Boone recommended three essentials for a pioneer: "A good gun, a good horse, and a good wife."  He also would need a strong body, a sharp ax and good luck.  Another essential was salt. Before 1776, it had to be shipped into the Thirteen Colonies from the West Indies at great expense.  It was the only meat preservative available for men on the move and Kentucky had an extra lure with its large salt brine lakes near what is today the community of Boonesborough, Kentucky. The many "salt licks" of Kentucky are today reflected in the many place names in the state that use the words "lick" or "licking".

Wilderness Road


The Shawnee viewed Boone and other settlers as invaders. On March 24, 1775, Boone and his party were only 15 miles (24 km) from their final destination of the Kentucky River when they camped for the night.  Just before daybreak a group of Shawnee, slinging tomahawks, attacked the sleeping men. Some of Boone's party were killed and a few were wounded but most were able to escape into the woods. Boone regrouped his men and managed to drive off the hostile Shawnee. The party lost some of their horses. Here Boone built a temporary open barricade with 6 to 7-foot (2.1 m) high logs.

Wilderness Road


By the next year, the Shawnee had been joined by the Chickamauga Cherokee in the Cherokee–American wars with the settlers, which lasted until 1794.

Wilderness Road


The route of the Wilderness Road made a long loop from Virginia southward to Tennessee and then northward to Kentucky, a distance of 200 miles (320 km).

Wilderness Road


From the Long Island of the Holston River (modern Kingsport, Tennessee), the road went north through Moccasin Gap of Clinch Mountain, then crossed the Clinch River and crossed rough land (called the Devils Raceway) to the North Fork Clinch River.  Then it crossed Powell Mountain at Kanes Gap.  From there it ran southwest through the valley of the Powell River to the Cumberland Gap.

Wilderness Road


After passing over the Cumberland Gap the Wilderness Road forked.  The southern fork passed over the Cumberland Plateau to Nashville, Tennessee via the Cumberland River. The northern fork split into two parts. The eastern spur went into the Bluegrass region of Kentucky to Boonesborough on the Kentucky River (near Lexington).  The western spur ran to the Falls of the Ohio (Louisville). As settlements grew southward, the road stretched all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee, by 1792.

Wilderness Road


Due to road realignments in many places modern roads do not always follow the old wilderness trails.

Wilderness Road


The western spur of the Wilderness road was originally known as Skaggs' Trace, named after the longhunter Henry Skaggs. The trace began just outside Hazel Patch, in present-day Laurel County, and continued to Crab Orchard.

Wilderness Road


In 1775, Benjamin Logan's party, that included John Floyd, split with Daniel Boone's party and turned westward on Skaggs Trace. The trail went through the Crab Orchard approximately 10 miles where a Blockhouse was built to protect settlers in the area and named Logan's Fort. From there the trail went to the area that became Danville (1783) originally named Crow's Station in 1774, what would become Springfield (1793), Harrodsburg referred to as Harrod's Town or Oldtown and founded by James Harrod on June 16, 1774, abandoned and resettled in 1775, Bardstown (settled in 1780), Shepherdsville (founded as Bullitt's Lick in 1773), and the Falls of the Ohio.

Wilderness Road


Robert Emmett McDowell (1914–1975), Kentucky historian and Filson Historical Society member since 1956, claims there are errors in Filson's map. The map shows the trail leaving Louisville through Sullivan's Old Station, Kuvkendahl's Mill, the Fishpools to Bullitt's Lick, then through Bardstown to Danville. McDowell claims that originally the trail went through Harrodsburg not Danville, and Sullivan's Old Station and Kuykendahl's Mill were not on the main road but high water alternate paths. Further claims were made that the Wilderness Trail was improved after General George Rogers Clark landed at the Falls of the Ohio which would facilitate the movement of troops and supplies as well as settlers.

Wilderness Road


In 1784, Filson, also an historian, wrote The Discovery, Settlement and present State of Kentucke and an Essay towards the Topography, and Natural History of that important Country. Reuben Thomas Durrett indicates there are inaccuracies as well.

Wilderness Road


Because of the threat of Native American attacks, the road was so dangerous that most pioneers traveled well armed. Robbers and criminals also could be found on the road, ready to pounce on weaker pioneers.  Although the Transylvania Company had purchased the region from the Cherokee, and the Iroquois had ceded it at the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, other tribes, such as the Shawnee, still claimed it and lived there.

Wilderness Road


Often entire communities and church congregations would move together over the road to new settlements.  Hundreds of pioneers were killed by Indian attacks.

Wilderness Road


Defensive log blockhouses built alongside the road had portholes in the walls for firing at Native American attackers. They were often called "stations".  No one knew exactly when the next attack would happen. The Shawnee came from the north, while the Chickamauga (Cherokees who rejected the land sale treaty) came from the south. The tribes were resentful of the settlers taking their ancestral hunting lands, and the French and Indian War had further stirred up their passions against the white man.

Wilderness Road


There was a great variety of animal life in the wilderness. At night, the pioneers could hear the hoots and screeches of owls, the howls of wolves, and the cries of panthers and wild cats. Sometimes the Native Americans imitated these sounds. Venomous snakes such as copperheads and rattlesnakes blended into the leaves and undergrowth and were a danger to the pioneers, their horses and cattle.

Wilderness Road


Judge Richard Henderson had made a treaty with the Cherokee at Sycamore Shoals in 1775, purchasing over 20,000,000 acres (8,100,000 ha) of land between the Cumberland and Kentucky Rivers. On March 28, 1775, he left Long Island (Kingsport, Tennessee) with about 30 horsemen on the grueling trip down the Wilderness Road to Kentucky. At Martin's Station 40 to 50 additional pioneers joined the venture.  On their way, they met nearly a hundred refugees fleeing Native American attacks further down the road.

Wilderness Road


Despite the danger, the party kept going toward Kentucky. Since some of the streams were flooded, the pioneers had to swim with their horses. On April 20, they arrived at Boonesborough, a fortified town, named by Judge Henderson in honor of Boone.

Wilderness Road


After 1770, a surge of over 400,000 Scots-Irish immigrants arrived in the colonies to escape the poor harvest, high rents and religious intolerance of Ulster. Since the better lands had already been taken, they constantly pressed onward to the western frontier of the foothills of the Carolinas.

Wilderness Road


The flood of Scots-Irish, German, and others immigrants kept coming. Over 200,000 pioneers came over the Wilderness Road, enduring severe hardships. In the winter of 1778–79, the weather was so cold that the Kentucky River froze to a depth of two feet. The frontier settlements alongside the road struggled to survive. Many of the cattle and hogs froze to death. The settlers had to eat frozen cattle and horses to survive.

Wilderness Road


Often the Chickamauga, under the leadership of Dragging Canoe, would hide in ambush for weeks between Cumberland Gap and Crab Orchard, a distance of 100 miles (160 km).  They would not attack large groups but wait for weaker ones who were not able to defend themselves.  More than 100 men, women and children were killed in the fall of 1784 along the Wilderness Road. Many families, even in ice and snow, crossed the creeks and rivers without shoes or stockings; they often had no money and few clothes. They lived off the land by hunting in the woods and by fishing in the streams.

Wilderness Road


Since they had hardly any money, entire families sometimes walked hundreds of miles after landing in America. They even used cattle as pack animals to carry their heavy loads. Cabins were built and land was cleared of trees and undergrowth so crops could be planted.

Wilderness Road


Chestnut was the most popular wood since its logs could be used to build cabins and rail fences to protect crops from wild animals. It could easily be split into shingles for roofs to cover cabins and barns. Its bark was used to make medicine and tannic acid for tanning and dyeing. In the fall, its rich nuts were used to fatten razorback hogs for the market and the home. Hemlock was also highly valued for its many uses.

Wilderness Road


The Wilderness Road served as a great path of commerce for the early settlers in Kentucky, as well as for wagon-loads of slaves being transported through Tennessee to plantations in Mississippi and Louisiana. Horses, cattle, sheep and hogs herded in the other direction found waiting markets in the Carolinas, Maryland and Virginia. Hogs in groups of 500 or more were driven down the Road to market.  Beef in Eastern markets had become a main source of income for farmers in Kentucky.

