Considerations for a Psychoanalytic Theory of Gender Identity and Sexual Desire: The Case of Intersex

Hird relates her speculations about the utility of developing a psychoanalytic approach to intersex. She argues that although Freudian psychoanalytic, feminist, and queer theories are often presented as mutually antagonistic, all three literatures might be usefully yoked in an effort to explore the issue of gender identity among intersexed individuals. She also claims that the political implications articulated in early Freudian psychoanalytic theory stand in stark contrast to the maturational theory found in therapeutic accounts with intersexed people.