Krissy's AIS Quotes

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worst times and depressions in coping with her AIS. It is also important to recognize that Krissy has only had a father figure in her life for the last few years. Her mother passed away from cervical cancer, which is a cancer that is relatively curable. This event foreshadows Krissy’s AIS, as “sex is not only a matter of form but also a matter of function, an individual's outward sexual appearance (i.e., genitals) may differ from his or her inward sexual functioning (e.g., hormonal secretions)” (Turner 465). As Krissy is intersex she does not have a cervix, or the reproductive organs that a biological female would have. This factor is crucial to the novel, as Krissy will be unable to have biological children. Her father brings her over to his computer one day, with tears streaming down his face;
“I looked at the diagram [on the computer] wondering if I was missing something, and then looked at my …show more content…

Krissy will never have her own biological children, and while she struggles with it for a short amount of time, it is not an overbearing thought in her mind. This is significant as society mainly believes that women are supposed to grow up, get married, and have children to continue their families. As Krissy cannot have children, society may perceive her as less than female, which would be inaccurate as she identifies as female. Her sex may not align with her gender identity but it does not make her any less female. This also shows that Krissy is essentially growing sideways, as she will not grow up in the constructed binary. She has already grown up with experiences that are unique to her, and she will continue to grow up with experiences that push against the normative trajectory of adult heterosexuality. This is reflected through her lack of ability to have children, and the knowledge that she will lead a different life than other girls her

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