concept of normality, which medics employed to ascertain whether or not individuals ought to have their sex reclassified. I focus on L. R. Broster, a surgeon at London’s Charing Cross Hospital. I analyse Broster’s case studies, published in 1938 as The Adrenal Cortex and Intersexuality, which showed the markers medical professionals were using to assign sex. The thesis investigates how Broster’s work in the burgeoning field of endocrinology generated distinctive narratives of sexual mutability and locatedness in the body. Broster was an important figure in the press stories about changes of sex and provides a link between them and the medical research occurring at Charing Cross. During the 1930s the popular daily, local and Sunday newspapers contained numerous articles about individuals whose sex had changed. These accounts were treated in a mostly positive tone and were held up as being symptomatic of scientific modernity. I argue that this concept of ‘sex change’ does not neatly map on to present day categories, be they intersexuality, transsexuality, transgender or any other. Older categories such as that of the ‘man-woman’ persisted into the 1930s as a way to conceive of sexual ambiguity and changeability. That sex could change, and in particular that women could become men, was an idea that had a wide reach across popular culture. New concepts of hormones and of sex change were also taken up in special- interest magazines, adverts, fiction and popular science. I explore the dissemination of ideas about sex changeability and the role of hormones beyond the press and medical studies to show their pervasiveness. I pay particular attention to two very different magazines, Urania and London Life. These magazines extended the life of articles about changes of sex by reprinting and recontextualising them. They point to the interest that such stories attracted and the ways in which they were harnessed to competing ideological ends. Women's increased participation in sport also changed understandings of the sexed body, having an impact on gender roles and the sexed and gendered meanings ascribed to physical features such as muscles. Women’s athleticism suggested that competitiveness could also be a female trait, and that muscularity was not exclusively male. I consider how the achievements of sportswomen, and the more typically masculine bodies they developed, challenged the received differences between men and women. Attention to the sexed body as a site of cultural concern expands the remit of queer historiography beyond sexual identities and practices. I argue that scientific developments and popular culture coalesced to create an environment in which sex characteristics were not fixed and the sexed body was seen as mutable.

It is generally thought that in amphibians, thyroid hormones (THs) regulate metamorphosis, while sex steroids (estrogens and androgens) regulate gonadal differentiation. However, inhibition of TH synthesis in frogs alters gonadal differentiation, suggesting instead that these two endocrine axes interact during development. Specifically, THs may be involved in male development, while estrogens may inhibit tadpole metamorphosis. However, we do not currently know the mechanisms that account for these interactions, let alone how such mechanisms may differ between species. To develop and test new hypotheses on the roles of sex steroids and THs, I first examined transcriptional profiles (mRNA) of enzymes and receptors related to sex steroids and THs during embryogenesis and metamorphosis in Silurana tropicalis. Tadpoles were exposed to either an estrogen synthesis inhibitor (fadrozole) or TH (triiodothyronine, T3) during early larval or tadpole development. Acute exposures of S. tropicalis to fadrozole or T3 during early development resulted in increased expression of androgen- and TH-related genes in whole body larvae, while chronic exposure to fadrozole during metamorphosis affected gonadal differentiation but did not affect tadpole development. On the other hand, acute exposure to T3 during metamorphosis increased the expression of androgen-related transcripts both in the brain and gonad. In S. tropicalis, the results suggested that cross-talk is primarily in one direction (i.e., effect of THs on the reproductive axis) with a strong relationship between TH and androgen status. Lastly, I established developmental transcript profiles and investigated T3 regulation of brain and gonad transcripts in Engystomops pustulosus. I then compared these results with S. tropicalis and an earlier study in Lithobates pipiens. While each species developed with similar profiles, they differed in their response to T3. Exposure to T3 resulted in either an increase in androgen-related genes (S. tropicalis) or a decrease in estrogen-related genes (E. pustulosus and L. pipiens). In conclusion, these data demonstrated that cross-talk mechanisms differ among these three evolutionary separate species, but in all cases, T3 appears to affect the balance of sex steroids, stimulating the androgen system and providing potential mechanisms of the masculinising effects of THs. These results will contribute to understanding the mechanisms of hormone interactions and their evolutionary basis in frogs.