Wilderness Road


A postal road was opened in 1792 from Bean Station, Tennessee through Cumberland Gap to Danville, Kentucky.  This was due largely to the efforts of Governor Isaac Shelby of Kentucky.  This connection of Kentucky to the East was a great advantage.  Frontier settlers considered the postal riders heroes and waited eagerly for their arrival for news from settlements along the trails as well as getting their mail and newspapers.

Wilderness Road


Civil War and decline

Wilderness Road


Use of the Wilderness Road fell when the National Road was opened in 1818, allowing travel to the Ohio River on more level ground from the East. The Panic of 1837, geology and new railroad technology doomed the James River Canal, once envisioned as augmenting this commercial route. At the same time, the steamboat first appeared on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, allowing faster and cheaper travel both up and down the rivers. During the 1850s, the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was constructed along part of this route.

Wilderness Road


During the American Civil War, both the Union Army and the Confederate States Army used the Wilderness Road. An early battle (Camp Wildcat), stymied the first Confederate attempt to seize control of neutral Kentucky. The Cumberland Gap changed hands four times throughout the war. Southern troops used the road for marches into Virginia. General Ulysses S. Grant came down the road for the Union campaign in Tennessee in 1864. Grant was so taken by the Road that he said, "With two brigades of the Army of the Cumberland I could hold that pass against the army which Napoleon led to Moscow."

Wilderness Road


A segment of the Wilderness Road was among the first roads in the United States to be paved. The old road from the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee to Middlesboro, Kentucky through the mountain pass was paved and completed on October 3, 1908. This was an "object-lesson" road (a new kind of paved macadam construction funded by local communities but with federal governmental supervision) initiated by the U.S. Office of Public Roads.  At that time, only about 680 miles (1,090 km) of paved roads existed in the United States. Its name was later changed to U.S. Route 25E. This new road brought a new industry, tourism, to the rural areas filling hotels and restaurants with travelers.

Wilderness Road


Cumberland Gap is a National Historical Park, and portions of the Wilderness Road can be visited at Wilderness Road State Park in Virginia.  Additionally, a reconstructed fort at Martin's Station in Virginia on the Wilderness Road can be visited about 5 miles (8 km) east of the Cumberland Gap. Since the completion of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel in 1996, a project has been underway to restore the original appearance of the Wilderness Road as it crosses the historic Cumberland Gap.

Wilderness Road


Since 2001, Hwy. 25E has been obliterated over several miles of its length and the original grade restored, including the addition of 32 feet (9.8 m) of elevation to restore the Gap to its original contour, with virtually all modern artifacts, buildings and roads removed.  The replanting of thousands of seedlings from original forest stocks in the area is intended, over a period of decades, to recreate a forest that will allow visitors to view the crossing of the Gap on the Wilderness Road as travelers would have experienced it circa 1790.  This section of the Wilderness Road is now a hiking trail, including an interpretive center about the road's history located on the Tennessee side.

Wilderness Road


Kentucky County, Virginia

Wilderness Road


Axelrod, Alan: What Every American Should Know About American History (1992)  Holbrook, MA.  Adams Media Corp. ISBN 1-55850-309-9.

Wilderness Road


Bodett, Tom: America's Historic Trails (1992) San Francisco  James Connoly (Small World Productions). ISBN 0-912333-00-6

Wilderness Road


Calloway, Brenda: America's First Western Frontier: East Tennessee (1989) Kingsport, Tenn. The Overmountain Press  . ISBN 0-932807-34-8

Wilderness Road


Cooke, Alistair: Alistair Cooke's America (1973) New York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Wilderness Road


Eslinger, Ellen: Running Mad for Kentucky: Frontier Travel Accounts. University Press of Kentucky, (2004).

Wilderness Road


Drake, Richard B. A History of Appalachia. University Press of Kentucky (2001).

Wilderness Road


Kincaid, Robert: The Wilderness Road (1992) Kingsport, Tenn.  Arcata Graphics. ISBN Unknown  ASIN B0006BNK0U

Wilderness Road


Leyburn, James G: The Scotch Irish A Social History (1962) Chapel Hill .University of North Carolina Press . ISBN 0-8078-4259-1.

Wilderness Road


Newby, Eric: The Rand McNally World Atlas of Exploration (1975) London: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 0-528-83015-5.

Wilderness Road


Riley, Darnell: The Tennessee Blue Book (2004) Nashville: State of Tennessee. ASIN B000B9LQIK

Wilderness Road


Rouse, Parke, Jr: The Great Wagon Road (2004) Richmond: The Diaz Press. ISBN 0-87517-065-X.

Wilderness Road


Webb, James: Born Fighting How the Scots-Irish Shaped America (2004) New York : Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1688-3.

Wilderness Road


Williams, John Alexander: Appalachia: A History (2002) Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-5368-2.

Wilderness Road


Parr, Elizabeth L. (January 1928). "Kentucky's Overland Trade with the Ante-Bellum South" (PDF). Filson Club Quarterly. II. Louisville, Kentucky: Filson Historical Society: 71–81.

Wilderness Road


Interactive map of the Wilderness Road

Wilderness Road


Map of the Kentucky part of the Wilderness Road

Wilderness Road


The Wilderness Road Regional Museum in Dublin, Virginia, is owned and operated by the New River Historical Society.

Wilderness Road


Austin Airways was a passenger airline and freight carrier based in Timmins, Ontario, and one of the oldest in Canada.

Austin Airways


Established as Capreol and Austin Air Services was one of Canada's oldest airlines, starting operations in 1934. The home base was Timmins and it operated many duties in addition to passenger and freight services. Over the years, scheduled services served over 40 cities, including one destination in the United States. In 1973 it merged with White River Air Services but continued to operate as Austin Airways.

Austin Airways


In June 1987 it merged with Air Ontario Ltd (formerly Great Lakes Airlines, formed in 1958) to form Air Ontario Inc. In turn Air Ontario became part of Air Canada Jazz in 2001.

Austin Airways


The April 26, 1987 Air Ontario/Austin Airways joint system timetable listed Air Canada Connector code share flights operated by both airlines on behalf of Air Canada with Austin Airways operating 14-passenger Beechcraft 99, 7-passenger Cessna 402, 19-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, 37-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 and 40 to 43-passenger Hawker Siddeley HS 748 aircraft at this time. The HS 748 turboprop was the largest aircraft operated by Austin Airways.

Austin Airways


Over its long history, Austin Airways operated the following aircraft:

Austin Airways


Beech 99 (turboprop)

Austin Airways


Cessna Citation (business jet)

Austin Airways


Consolidated PBY Canso (amphibian aircraft)

Austin Airways


de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver

Austin Airways


de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

Austin Airways


de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (STOL capable turboprop)

Austin Airways


Douglas DC-3 (includes C-47 model)

Austin Airways


Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (turboprop)

Austin Airways


The following destinations were served by Austin Airways during its existence. Most of the destinations served by the airline were isolated and remote airports in northern Ontario and Quebec provinces as well as in the Northwest Territories (NWT) (now Nunavut) in Canada in addition to several larger airports across Ontario. Minneapolis/St. Paul in the U.S. was the only non-Canadian destination served by the airline during its existence.

Austin Airways


Formerly part of the Northwest Territories

Austin Airways


Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota - only U.S. destination

Austin Airways


Accidents and incidents

Austin Airways


On 9 January 1964 Douglas C-47 CF-ILQ crashed 50 minutes after take-off on a cargo flight from Moosonee to Nemiscan Settlement, Ontario. Both pilots were seriously injured, but were pulled from the aircraft 4–5 days later by a search and rescue party and ultimately survived. It was determined that the crash was caused by fuel deprivation leading to engine failure of both of the aircraft's engines. To this day, the hulk of the aircraft still sits where it had crashed in 1964, despite being partially salvaged, and burned from a forest fire that swept across the area in the mid-1980s.

Austin Airways


On 9 November 1969, Douglas C-47B CF-AAL crashed on approach to Timmins, Ontario killing two of the four people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic flight from Winisk, Ontario.

