A whole new way of being

Gender selection a tough topic, author says; fiction title centres on intersex birth
ASHLEY FITZPATRICK
The Telegram

"What happens if it's less than that?"

"When a phallus is less than one point five centimetres, give or take seven hundredths of a centimetre -"

"Seven hundredths?"

"Yes. When it's less than that, we remove the presentation of male aspects and later, during adolescence, we sculpt the female aspects."

"What if it's right in the middle? Right straight, smack dab down the precise centre? One point five centimetres with no seven hundredths."

"Then we make an educated guess. We do endocrinological tests but really, in a newborn, as far as endocrinology goes, we're making a best estimate. Penis size at birth is the primary criterion for assessing a gender."

"Measure her, then."

- A mother and doctor speak about an intersex child, in an excerpt from the novel "Annabel" by Kathleen Winter.

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