Spanning eight decades and chronicling the wild ride of a Greek-American family through the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Eugenides' novel on one level tells a traditional story about three generations of an immigrant family -- blessed and cursed with generous doses of tragedy and high comedy. But there's a provocative twist. Cal, the narrator -- also Callie -- is an hermaphrodite. And the explanation for this takes us spooling back...

"An adolescent girl is mocked when she takes a bath with her peers, because her genitals look like those of a boy. A couple visits a doctor asking to 'create more space' in the woman for intercourse. A doctor finds testicular tissue in a woman with appendicitis, and decides to keep his findings quiet. These are just a few of the three hundred European case histories of people whose sex was doubted during the long nineteenth century that Geertje Mak...

"Biological variations in sex development, also known as intersex, are greatly misunderstood by the wider public. This unique book discusses psychological practice in healthcare for people and families impacted by a range of 'intersex' variations. It highlights the dilemmas facing individuals and their loved ones in the social context and discusses the physical and psychological complexities of irrevocable medical interventions to approximate social...

"From Hida Viloria, writer and intersex activist, a candid, provocative, and eye-opening memoir of life, love, and gender identity as an intact intersex person, as well as a call to action for justice for intersex people. Hida Viloria was raised as a girl but discovered early on that he/r body was different. Unlike most people who are born intersex in the first world--meaning they have genitals, reproductive organs, hormones, and/or chromosomal patterns...

Sensitively explores the controversial subject of the blurring of gender as well as the serious social and family problems--even dangers--often faced by those whose gender may fall somewhere in between male and female.