Austin Airways


On 19 June 1970, Douglas C-47A CF-AAC was written off in an accident at Val-d'Or, Quebec.

Austin Airways


On 4 September 1976, DHC-3 CF-MIT struck power lines in the Abitibi Canyon near Fraserdale, Ontario in below VFR conditions, with loss of all 10 people on board, the worst accident in the airline's history.

Austin Airways


On 10 December 1976, Douglas C-47A C-FIAX crashed on take-off from Chisasibi, Quebec. All eight people on board survived.

Austin Airways


On 19 January 1986, Douglas C-47A C-GNNA struck a 150 feet (46 m) high Non-directional beacon tower and crashed at Sachigo Lake Airport, Ontario. After clipping the top of the tower, the pilot lost use of ailerons, and the plane began flipping over. He used the rudder to correct, spotted the runway, and made a controlled crash landing. The pilot saved all five on board with his actions, but he himself suffered two crushed vertebrae.

Austin Airways


List of defunct airlines of Canada

Austin Airways


Ontario Plaques - Austin Airways

Austin Airways


Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame - Austin

Austin Airways


Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame - Russell

Austin Airways


Partial Fleet Listing

Austin Airways


Austin Airways yahoo group

Austin Airways


Oświęcim Basin (Polish: Kotlina Oświęcimska) is a lowland, located in southern Poland, between the Lesser Poland Highlands to the north, Silesian Foothills and Wieliczka Foothills to the south. It has the size of around 1,236 km2 (477 sq mi). Its name comes from the city of Oświęcim. It is located on the Vistula River on the confluences of Biała, Soła and Skawa which begin in Carpathian Mountains and Przemsza which begins in Silesian Highlands.

Oświęcim Basin


Intersex medical interventions (IMI), sometimes known as intersex genital mutilations (IGM), are surgical, hormonal and other medical interventions performed to modify atypical or ambiguous genitalia and other sex characteristics, primarily for the purposes of making a person's appearance more typical and to reduce the likelihood of future problems. The history of intersex surgery has been characterized by controversy due to reports that surgery can compromise sexual function and sensation, and create lifelong health issues. The medical interventions can be for a variety of reasons, due to the enormous variety of the disorders of sex development. Some disorders, such as salt-wasting disorder, can be life-threatening if left untreated. Additionally, non-consensual surgery or stigmas surrounding intersex individuals may lead to feelings of dysphoria and negative mental health outcomes.

Intersex medical interventions


Interventions on intersex infants and children are increasingly recognized as human rights issues. Intersex organizations, and human rights institutions increasingly question the basis and necessity of such interventions. In 2011, Christiane Völling won the first successful case brought against a surgeon for non-consensual surgical intervention. In 2015, the Council of Europe recognized, for the first time, a right for intersex persons not to undergo sex-assignment treatment and Malta became the first country to prohibit involuntary or coerced modifications to sex characteristics.

Intersex medical interventions


Purposes of genital reconstructive surgery

Intersex medical interventions


The goals of surgery vary with the type of intersex condition but usually include one or more of the following:

Intersex medical interventions


Physical health rationales:

Intersex medical interventions


to improve the potential for fertility

Intersex medical interventions


to provide an outlet for menstruation

Intersex medical interventions


to prevent or reduce urinary tract infections or obstruction

Intersex medical interventions


to reduce risk of cancer in gonads with high risk levels

Intersex medical interventions


to close open wounds or exposed internal organs

Intersex medical interventions


to improve urinary or fecal continence.

Intersex medical interventions


Psychosocial rationales:

Intersex medical interventions


to alleviate parental distress over the atypical genital appearance.

Intersex medical interventions


to make the appearance more normal for the person's sex of rearing

Intersex medical interventions


to reduce effects of atypical genitalia on psychosexual development and gender identity

Intersex medical interventions


to improve the potential for adult sexual relationships

Intersex medical interventions


Both sets of rationales may be the subject of debate, particularly as the consequences of surgical interventions are lifelong and irreversible. Questions regarding physical health include accurately assessing risk levels, necessity and timing. Psychosocial rationales are particularly susceptible to questions of necessity as they reflect parental, social, and cultural concerns. There remains no clinical consensus or clear evidence regarding surgical timing, necessity, type of surgical intervention, degree of difference warranting intervention and evaluation method. Such surgeries are the subject of significant contention, including community activism, and multiple reports by international human rights and health institutions and national ethics bodies.

Intersex medical interventions


Types of intervention

Intersex medical interventions


Interventions include:

Intersex medical interventions


genetic selection and terminations

Intersex medical interventions


treatment for gender dysphoria

Intersex medical interventions


psychosocial support

Intersex medical interventions


Surgical interventions can broadly be divided into  masculinizing surgical procedures intended to make genitalia more like those of typical XY-males, and feminizing surgical procedures intended to make genitalia more like those of typical XX-females. There are multiple techniques or approaches for each procedure. Some of these are needed for variations in degrees of physical difference. Techniques and procedure have evolved over the last 60 years. Some of the different techniques have been devised to reduce complications associated with earlier techniques. There remains a lack of consensus on surgeries, and some clinicians still regard them as experimental.

Intersex medical interventions


Some children receive a combination of procedures. For example, a child regarded as a severely undervirilized boy with a pseudovaginal perineoscrotal hypospadias may have midline urogenital closure, third degree hypospadias repair, chordee release and phalloplasty, and orchiopexy performed. A child regarded as a severely virilized girl with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) may undergo both a partial clitoral recession and a vaginoplasty.

Intersex medical interventions


Masculinizing surgical procedures

Intersex medical interventions


Orchiopexy and hypospadias repair are the most common types of genital corrective surgery performed in infant boys. In a few parts of the world 5-alpha-reductase deficiency or defects of testosterone synthesis, or even rarer forms of intersex account for a significant portion of cases but these are rare in North America and Europe. Masculinizing surgery for completely virilized individuals with XX sex chromosomes and CAH is even rarer. An early procedure was performed by London surgeon Thomas Brand in 1779.

Intersex medical interventions


Orchiopexy for repair of undescended testes (cryptorchidism) is the second most common surgery performed on infant male genitalia (after circumcision). The surgeon moves one or both testes, with blood vessels, from an abdominal or inguinal position to the scrotum. If the inguinal canal is open it must be closed to prevent hernia. Potential surgical problems include maintaining the blood supply. If vessels cannot be stretched into the scrotum, or are separated and cannot be reconnected, a testis will die and atrophy.

Intersex medical interventions


Hypospadias repair may be a single-stage procedure if the hypospadias is of the first or second degree (urethral opening on glans or shaft respectively) and the penis is otherwise normal. Surgery for third-degree hypospadias (urethral opening on perineum or in urogenital opening) is more challenging, may be done in stages, and has a significant rate of complications and unsatisfactory outcomes. Potential surgical problems: For severe hypospadias (3rd degree, on perineum) constructing a urethral tube the length of the phallus is not always successful, leaving an opening (a "fistula") proximal to the intended urethral opening. Sometimes a second operation is successful, but some boys and men have been left with chronic problems with fistulas, scarring and contractures that make urination or erections uncomfortable, and loss of sensation. It is increasingly recognized that long-term outcomes are poor.

Intersex medical interventions


Epispadias repair may involve comprehensive surgical repair of the genito-urinary area, usually during the first seven years of life, including reconstruction of the urethra, closure of the penile shaft and mobilisation of the corpora.

Intersex medical interventions


Urogenital closure closure of any midline opening at the base of the penis. In severe undervirilization a boy may have a "pseudovaginal pouch" or a single urogenital opening in the midline of the perineum. Potential surgical problems: The most complicated aspect of closure involves moving the urethra to the phallus if it is not already there (i.e., repairing a perineal hypospadias). Fistulas, scarring, and loss of sensation are the main risks.

