We are delighted to welcome Iain Morland to Blackwell’s in partnership with the University of Manchester’s Centre for Sexuality Studies to discuss his book, Intersex. Iain will be in conversation with Dr Ben Nichols.

Doors: 6.30pm, Start: 6.45pm

Tickets are £4, or admission is free when purchasing a copy of the book in advance.

About the Book:

When children are born with sex attributes that do not fit expectations about male and female anatomy, it is standard medical practice to make their bodies look as “normal” as possible. Doctors seek to reduce or remove intersex characteristics through early childhood surgery-cutting down clitorises, remaking penises, and even performing sterilizations. For decades, intersex medicine has sparked outrage from patient groups, lawmakers, intergovernmental organizations, and scholars. It has been condemned for causing trauma, scars, nerve damage, and the loss of bodily autonomy. Yet it continues.

Iain Morland, an intersex scholar and advocate-and a former patient-explores why medicalization is so embedded in contemporary society and how to challenge it. He provides breakthrough accounts of the traumatic effects of surgery, the consequences for attachments between children and parents, and the paradoxes of the pursuit of normality. Weaving together theoretical analysis with autobiographical insights, Morland grapples with the complexity of dismantling intersex medicine. Accessibly written and passionately argued, this book exposes the contradictions of the medical management of intersex. With a bold mix of critical theory, psychology, queer theory, and philosophy, it provides fresh insights for scholars of intersex, gender, sexuality, and science, as well as for activists and their allies.

About the Author:

Iain Morland is one of the founding voices in critical intersex studies. He holds a PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London, and he has held lectureships at Cardiff University and the University of the Arts London. Morland is coauthor of Fuckology: Critical Essays on John Money’s Diagnostic Concepts (2015).