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Experiencing “the Wrong Kind of Puberty” : Navigating Teenage Years with a Variation in Sex Characteristics

Joy, Eileen ; Lundberg, Tove LU orcid and Roen, Katrina (2023) In Youth 3(1). p.465-476
Abstract (Swedish)
There are many different variations in sex characteristics, some of which have implications for how the body goes through puberty. This paper draws from critical disability studies and childhood and youth studies to understand the teenage experiences and aspirations of young people with variations in sex characteristics, focusing particularly on navigating puberty. We undertook a reflexive thematic analysis with interview data from 12 young people in England, all assigned female
at birth. Our analysis produced a central theme: aspiring to certainty through “fixing” the wrong
kind of puberty. Participants experience puberty as a time where things exist on a continuum of rightness and wrongness in comparison with their peers and in... (More)
There are many different variations in sex characteristics, some of which have implications for how the body goes through puberty. This paper draws from critical disability studies and childhood and youth studies to understand the teenage experiences and aspirations of young people with variations in sex characteristics, focusing particularly on navigating puberty. We undertook a reflexive thematic analysis with interview data from 12 young people in England, all assigned female
at birth. Our analysis produced a central theme: aspiring to certainty through “fixing” the wrong
kind of puberty. Participants experience puberty as a time where things exist on a continuum of rightness and wrongness in comparison with their peers and in relation to their specific variation. We suggest that the neoliberal aspiration to and illusion of bodily control and certainty provides the context within which the medical management of variations in sex characteristics makes sense. Going through medical intervention in relation to a variation in sex characteristics provides a very particular aspirational context for young people. The experience of puberty is intersectionally differentiated for young people with variations in sex characteristics. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
youth, intersex, body, puberty, healthcare, QUALITATIVE
in
Youth
volume
3
issue
1
pages
11 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
2673-995X
project
The SENS project
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
d5d1d33a-380b-43a4-a888-f381eb5543ad
alternative location
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/1/32
date added to LUP
2023-03-22 16:06:09
date last changed
2023-03-27 09:08:27
@article{d5d1d33a-380b-43a4-a888-f381eb5543ad,
  abstract     = {{There are many different variations in sex characteristics, some of which have implications for how the body goes through puberty. This paper draws from critical disability studies and childhood and youth studies to understand the teenage experiences and aspirations of young people with variations in sex characteristics, focusing particularly on navigating puberty. We undertook a reflexive thematic analysis with interview data from 12 young people in England, all assigned female<br/>at birth. Our analysis produced a central theme: aspiring to certainty through “fixing” the wrong<br/>kind of puberty. Participants experience puberty as a time where things exist on a continuum of rightness and wrongness in comparison with their peers and in relation to their specific variation. We suggest that the neoliberal aspiration to and illusion of bodily control and certainty provides the context within which the medical management of variations in sex characteristics makes sense. Going through medical intervention in relation to a variation in sex characteristics provides a very particular aspirational context for young people. The experience of puberty is intersectionally differentiated for young people with variations in sex characteristics.}},
  author       = {{Joy, Eileen and Lundberg, Tove and Roen, Katrina}},
  issn         = {{2673-995X}},
  keywords     = {{youth; intersex; body; puberty; healthcare; QUALITATIVE}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{465--476}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Youth}},
  title        = {{Experiencing “the Wrong Kind of Puberty” : Navigating Teenage Years with a Variation in Sex Characteristics}},
  url          = {{https://www.mdpi.com/2673-995X/3/1/32}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}