Intersex medical interventions


Gonadectomy (also referred to as "orchiectomy") removal of the gonads. This is done in three circumstances. (1) If the gonads are dysgenetic testes or streak gonads and at least some of the boy's cells have a Y chromosome, the gonads or streaks must be removed because they are nonfunctional but have a relatively high risk of developing gonadoblastoma. (2) In rare instances when an XX child has completely virilizing congenital adrenal hyperplasia (Prader stage 5), the ovaries can be removed before puberty to stop breast development and/or menstruation. (3) Gonadectomy can be performed in the equally rare instance of a child with true hermaphroditism virilized enough to raise as male, in which ovaries or ovotestes can be removed. A lifetime of hormone replacement will be required, to avoid osteoporosis and enable sexual functioning.

Intersex medical interventions


Chordee release is the cutting of ventral penile skin and connective tissue to free and straighten the penis. A mild chordee, manifest as a well-formed penis "bent" downward by subcutaneous connective tissue, may be an isolated birth defect easily repaired by releasing some of the inelastic connective tissue on the ventral side of the shaft. In a complete chordee the phallus is "tethered" downward to the perineum by skin. A more severe chordee is often accompanied by a hypospadias and sometimes by severe undervirilization: a perineal "pseudovaginal pouch" and bifid ("split") scrotum with an undersized penis. This combination, referred to as pseudovaginal perineoscrotal hypospadias, is in the spectrum of ambiguous genitalia due to a number of conditions.  Scarring and contracture are occasional complications, but most unsatisfactory outcomes occur when a severe hypospadias needs to be repaired as well. Long-term complications can include fistulas between colon or upper rectum and skin or other cavities, or between urethra and perineum. Loss of sensation.

Intersex medical interventions


Cloacal repair is among the most complex of the surgeries described here. Bladder exstrophy or more severe cloacal exstrophy is a major birth defect involving inadequate closure and incomplete midline fusion of multiple pelvic and perineal organs as well as the front of the pelvis and lower abdominal wall. The penis and scrotum are often widely bifid (the two embryonic parts unjoined). The penis often cannot be salvaged, although the testes can be retained. Repair may involve closure of the bladder, closure of the anterior abdominal wall, colostomy (temporary or permanent) with reconstruction of the rectum. If the halves of the phallus cannot be joined, they may be removed. The smallest defect in this spectrum is an epispadias. Surgical repair for this is primarily a phalloplasty. Potential surgical problems: Surgery for the more severe degrees of cloacal exstrophy is extensive and usually multistage. A variety of potential problems and complications can occur, including need for long-term colostomy or vesicostomy. In many cases a functional penis cannot be created. Scarring is often extensive and the lower torso severely disfigured even with fairly good outcomes.

Intersex medical interventions


Phalloplasty is a general term for any reconstruction of the penis itself, especially for more unusual types of injuries, deformities, or birth defects. The principal difficulty is that erectile tissue is not easily constructed and this limits the surgeon's ability to make more than minor size changes. Construction of a narrow tube lined with mucosa (a urethra) is a similar challenge.  Minor revisions of the skin are rarely followed by problems. More complicated reconstruction may result in scarring and contracture, which can distort the shape or curvature of the penis, or interfere with erections or make them painful.

Intersex medical interventions


Hysterectomy is removal of a uterus. It is rare that a uterus or Müllerian duct derivatives would need to be removed from a child being raised as a boy: see persistent Müllerian duct syndrome. The most common scenario is accidental discovery of persistent Müllerian derivatives or a small uterus during abdominal surgery of a normal boy for cryptorchidism, appendectomy, or bowel disease. Removal would not involve genital surgery. A rarer indication would be that of a completely virilized XX child with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (Prader stage 5) being raised as a male; ovaries and uterus must be removed to prevent breast development and menstruation by early adolescence. Risks are simply those of abdominal surgery.

Intersex medical interventions


Testicular prostheses are saline-filled plastic ovoids implanted in the scrotum. They have no function except to provide the appearance and feel of testes. Several sizes are available, but most are implanted in adolescence to avoid repeated procedures to implant larger sizes at puberty. Prostheses made of silastic are no longer available due to safety and perception-of-safety concerns. Potential surgical problems: Foreign body reactions, rarely with infection or erosion of scrotal skin, are minimal but constitute the most significant complication.

Intersex medical interventions


Penile augmentation surgery is surgery intended to enlarge a small penis. Early attempts in the 1950s and 1960s involved constructing a tube of non-erectile flesh extending a small penis but the penis did not function. In recent years a small number of urologists have been offering an augmentation procedure that involves moving outward some of the buried components of the corpora so that the penis protrudes more. The girth is augmented with transplantation of the patient's fat. This procedure is designed to preserve erectile and sexual function without surgically altering the urethra. This type of surgery is not performed on children and primarily produces a small increase in the size of a normal penis, but would be less likely to produce a major functional change in a severe micropenis. Potential surgical problems include reabsorption of the fat, scarring resulting in interference with erectile function, and issues with physical sensation.

Intersex medical interventions


Concealed penis where a normal penis is buried in suprapubic fat. In most cases, when the fat is depressed with the fingers, the penis is seen to be of normal size. This is common in overweight boys before the penile growth of puberty. Surgical techniques have been devised to improve it. The most common problems post-surgery are recurrence with continued weight gain and scarring.

Intersex medical interventions


Feminizing surgical procedures

Intersex medical interventions


In the last 50 years, the following procedures were most commonly performed to make the genitalia more typically female: virilization due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia; genital variations due, for example, to cloacal exstrophy; genital variations in infants with XY or mixed chromosomes to be raised as girls, such as gonadal dysgenesis, partial and complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, micropenis, cloacal and bladder exstrophy. In the 21st century, feminizing surgery to support reassignment of XY infants with non-ambiguous micropenis has been largely discontinued, and surgical reassignment of XY infants with exstrophy or other significant variations or injuries is diminishing. See history of intersex surgery.

Intersex medical interventions


Clitorectomy amputation or removal of most of the clitoris, including glans, erectile tissue, and nerves. This procedure was the most common clitoral surgery performed prior to 1970, but was largely abandoned by 1980 because it usually resulted in loss of clitoral sensation. Potential surgical problems: The primary effect of this surgery is a drastic reduction in ability to experience orgasm. The appearance is not very normal. Regrowth of unwanted erectile tissue has sometimes presented problems.

Intersex medical interventions


Clitoroplasty, like phalloplasty, is a term that encompasses any surgical reconstruction of the clitoris, such as removal of the corpora. Clitoral recession and reduction can both be referred to as clitoroplasty. Potential surgical problems: Major complications can include scarring, contractures, loss of sensation, loss of capacity for orgasm, and unsatisfactory appearance.

Intersex medical interventions


Clitoral recession involves the repositioning of the erectile body and glans of the clitoris farther back under the symphysis pubis and/or skin of the preputium and mons. This was commonly done from the 1970s through the 1980s to reduce protrusion without sacrificing sensation. Outcomes were often unsatisfactory, and it fell into disfavor in the last 15 years. Potential surgical problems: Unfortunately the subsequent sensations were not always pleasant, and erection could be painful. Adults who had a clitoral recession in early childhood often report reduced capacity for enjoyment of sexual intercourse, though similar women who had not had surgery also report a high rate of sexual dysfunction.

Intersex medical interventions


Clitoral reduction was developed in the 1980s to reduce size without reducing function. Lateral wedges of the erectile tissue of the clitoris are removed to reduce the size and protrusion. The neurovascular tissue is carefully spared to preserve function and sensation. Nerve stimulation and sensory responses are now often performed during the surgery to confirm function of the sensory nerves. Clitoral reduction is rarely done except in combination with vaginoplasty when substantial virilization is present. Potential problems: The degree to which the goal of preserving sexual sensations is attained is a subject of controversy regarding the necessity of such treatments, and lack of firm evidence of good outcomes. The success of more contemporary approaches was challenged by Thomas in 2004: "confidence in the superiority of modern surgery is almost certainly misplaced as the crucial components of current clitoral reduction surgery are not fundamentally different from those used in specialist centres 20 years ago".

