ABSTRACT
This chapter considers intersex from cultural perspectives, particularly how social and cultural norms and stereotypes contribute to the cultural erasure of intersex people because they do not ‘fit’ into the sex/gender binary of sexual dimorphism. First is an examination of how social and cultural norms as well as language shape expectations about bodies and behavior and how this affects intersex people, including my interview partners. Drawing on the works of Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, and Julia Kristeva, next is an exploration of how these norms create categories such as the abject and monstrous and have led my interview partners to feel monstrous. This chapter concludes with possibilities for moving away from the creation of these categories and toward embracing difference by looking at how Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic justice can lead to testimonial and hermeneutical justice for intersex people.