The thesis deals with the normative discourse of transsexuality, both from a general cultural- historical perspective in the context of Western science and medicine and more specifically in the context of Czech sexology. On a detailed analysis of the publication Transsexualita: Diagnostika a léčba (Transsexuality: Diagnostics and Treatment), I illustrate the currently dominant conceptualization of transgender and/or transsexuality as a disorder, which, due to its normative influence, predetermines not only the possibilities of (self)identification available to trans* people in the Czech Republic, but also their treatment by Czech society and state institutions (e.g. in the conditions to be met for legal gender recognition, which still include compulsory sterilization). Methodologically, the thesis is chiefly grounded in discourse analysis, but it also shows an ethical standpoint in relation to the situation of Czech trans* people in the legal and medical systems. I also consider the factual dimension of transgender status and other expressions of gender diversity, primarily in maintaining a critical distance from the notions of their alleged pathology, still widespread in the normative sexological discourse. Keywords Biology, discourse, ethics, human rights, intersex, normativity, pathologization,...

Purpose: The Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) has created a training program for interdisciplinary teams of providers on the unique treatment needs of transgender veterans. An overview of this program's structure and content is described along with an evaluation of each session and the program overall. Methods: A specialty care team delivered 14 didactic courses supplemented with case consultation twice per month over the course of 7 months through video teleconferencing to 16 teams of learners. Each team, consisting of at least one mental health provider (e.g., social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist) and one medical provider (e.g., physician, nurse, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse, or pharmacist), received training and consultation on transgender veteran care. Results: In the first three waves of learners, 111 providers across a variety of disciplines attended the sessions and received training. Didactic topics included hormone therapy initiation and adjustments, primary care issues, advocacy within the system, and psychotherapy issues. Responses were provided to 39 veteran-specific consult questions to augment learning. Learners reported an increase in knowledge plus an increase in team cohesion and functioning. As a result, learners anticipated treating more transgender veterans in the future. Conclusion: VHA providers are learning about the unique healthcare needs of transgender veterans and benefitting from the training opportunity offered through the Transgender Specialty Care Access Network-Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes program. The success of this program in training interdisciplinary teams of providers suggests that it might serve as a model for other large healthcare systems. In addition, it provides a path forward for individual learners (both within VHA and in the community) who wish to increase their knowledge.