Intersex medical interventions


Vaginoplasty, the construction or reconstruction of a vagina, can be fairly simple or quite complex, depending on the initial anatomy. If a normal internal uterus, cervix and upper vagina (the Müllerian derivatives) exist, and the outer virilization is modest, surgery involves separating the fused labia and widening the vaginal introitus. With greater degrees of virilization, the major challenge of the procedure is to provide a passage connecting the outer vaginal opening to the cervix which will stay wide enough to allow coitus. XY girls or women with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome will have a blind vaginal pouch of varying degrees of depth. Sometimes this can be dilated to a usable depth. Sometimes surgery is performed to deepen it.

Intersex medical interventions


The most challenging surgery with the highest complication rate is construction of an entirely new vagina (a "neovagina"). The most common instance of this is when a child will be assigned and raised as a female despite complete virilization, as with Prader 5 CAH, or (in the past) when a genetic male infant with a severely defective penis was reassigned as a female. One method is to use a segment of colon, which provides a lubricated mucosal surface as a substitute for the vaginal mucosa. Another is to line the new vagina with a skin graft. Potential surgical problems: Stenosis (narrowing) of the constructed vagina is the most common long-term complication and the chief reason that a revision may be required when a girl is older. When a neovagina is made from a segment of bowel, it tends to leak mucus; when made with a skin graft, lubrication is necessary. Less common complications include fistulas, uncomfortable scarring, and problems with urinary continence.

Intersex medical interventions


Gonadectomy is removal of the gonads. If the gonads are dysgenetic testes or streak gonads and at least some of the cells have a Y chromosome, the gonads or streaks must be removed because they are nonfunctional but have a relatively high risk of developing gonadoblastoma. If the gonads are relatively "normal" testes, but the child is to be assigned and raised as female, (e.g., for intersex conditions with severe undervirilization, or major malformations involving an absent or unsalvageable penis) they must be removed before puberty to prevent virilization from rising testosterone.

Intersex medical interventions


Testes in androgen insensitivity are a special case: if there is any degree of responsiveness to testosterone, they should be removed before puberty. On the other hand, if androgen insensitivity is complete, the testes may be left to produce estradiol (via testosterone) to induce breast development, but there is a slowly increasing risk of cancer in adult life. Streak gonads without a Y chromosome cell line need not be removed but will not function. Finally, the gonads in true hermaphroditism must be directly examined; atypical gonads with Y line or potential testicular function should be removed but in rare instances a surgeon may try to preserve the ovarian part of an ovotestis. Potential surgical problems: A lifetime of hormone replacement will be required, to avoid osteoporosis and enable sexual functioning.

Intersex medical interventions


Cloacal exstrophy and bladder exstrophy repair is needed regardless of the sex of assignment or rearing. Simple bladder exstrophy in a genetic female does not usually involve the vagina. Cloacal exstrophy in a genetic female usually requires major surgical reconstruction of the entire perineum, including bladder, clitoris, symphysis pubis, and both the vaginal introitus and urethra. However, the uterus and ovaries are normally formed. Severe bladder exstrophy or cloacal exstrophy in genetic males often renders the phallus widely split, small, and unsalvageable. The scrotum is also widely split, though testes themselves are usually normal. From the 1960s until the 1990s, many of these infants were assigned and raised as females, with fashioning of a vagina and gonadectomy as part of the perineal reconstruction.

Intersex medical interventions


Potential surgical problems: Surgery for the more severe degrees of cloacal exstrophy is extensive and usually multistage. A variety of potential problems and complications can occur, including need for long-term colostomy or vesicostomy. Creating a functional urethra is difficult and poor healing, with scarring, stricture, or fistula can require a vesicostomy to prevent urinary incontinence. Construction of a functional internal and external anal sphincter can be equally difficult when this has been disrupted as well. Functional problems can warrant a temporary or long-term colostomy. The added challenge for the most severely affected genetic females, and for genetic males who are being raised as females, is construction of a neovagina. Scarring is extensive and the lower torso disfigured even with the best outcomes. Finally, it has become apparent that some XY males (without intersex conditions) who are reassigned and raised as females have not developed a female gender identity and have sought reassignment back to male.

Intersex medical interventions


There is widespread evidence of prenatal testing and hormone treatment to prevent intersex traits. In 1990, a paper by Heino Meyer-Bahlburg titled Will Prenatal Hormone Treatment Prevent Homosexuality? was published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. It examined the use of "prenatal hormone screening or treatment for the prevention of homosexuality" using research conducted on fetuses with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Dreger, Feder, and Tamar-Mattis describe how later research constructs "low interest in babies and men – and even interest in what they consider to be men's occupations and games – as "abnormal", and potentially preventable with prenatal dex [amethasone]".

Intersex medical interventions


Genetic selection and terminations

Intersex medical interventions


The ethics of preimplantation genetic diagnosis to select against intersex traits was the subject of 11 papers in the October 2013 issue of the American Journal of Bioethics. There is widespread evidence of pregnancy terminations arising from prenatal testing, as well prenatal hormone treatment to prevent intersex traits.

Intersex medical interventions


In April 2014, Organisation Intersex International Australia made a submission on genetic selection via preimplantation genetic diagnosis to the National Health and Medical Research Council recommending that deselection of embryos and fetuses on grounds of intersex status should not be permitted. It quoted research by Professors Morgan Holmes, Jeff Nisker, associate professor Georgiann Davis, and by Jason Behrmann and Vardit Ravitsky. It quotes research showing pregnancy termination rates of up to 88% in 47,XXY even while the World Health Organization describes the trait as "compatible with normal life expectancy", and "often undiagnosed".  Behrmann and Ravitsky find social concepts of sex, gender and sexual orientation to be "intertwined on many levels. Parental choice against intersex may thus conceal biases against same-sex attractedness and gender nonconformity."

Intersex medical interventions


The DSM-5 included a change from using gender identity disorder to gender dysphoria. This revised code now specifically includes intersex people who do not identify with their sex assigned at birth and experience clinically significant distress or impairment, using the language of disorders of sex development. This move was criticized by intersex advocacy groups in Australia and New Zealand.

Intersex medical interventions


When intersex individuals receive non-consensual surgery at birth, this can lead to life-long trauma and feelings of gender dysphoria. This is because "gender-normalizing" surgery is non-accepting towards intersex individual by forcing them to conform to a binary. There are changing practices surrounding intersex surgery of infants with more hospitals or medical professionals discouraging intersex surgery when the child cannot make the decision themselves. However, there have not been any federal or local policies in the United States surrounding non-consensual intersex surgery on infants or children.

Intersex medical interventions


Psychosocial support

Intersex medical interventions


A 2006 clinician "Consensus Statement on Intersex Disorders and Their Management" attempted to prioritize psychosocial support for children and families, but it also supports surgical intervention with psychosocial rationales such as "minimizing family concern and distress" and "mitigating the risks of stigmatization and gender-identity confusion".

Intersex medical interventions


In 2012, the Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics argued strongly in favour of improved psychosocial support, saying:

Intersex medical interventions


The initial aim of counselling and support is therefore to create a protected space for parents and the newborn, so as to facilitate a close bond. In addition, the parents need to be enabled to take the necessary decisions on the child's behalf calmly and after due reflection. In this process, they should not be subjected to time or social pressures. Parents' rapid requests for medical advice or for corrective surgery are often a result of initial feelings of helplessness, which need to be overcome so as to permit carefully considered decision-making.

Intersex medical interventions


It is important to bear in mind and also to point out to the parents that a diagnosis does not in itself entail any treatment or other medical measures, but serves initially to provide an overview of the situation and a basis for subsequent decisions, which may also take the form of watchful waiting.

Intersex medical interventions


...interventions have lasting effects on the development of identity, fertility, sexual functioning and the parent-child relationship. The parents' decisions should therefore be marked by authenticity, clarity and full awareness, and based on love for the child, so that they can subsequently be openly justified vis-à-vis the child or young adult.

Intersex medical interventions


A joint international statement by intersex community organizations published in 2013 sought, amongst other demands:

Intersex medical interventions


Recognition that medicalization and stigmatisation of intersex people result in significant trauma and mental health concerns.

Intersex medical interventions


In view of ensuring the bodily integrity and well-being of intersex people, autonomous non-pathologising psycho-social and peer support be available to intersex people throughout their life (as self-required), as well as to parents and/or care providers.

