A Comprehensive Guide to Intersex

I highly recommend this book; it has a lot of good information and a lot of great research has gone into it. It will be a wonderful addition for professionals in their work with intersex/non-binary individuals who seek help. – Dana Zzyym, intersex activist and associate director of Intersex Campaign for EqualityWriting on variations in sex characteristics has been long dominated by medical lenses, which can often be dehumanising and even harmful. By contrast, Jay Kyle Petersen’s book contributes a worthy new guide to the burgeoning field of Intersex Studies: positioning people who actually experience intersex variations - their experiences and self-determination - in the foreground. Peterson leads this book with personal experience before diving into definitions, variations and key controversies in Intersex Studies today. Information is provided for a range of professional engagements and letter templates are included. This will be a highly useful, valued guide for those seeking key information, from a critical perspective. – Tiffany Jones, Macquarie University, author of Intersex: Stories and Statistics from AustraliaI recommend this very book to anyone who would like to learn more about supporting intersex individuals. It addresses topics not only for medical and mental health professionals, but also for parents, family members, social workers, and anyone in general who wishes to learn more. It includes a personal perspective, as well as diverse cultural information that offers unique insight into the lives of people who are diagnosed intersex. There are so many resources for further education too! Get your copy today! – Amy D’Arpino, BSW, parent, social worker, cultural competency specialistIntersex is no longer a condition lurking as an obscure definition on the periphery of Medicine. As Jay Petersen’s extensive work shows, it is a real part of everyday life for REAL PEOPLE. Our bodies can’t help impacting how we interact with the world. They are the starting point for humans to learn what we must become in several aspects of our lives –emotional, psychological, social– and Jay’s book provides more than a quick introduction to Intersex. His work is thorough, thoughtful, and thought- provoking. He describes clinical aspects of Intersex, but also illuminates more personal nuances through individual accounts and examples. It is a “must read” for health care professionals. – Clare McCarthy, MD, FACEPIf you think “hermaphrodite” is appropriate language, you need to read this book! If you know the correct word is “intersex,” you still need to read this book! While designed to orient professional care givers in all matters intersex, A Comprehensive Guide to Intersex offers vital information for all of us. Violence has been perpetrated upon those with intersex markers for centuries. In more recent times, this violence has taken the form of selective infant cosmetic genital alteration leading to lives full of trauma and needless shame. It is time for us to understand and respect the natural variations in sex characteristics and stop diagnosing and “correcting” them. If you read only one book on intersex, make sure it’s A Comprehensive Guide to Intersex by Jay Kyle Petersen. – Sister Mary Deborah Giles, SND, LPCCJay Petersen has written an important simple, clear, and practical guide for the layperson and professional alike regarding the inborn biological condition called intersex. There is no better guide available for all members of society to accompany intersex persons in supporting their resilience, mental well-being, physical health, and spiritual journey across a wide range of cultures, groups and individuals. This book will help prevent mistakes that have caused so much pain, misunderstanding, and trauma to intersexed persons as they claim their gifts, unique perspectives on the human condition and equal rights in society. – Rev. Thomas Picton, C.Ss.R., Pastoral Psychotherapist and Spiritual Director

Born in 1952 in Pipestone, Minnesota, USA, Jay Kyle Petersen was raised on a small dairy farm. He is the author of A Comprehensive Guide To Intersex, a book with international reach currently held in libraries in 28 countries.

Petersen holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Arizona State University, as well as Master’s degrees in Philosophy/Religion and Music Education, and a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art. He has shared his story and taught intersex basics for institutions including Brown University School of Public Health and Oracle Corporation. His 2025 National Public Radio author interview with Mark Brodie was selected for inclusion in the LGBTQIA Two-Spirit Mapping Project by the Minnesota Historical Society.

He has been clean and sober since 1977. Petersen is also an artist, with his paintings featured in museum collections in Berlin and Amsterdam, and in permanent collections throughout the US.

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