Defiant Bodies: Discourses on Intersex, 1573-2003

1839: Physicians and the Classification of Intersex Anatomy

Title page from a pamphlet showing the title, "Hermaphroditism," author name, and publication information. Handwritten inscription on top right of the page reads, "Royal Medical Society from the author."

In the nineteenth century, medical professionals began to demonstrate increasing interests in the categorization and specification of the various different forms intersex anatomy could take. This is evident both in the language and imagery used to describe intersex individuals, which can be seen in this 1839 pamphlet by J.Y. Simpson, a Scottish obstetrician. 

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