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Outcomes and evidence

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Specialists at the Intersex Clinic at University College London began to publish evidence in 2001 that indicated the harm that can arise as a result of inappropriate interventions, and advised minimising the use of childhood surgical procedures.

Intersex medical interventions


A 2004 paper by Heino Meyer-Bahlburg and others examined outcomes from early surgeries in individuals with XY variations, at one patient centre. The study has been used to support claims that "the majority of women... have clearly favored genital surgery at an earlier age" but the study was criticized by Baratz and Feder in a 2015 paper for neglecting to inform respondents that:

Intersex medical interventions


(1) not having surgery at all might be an option; (2) they might have had lower rates of reoperation for stenosis if surgery were performed later, or (3) that significant technical improvements that were expected to improve outcomes had occurred in the 13 or 14 years between when they underwent early childhood surgery and when it might have been deferred until after puberty.

Intersex medical interventions


Chicago consensus statement

Intersex medical interventions


In 2006, an invited group of clinicians met in Chicago and reviewed clinical evidence and protocols, and adopted a new term for intersex conditions: Disorders of sex development (DSD) in the journal article Consensus Statement on Intersex Disorders and their Management. The new term refers to "congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical." The term has been controversial and not widely adopted outside clinical settings: the World Health Organization and many medical journals still refer to intersex traits or conditions. Academics like Georgiann Davis and Morgan Holmes, and clinical psychologists like Tiger Devore argue that the term DSD was designed to "reinstitutionalise" medical authority over intersex bodies. On surgical rationales and outcomes, the article stated that:

Intersex medical interventions


It is generally felt that surgery that is carried out for cosmetic reasons in the first year of life relieves parental distress and improves attachment between the child and the parents. The systematic evidence for this belief is lacking. ... information across a range of assessments is insufficient ... outcomes from clitoroplasty identify problems related to decreased sexual sensitivity, loss of clitoral tissue, and cosmetic issues ... Feminising as opposed to masculinising genitoplasty requires less surgery to achieve an acceptable outcome and results in fewer urological difficulties... Long term data on sexual function and quality of life among those assigned female as well as male show great variability. There are no controlled clinical trials of the efficacy of early (less than 12 months of age) versus late surgery (in adolescence and adulthood), or of the efficacy of different techniques"

Intersex medical interventions


Data presented in recent years suggests that little has changed in practice. Creighton and others in the UK have found that there have been few audits of the implementation of the 2006 statement, clitoral surgeries on under-14s have increased since 2006, and "recent publications in the medical literature tend to focus on surgical techniques with no reports on patient experiences".

Intersex medical interventions


In 2013, the Australian parliamentary became the first to investigate medical procedures and interventions performed on intersex individuals without their consent. The inquiry questions whether or not these interventions were done ethically and with the patient's approval and awareness. However, even though the Australian parliament became the first to perform these inquiries on the rights of intersex individuals, they have not been implemented. Non-voluntary or forced genital-normalizing surgeries are still performed with approval from the Family Court of Australia. Although Australia has legal inclusion policies that recognize binary and intersex bodies, the continuation of nonconsensual medical interventions and treatments suggests that practices have not changed much.

Intersex medical interventions


A 2014 civil society submission to the World Health Organization cited data from a large German Netzwerk DSD/Intersexualität study:

Intersex medical interventions


In a study in Lübeck conducted between 2005 and 2007 ...  81% of 439 individuals had been subjected to surgeries due to their intersex diagnoses. Almost 50% of participants reported psychological problems. Two thirds of the adult participants drew a connection between sexual problems and their history of surgical treatment. Participating children reported significant disturbances, especially within family life and physical well-being – these are areas that the medical and surgical treatment was supposed to stabilize.

Intersex medical interventions


A 2016 Australian study of persons born with atypical sex characteristics found that "strong evidence suggesting a pattern of institutionalised shaming and coercive treatment of people". Large majorities of respondents opposed standard clinical protocols.

Intersex medical interventions


2016 Global DSD Update

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A 2016 follow-up to the 2006 Consensus Statement, termed a Global Disorders of Sex Development Update stated,

Intersex medical interventions


There is still no consensual attitude regarding indications, timing, procedure and evaluation of outcome of DSD surgery. The levels of evidence of responses given by the experts are low (B and C), while most are supported by team expertise... Timing, choice of the individual and irreversibility of surgical procedures are sources of concerns. There is no evidence regarding the effect of surgically treated or non-treated DSDs during childhood for the individual, the parents, society or the risk of stigmatization... Physicians working with these families should be aware that the trend in recent years has been for legal and human rights bodies to increasingly emphasize preserving patient autonomy.

Intersex medical interventions


A 2016 paper on "Surgery in disorders of sex development (DSD) with a gender issue" repeated many of the same claims, but without reference to human rights norms. A commentary to that article by Alice Dreger and Ellen Feder criticized that omission, stating that issues have barely changed in two decades, with "lack of novel developments", while "lack of evidence appears not to have had much impact on physicians' confidence in a standard of care that has remained largely unchanged." Another 2016 commentary stated that the purpose of the 2006 Consensus Statement was to validate existing practices, "The authoritativeness and "consensus" in the Chicago statement lies not in comprehensive clinician input or meaningful community input, but in its utility to justify any and all forms of clinical intervention."

Intersex medical interventions


Controversies and unsettled questions

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Management practices for intersex conditions have evolved over the last 60 years. In recent decades surgical practices have become the subject of public and professional controversy, and evidence remains lacking.

Intersex medical interventions


A 2024 systematic review found that ""Sex-normalising" interventions are conducted based largely on rationales that were not adequately supported by evidence, a desire from parents and surgeons to match genital cosmesis typically ascribed to male and female bodies, and a parental desire for intervention conduct." Most studies only reported on cosmetic outcomes as viewed by parents or doctors.

Intersex medical interventions


Comparing early against late surgeries

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Argued or putative advantages of infant surgery:

Intersex medical interventions


Tissue is more elastic and heals better according to many surgeons.

Intersex medical interventions


Genital surgery performed before the age of memory is less emotionally traumatic.

Intersex medical interventions


Surgery in infancy avoids asking adolescent to make a decision that is stressful and difficult even for adults.

Intersex medical interventions


Assuming infant surgery is successful, there is no barrier to engaging in normal sexual activities, and less distortion of psychosexual identity.

Intersex medical interventions


Argued or putative advantages of surgery in adolescence or later:

Intersex medical interventions


If outcome is less than satisfactory, early surgery leaves a person wondering if they would have been better off without it.

Intersex medical interventions


Any surgery not absolutely necessary for physical health should be postponed until the person is old enough to give informed consent.

Intersex medical interventions


Genital surgery should be handled differently than other birth defect surgery; this is a type of surgery that parents should not be empowered to make decisions about because they will be under social pressure to make "bad" decisions.

Intersex medical interventions


By mid-adolescence or later, persons may decide that their atypical genitalia do not need to be changed.

Intersex medical interventions


Infant vaginoplasties should not be done because most people who have had them performed report some degree of difficulty with sexual function; even though we have no evidence that adult sexual function will be better if surgery is deferred, the outcomes could not be worse than they currently are after infant surgery.

Intersex medical interventions


Others argue that the key questions are not ones of early or late surgery, but questions of consent and autonomy.

Intersex medical interventions


Parents are frequently considered able to consent to feminizing or masculinizing interventions on their child, and this may be considered standard for the treatment of physical disorders. However this is contested, particularly where interventions seek to address psychosocial concerns. A BMJ editorial in 2015 stated that parents are unduly influenced by medicalized information, may not realize that they are consenting to experimental treatments, and regret may be high. Research has suggested that parents are willing to consent to appearance-altering surgeries even at the cost of later adult sexual sensation. Child rights expert Kirsten Sandberg states that parents have no right to consent to such treatments.

Intersex medical interventions


Sensation and sexual function

Intersex medical interventions


Reports published in the early 1990s state that 20–50% of surgical cases result in a loss of sexual sensation.

