When an intersex child is forced to undergo this unnecessary procedure, they are being submitted to multiple forms of pain and suffering. Children with abnormal genitalia may have their underdeveloped penis and scrotom removed, or may have an enlarged clitoris and labia removed. Some underdeveloped females will undergo a surgery that will actually create a vaginal opening for them, one that will not function but will allow them to “pass” as normal. These surgeries, while intended to recreate what the child was “supposed” to have, in the end negatively effect the child —both mentally or physically— later in life as they develop. These surgeries also lack informed consent from the child, who may wish to have back whatever excess skin was cut away by medical professionals. These effects, coupled with the discovery of their real identity, can ultimately lead an intersex person to reject their assigned sex and gender, and possibly even lead them to have reassignment surgery to transition back into the sex and gender that they feel best suits them.

Those who experience corrective genital surgery often suffer from many negative physical side effects. These range in severity from common effects normal of any surgery, to serious, life‐threatening conditions.

• Ongoing pain in the genitalia region
• Uncomfortable and often irreversible genital scarring
• Atypical secondary characteristics, should they stop following their strict hormone medication regimes

Other Serious Side Effects

• For those who undergo vaginal reconstruction surgery, they must suffer painful daily dilation procedures in order to prevent the constructed vagina from closing (which can also cause emotional trauma)
• Inability to hold in bodily waste such as urine and feces
• Loss of sexual function
• Loss of sexual sensation, including inability to orgasm
• Inability to create a pregnancy or become pregnant (both naturally and artificially)

These side effects alone show why corrective surgery should be considered too harsh for a child to endure, as it puts them through trauma in order for the doctors and parents to feel that their child is “normal” physically.

Besides creating physical, long‐lasting scars on an intersex individual, there are also scars that one cannot see with the visible eye. Intersex individuals grow up without a part of them that was originally there. While not all intersexuals grow up missing what was taken, many do suffer as a result of being stripped of skin that they might have wanted later. They are also subjected to exposing and embarrassing treatment by doctors and family members as a result of their surgery. This treatment can lead to severe emotional scarring that can affect their everyday life.

Common Emotional Effects

• Depression and feelings of isolation
• Feelings of shame due to the secrecy of their condition
• Feelings of stigmatization due to their condition being considered a “social emergency” (Their condition is seen as socially unacceptable and thus they are in need of immediate fixing due to their otherness).
• Struggle to uphold a positive self-image
• Struggle to maintain positive, healthy relationships with others as a result of their violated trust of parents and doctors.

Other Serious Side Effects

• According to a dissertation written by Katherine Chittenden, in some cases, intersex individuals can even become fearful of hospitals and doctors due to the invasive procedures and medical photography they are subjected to from an early age.
• In some cases, individuals can feel not just shame, but feel “monstrous” and “freakish”.

Upon discovery of their intersex condition, many individuals will choose to reject their assigned genders, believing that the skin removed or altered was in fact their truest self. Below are just a few popular examples of intersex individuals rejecting their assignment.

In the case of Jennifer Cagandahan, who was born with a form of intersexuality known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), Jennifer was deemed female at birth and subjected to corrective genital surgery to transition into a female. However, Jennifer developed male secondary characteristics such as a beard later in bodily development, thus deciding to transition back to male to become Jeff.

Another case involved a male child who lost their penis due to irreversible burning during circumcision. The child was then transitioned into a female and named Joan. As Joan grew up, he later rejected this gender assignment and underwent gender reassignment surgery to transition back to male. Thus, Joan became David Reamer. Though Reamer successfully transitioned back to his original sex, he unfortunately committed suicide in 2004 as a result of the emotional effects of his surgeries.

An intersex individual named Dana Zzyym was born with unrecognizable genitalia, and received a birth certificate stating “unknown” for their sex. Yet, Zzyym was raised as male and suffered “irreversible, painful, and medically unnecessary surgeries that didn't work, traumatized Dana and left them with severe scarring”. As a result of this trauma, Dana rejected their assignment surgery and announced a preference to be referred to using the pronoun “they”.

Knowing these side effects exist which are detrimental to intersex individuals minds and bodies, and knowing that these children have not given their informed consent to a cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary to save their life, one might consider this treatment of intersexuals cruel and unusual punishment simply for being different. While the U.S. has yet to promote acceptance of intersexuals, other countries have made progress to include them within society. To learn more, please visit the Treatment of Intersex Individuals Across the Globe page.