<p>The purpose with this dissertation is to study the Intersex phenomenon in South Africa, meaning the interplay between the dual sex and gender norms in society. Hence, the treatment by some medical institutions and the view of some non-medical institutions upon this ‘treatment’, have been studied in relation to the Intersex infant’s human rights and citizenship rights. The thesis has moreover also investigated how young Intersex children are included/excluded and mentioned/not mentioned within South Africa’s legal system and within UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child.</p><p>Furthermore, because Intersex children are viewed as ‘different’ on two accounts – their status as infants and born with an atypical congenital physical sexual differentiation, the thesis’ theoretical framework looks at the phenomenon from three perspectives – ‘the politics of difference’, human rights, and citizenship rights directed towards infants. The theoretical frameworks have been used to ask questions in relation to the empirical data, i.e. look at how the Intersex infants are ‘treated’ in relation to their status as ‘different’; and also in relation to the concept of being recognized, respected and allowed to partake in deciding whether to impose surgery or not. Moreover, what ‘treatment’ serves the best interest of the Intersex child? This has been done through semi structured interviews.</p><p>In conclusion, some of the dissertation’s most important features are that since the South African society, like many other societies, strongly live by the belief that there are only two sexes and genders, this implies that Intersex infants do not fit in and become walking pathologies who must be ‘fixed’ to become ‘normal’. Moreover, since most genital corrective surgeries are imposed without being medically or surgically necessary, and are generally imposed before the age of consent (18), the children concerned, are generally not asked for their opinion regarding the surgery. Lastly because early corrective surgery can have devastating life lasting consequences, this ultimately means that the child’s human rights and citizenship rights are of a concern. These conclusions do however not ignore the consequences one has to endure for the price of being ‘different’.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:31:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 shirley acioly.pdf: 369979 bytes, checksum: dd2ee7e5cb84b0ba6999717aa06d5e64 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-11-28 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Intersex and identity: history of a reconstructed body is a Social Psychology study on the issue of the intersex identity and focuses on the process of reconstruction of self of a individual that had collated with situations that implied in the revision of its individuality, social identity and conscience of itself . Its hypothesis is of that the fight of the intersex people represents the attempt to exceed the stigma of a biological load interpreted as problematic and to establish a more favorable relation with the social environment. These individuals search to define a new social space and to conquer autonomy on its lives; they want to leave the confinement imposed for the shame and isolation which they are submitted and to be able to decide who they are. To answer to the research question - and considering the gap in national studies referring to the study of subjectivity in the intersexuality - I used as methodology of study the narrative of life history of a person diagnosed with genital ambiguity to allow the understanding of the process of social reconstruction of its body since, to change a body, to agree or not with the social demands should be in accord with the intentions, initiatives and pretensions of the person that recognizes her/himself (or not) in its alive body, once this body is organic substratum in which the personal existence incarnates / Intersexo e identidade: história de um corpo reconstruído é um estudo de Psicologia Social sobre a questão da identidade do intersexo e enfoca o processo de reconstrução do eu de um indivíduo que se confrontou com situações que implicaram na revisão de sua individualidade, identidade social e consciência de si mesmo. Sua hipótese é a de que a luta das pessoas intersexo representa a tentativa de ultrapassar o estigma de uma carga biológica interpretada como problemática e estabelecer uma relação com o meio social que lhes seja mais favorável. Esses indivíduos buscam definir um novo espaço social e conquistar autonomia sobre suas vidas; querem sair do confinamento imposto pela vergonha e isolamento ao qual são submetidas e poder decidir quem são. Para responder à questão da pesquisa - e considerando a lacuna em estudos nacionais referentes à subjetividade no estudo da intersexualidade - utilizei como metodologia o estudo de narrativa de história de vida de sujeito diagnosticado com ambigüidade genital para permitir a compreensão do processo de reconstrução social de seu corpo, pois mudar um corpo, dizer sim ou não às demandas sociais deveria estar em consonância com as intenções, iniciativas e pretensões da pessoa que se reconhece (ou não) em seu corpo vivo, posto que este corpo é o substrato orgânico no qual a existência pessoal se encarna

This thesis explores some of the themes and issues that social workers may wish to consider when investigating and addressing matters pertaining to wellness in individuals with sex-variances. Foundational literature includes writings by John Money, the Chicago Consensus, and the clinical guidelines of the Intersex Society of North America. A three pillars model is introduced as a potential means for fostering better understanding and diversity in relation to sex, gender, and sexuality. Semi-structured interviews surrounding wellness are conducted with four individuals who have sex-variances. Interview results are analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Recommendations are put forth in a manner designed to allow social workers to work collaboratively with individuals who have sex-variances and their families, as well as with other medical and health professionals who provide services thereof. The analyses and recommendations presented in this thesis are situated within a context of evidence-based anti-oppressive practice.

Individuals who do not fit neatly into the expected genetic and phenotypic XX/XY binary have been misrepresented, ignored, operated on without consent, denied legal rights, and gaslighted by multiple spheres of dominant society including, but not limited to: medicine, popular culture, and the justice system. Using Michael Foucault’s conception of 'counter-discourse' in conversation with the work of Gayatri Spivak, I ask how online intersex communities (OICs) have participated in counter-discourse by examining forums, blogs, comments, organization websites, memoirs and social media pages. Major examples of phenomena OICs respond to, engage with, and critique include: surgery on intersex infants; the introduction of the term 'DSD'; intersexuality in popular television shows; chromosomal primacy; and legal standings of intersex individuals in different countries. I found that 'counter-discourse' within OICs include efforts to: redefine the 'truth' against common problematic appeals to medicine, morals, or nature; advocate acceptance of all bodies; and create of a sense of belonging where there is space for people to heal and organize on a foundation of affinity.