Intersex medical interventions


A 2007 paper by Yang, Felsen and Poppas provided what the authors believe is the first study of clitoral sensitivity after clitoris reduction surgery, but the research was itself the subject of ethical debate. Postoperative patients aged older than five years were "considered candidates" for clitoral sensitivity testing, and 10 of 51 patients were tested, with 9 undergoing extended vibratory sensory testing. The initial tests were performed on the inner thigh, labia majora, labia minora, vaginal introitus and clitoris, with a "cotton tip applicator" and extended tests with a biothesiometer, a medical device used to measure sensitivity thresholds. Values were recorded. The authors note that there are no control data "for assessment of the viability and function of the clitoris in unaffected women." The ethics of these tests have been criticized by bioethicists, and subsequently defended by the Office for Human Research Protections.

Intersex medical interventions


Loss of sexual function and sensation remains a concern in a submission by the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group to the Australian Senate in 2013. Clinical decision-making has prioritized perceived advantages from infant clitoral reduction surgery over the potential disadvantages of reduced or distorted sexual sensation. Human rights institutions stress the informed consent of the individual concerned.

Intersex medical interventions


Decision-making on cancer and other physical risks

Intersex medical interventions


In the cases where nonfunctional testes are present, or with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome, there is a risk that these develop cancer. They are removed by orchiectomy or monitored carefully. In a major Parliamentary report in Australia, published in October 2013, the Senate Community Affairs References committee was "disturbed" by the possible implications of current practices in the treatment of cancer risk. The committee stated: "clinical intervention pathways stated to be based on probabilities of cancer risk may be encapsulating treatment decisions based on other factors, such as the desire to conduct normalising surgery… Treating cancer may be regarded as unambiguously therapeutic treatment, while normalising surgery may not. Thus basing a decision on cancer risk might avoid the need for court oversight in a way that a decision based on other factors might not. The committee is disturbed by the possible implications of this..."

Intersex medical interventions


Gender identity issues

Intersex medical interventions


Gender identity and sexuality in intersex children have been problematized, and subjective judgements are made about the acceptability of risk of future gender dysphoria. Medical professionals have traditionally considered the worst outcomes after genital reconstruction in infancy to occur when the person develops a gender identity discordant with the sex assigned as an infant. Most of the cases in which a child or adult has voluntarily changed sex and rejected sex of assignment and rearing have occurred in partially or completely virilized genetic males who were reassigned and raised as females. This is the management practice that has been most thoroughly undermined in recent decades, as a result of a small number of spontaneous self-reassignments to male. Reducing the likelihood of a gender "mismatch" is also a claimed advantage of deferring reconstructive surgery until the patient is old enough to assess gender identity with confidence.

Intersex medical interventions


Human rights institutions question such approaches as being "informed by redundant social constructs around gender and biology".

Intersex medical interventions


Stigma and normality

Intersex medical interventions


Parents may be advised that without surgery, their child will be stigmatized, but they may make different choices with non-medicalized information. However, there is no evidence that surgeries help children grow up psychologically healthy.

Intersex medical interventions


Unlike other aesthetic surgical procedures performed on infants, such as corrective surgery for a cleft lip (as opposed to a cleft palate), genital surgery may lead to negative consequences for sexual functioning in later life (such as loss of sensation in the genitals, for example, when a clitoris deemed too large or penis is reduced/removed), or feelings of freakishness and unacceptability, which may have been avoided without the surgery. Studies have revealed how surgical intervention has had psychological effects, affecting well-being and quality of life. Genital surgeries do not ensure a successful psychological outcome for the patient and might require psychological support when the patient is trying to distinguish a gender identity. The Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics states that, where "interventions are performed solely with a view to integration of the child into a family and social environment, then they run counter to the child's welfare. In addition, there is no guarantee that the intended purpose (integration) will be achieved."

Intersex medical interventions


Opponents of all "corrective surgery" on atypical sex characteristics suggest to change social opinion regarding the desirability of having genitalia that look more average, rather than perform surgery to try to make them more like those of other people.

Intersex medical interventions


Suicide Risks and Well-Being of Intersex Individuals

Intersex medical interventions


Intersex individuals often do not receive support from their parents or family members. They may experience harm through their families, such as being forced to conform to gender expectations, be forced or even without their consent be given treatments or medical interventions, or be completely shut-off from their family if they do not conform to what is expected. When examining suicide within the LGBTI community, it was found that there was limited studies conducted for the intersex community on reasons for committing suicide because researchers studied LGB communities far more frequently. It can be understood that intersex individuals have higher rates of suicide compared to the general population. In a national study conducted in the United States, it was found that "43% of [intersex adults] rated their physical health as fair or poor in comparison to 17.7% of the general U.S population."

Intersex medical interventions


Medical photography and display

Intersex medical interventions


Photographs of intersex children's genitalia are circulated in medical communities for documentary purposes, and individuals with intersex traits may be subjected to repeated genital examinations and display to medical teams. Problems associated with experiences of medical photography of intersex children have been discussed along with their ethics, control and usage. "The experience of being photographed has exemplified for many people with intersex conditions the powerlessness and humiliation felt during medical investigations and interventions".

Intersex medical interventions


Secrecy and information provision

Intersex medical interventions


Additionally, parents are not often consulted on the decision-making process when choosing the sex of the child, and they may be advised to conceal information from their child. The Intersex Society of North America stated that "For decades, doctors have thought it necessary to treat intersex with a concealment-centered approach, one that features downplaying intersex as much as possible, even to the point of lying to patients about their conditions."

Intersex medical interventions


Alternative pathways

Intersex medical interventions


In 2015, an editorial in the BMJ described current surgical interventions as experimental, stating that clinical confidence in constructing "normal" genital anatomies has not been borne out, and that medically credible pathways other than surgery do not yet exist.

Intersex medical interventions


The Council of Europe highlights several areas of concern in relation to intersex surgeries and other medical treatment:

Intersex medical interventions


unnecessary "normalising" treatment of intersex persons, and unnecessary pathologisation of variations in sex characteristics.

Intersex medical interventions


access to justice and reparation for unnecessary medical treatment, as well as inclusion in equal treatment and hate crime law.

Intersex medical interventions


access to information, medical records, peer and other counselling and support.

Intersex medical interventions


respecting self-determination in gender recognition, through expeditious access to official documents.

Intersex medical interventions


The Council of Europe argues that secrecy and shame have perpetuated human rights abuses and a lack of social understanding of the reality of intersex people. It calls for respect for "intersex persons' right not to undergo sex assignment treatment".

Intersex medical interventions


Alice Dreger, a US professor of Clinical Medical Humanities and Bioethics, argues that little has changed in actual clinical practice in recent years. Creighton and others in the UK have found that there have been few audits of the implementation of the 2006 statement, clitoral surgeries on under-14s have increased since 2006, and "recent publications in the medical literature tend to focus on surgical techniques with no reports on patient experiences".

Intersex medical interventions


Australia is the first to hold a "parliamentary inquiry" on non-consensual medical or surgical procedures and has recognized a third gender identity. The third gender identity is represented by the letter "X" for individuals who do not identify as male or female. In 2003, Alex Macfarlane became the first individual to receive a passport marked "X" for sex assignment.

Intersex medical interventions


Institutions like the Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics, the Australian Senate, the Council of Europe, World Health Organization, and UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Rapporteur on Torture have all published reports calling for changes to clinical practice.

Intersex medical interventions


In 2011, Christiane Völling won the first successful case brought against a surgeon for non-consensual surgical intervention. The Regional Court of Cologne, Germany, awarded her €100,000.

Intersex medical interventions


In 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council published the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which identified gender-assigning surgery on intersex minors as examples of torture. The Special Rapporteur "calls on states" to ban or outlaw non-consensual surgeries or treatments that are irreversible.

Intersex medical interventions


In 2015, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Human Rights identified genital-normalizing surgery on intersex minors as medically unnecessary.

Intersex medical interventions


In April 2015, Malta became the first country to recognize a right to bodily integrity and physical autonomy, and outlaw non-consensual modifications to sex characteristics. The Act was widely welcomed by civil society organizations.

