The Body/Secret Dynamic: Life Experiences of Intersexed People in Israel

Abstract

Intersexed subjects experience their bodies through the repercussions of treatment policies implemented in their bodies at birth and throughout their lives. Secrets and secrecy comprise a major element of the treatment policy toward intersexed subjects in Israel and act as a disciplining and normalizing force in the life experience of intersexed subjects. This article presents case studies of intersexed adults, subjects through whom we can learn about both historical and contemporary treatment policy toward intersexed people as well as about the perpetual conflict between the particular corporeal existence of individuals and the experience of the secret and secrecy in their lives. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the dynamics that exist between the secret and intersexed bodies and the paradoxical consequences of body/secret relations.