Scientifically proven? Biopolitical controversies in the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Abstract

Intersex is often seen as a paradigmatic case in socio-anthropological literature: it can serve as the “natural” confutation of the “natural” difference between the sexes. In contemporary Western societies, the construction, assignment, and stabilization of sex take place – first and foremost – in biomedical socio-cultural contexts. Currently, the construction of medical knowledge about intersex is going through a time of great instability, partially due to the intervention into the debate by lay subjects not affiliated with the techno-scientific establishment. This essay provides a map of a controversy surrounding the use of a drug the can prevent, in females, virilization of genitals caused by a congenital anomaly.