Intersex medical interventions


In June 2017, Joycelyn Elders, David Satcher, and Richard Carmona, three former Surgeons General of the United States published a paper at the Palm Center, calling for a rethink of early genital surgeries on children with intersex traits. The statement reflected on the history of such interventions, their rationales and outcomes, stating:

Intersex medical interventions


When an individual is born with atypical genitalia that pose no physical risk, treatment should focus not on surgical intervention but on psychosocial and educational support for the family and child. Cosmetic genitoplasty should be deferred until children are old enough to voice their own view about whether to undergo the surgery. Those whose oath or conscience says "do no harm" should heed the simple fact that, to date, research does not support the practice of cosmetic infant genitoplasty.

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History of intersex surgery

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Intersex human rights

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Disorders of sex development

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(DoDI) 6130.03, 2018, section 5, 13f and 14m

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Australian Senate; Community Affairs References Committee (October 2013). Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia. Canberra: Community Affairs References Committee. ISBN 978-1-74229-917-4.

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Consortium on the Management of Disorders of Sex Differentiation. 2006. Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Disorders of Sex Development in Childhood. Rohnert Park: Intersex Society of North America. DSD Guidelines

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Consortium on the Management of Disorders of Sex Differentiation. 2006. Handbook for Parents. Rohnert Park: Intersex Society of North America. DSD Guidelines

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Council of Europe, and Commissioner for Human Rights. "Human Rights and Intersex People, Issue Paper", April 2015.

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"PACE - Doc. 13297 (2013) - Children's right to physical integrity". www.assembly.coe.int. Council of Europe Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

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Elders, M Joycelyn; Satcher, David; Carmona, Richard (June 2017). "Re-Thinking Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants" (PDF). Palm Center.

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Morgan Holmes (editor) (October 2009). Critical Intersex, Ashgate Publishing.

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Houk C. P.; Hughes I. A.; Ahmed S. F.; Lee P. A. (2006). "Summary of Consensus Statement on Intersex Disorders and Their Management". Pediatrics. 118 (2): 753–57. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-0737. PMID 16882833. S2CID 46508895.

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Human Rights Commission of the City and County of San Francisco, and Marcus de María Arana. A Human Rights Investigation Into The Medical "Normalization" Of Intersex People. San Francisco, 2005.

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Katrina Karkazis (2008). Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority, and Lived Experience.

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Lee, Peter A.; Nordenström, Anna; Houk, Christopher P.; Ahmed, S. Faisal; Auchus, Richard; Baratz, Arlene; Baratz Dalke, Katharine; Liao, Lih-Mei; Lin-Su, Karen; Looijenga, Leendert H.J.; Mazur, Tom; Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino F.L.; Mouriquand, Pierre; Quigley, Charmian A.; Sandberg, David E.; Vilain, Eric; Witchel, Selma; and the Global DSD Update Consortium (2016-01-28). "Global Disorders of Sex Development Update since 2006: Perceptions, Approach and Care". Hormone Research in Paediatrics. 85 (3): 158–180. doi:10.1159/000442975. ISSN 1663-2818. PMID 26820577.

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Lee P. A.; Houk C. P.; Ahmed S. F.; Hughes I. A. (2006). "Consensus statement on management of intersex disorders". Pediatrics. 118 (2): e488–500. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-0738. PMC 2082839. PMID 16882788.

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Machado P. S.; Costa A. B.; Nardi H. C.; Fontanari A. M. V.; Araujo I. R.; Knauth D. R. (2015). "Follow-up of Psychological Outcomes of Interventions in Patients Diagnosed with Disorders of Sexual Development: A Systematic Review". Journal of Health Psychology. 21 (10): 2195–2206. doi:10.1177/1359105315572454. PMID 25721455. S2CID 24498085.

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Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics NEK-CNE (November 2012). On the management of differences of sex development. Ethical issues relating to "intersexuality".Opinion No. 20/2012 (PDF). Berne. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2015-07-19.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Intersex medical interventions


World Health Organization (2015). Sexual health, human rights and the law. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-156498-4.

Intersex medical interventions


World Health Organization; OHCHR; UN Women; UNAIDS; UNDP; UNFPA; UNICEF (2014). Eliminating forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization, An interagency statement (PDF). ISBN 978-92-4-150732-5.

Intersex medical interventions


Zillén, Kavot; Garland, Jameson; Slokenberga, Santa; Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe (January 2017). The Rights of Children in Biomedicine: Challenges posed by scientific advances and uncertainties. Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe.

Intersex medical interventions


Gleeson, Juliana (2025). Hermaphrodite Logic: A History of Intersex Liberation. Verso Books. ISBN 978-1-83976-094-5.

Intersex medical interventions


Intersex surgeries: is it right to assign sex to a baby? - video on BBC

Intersex medical interventions


Gary Hirsch (born 3 April 1987) is a Swiss former racing driver who last competed in the LMGTE Am class of the FIA World Endurance Championship for Aston Martin Racing.

Gary Hirsch


Hirsch began karting at the age of 12, competing until 2004, most notably winning the Rotax Max Swiss Karting Challenge in 2002. After finishing runner-up in the Volant Mygale shootout in 2004 and racing part-time in the British Formula Ford Championship a year later, Hirsch joined Graff Racing to race in the French Formula Renault 2.0 series. Hirsch then made a one-off appearance in Formula Renault Asia 2.0 in 2008, before taking a three year hiatus to focus on his studies at the University of Geneva. In 2011, Hirsch raced in the first two rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship with Graff Racing, taking a best result of fifth at Silverstone.

Gary Hirsch


Following a two year hiatus, Hirsch joined Team Endurance Challenge to race in the LMPC class of the European Le Mans Series alongside Paul-Loup Chatin. After finishing second at Silverstone, the pair won the following three races to take the points lead, before securing the LMPC title by finishing second in the finale at Le Castellet.

Gary Hirsch


Staying in the European Le Mans Series for 2014, Hirsch joined Newblood by Morand Racing to race in the LMP2 class alongside Christian Klien and Romain Brandela. Hirsch began the season with a third-place finish at Silverstone, before scoring his only win of the season two races later at Le Castellet and ending the year with a second-place finish at Estoril to end the year third in points. During 2014, Hirsch also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Klien and Brandela, finishing sixth in the LMP2 class and tenth overall.

Gary Hirsch


Hirsch remained in the European Le Mans Series for 2015, joining Greaves Motorsport alongside Jon Lancaster and Björn Wirdheim for his sophomore season in the LMP2 class. Starting off the season with a win at Silverstone, Hirsch finished fourth in the following two races, before winning at Le Castellet and finishing second at Estoril to secure the LMP2 title. During 2015, Hirsch competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the same team, running as high as second before retiring with an electrical issue.

Gary Hirsch


The following year, Hirsch was upgraded to an FIA Gold Categorisation, and only raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Aston Martin Racing. Racing in the LMGTE Am class alongside Liam Griffin and Andrew Howard, the trio finished seventh in class. Three years after his last appearance in racing, Hirsch joined Rebellion Racing as their test and reserve driver for the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Gary Hirsch


Karting career summary

Gary Hirsch


Racing career summary

Gary Hirsch


Complete Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 results

Gary Hirsch


(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Gary Hirsch


Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

Gary Hirsch


Gary Hirsch


Complete FIA GT3 European Championship results

Gary Hirsch


Complete European Le Mans Series results

Gary Hirsch


(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Gary Hirsch


24 Hours of Le Mans results

Gary Hirsch


Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Gary Hirsch


Gary Hirsch career summary at DriverDB.com

Gary Hirsch


KCHS (1400 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, United States. The station is currently owned by GPK Media LLC.

KCHS (AM)


Facility details for Facility ID 47137 (KCHS)   in the FCC Licensing and Management System

KCHS (AM)


KCHS in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

KCHS (AM)


FCC History Cards for KCHS

KCHS (AM)


Chaillot (French pronunciation: [ʃajo]) is a quarter of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is adjacent to Passy to the southwest (administratively part of la Muette) and is bound by Avenue de la Grande-Armée to the north.

Chaillot


It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents, and many embassies and museums.

Chaillot


The first mention of Chaillot is that of its church, Ecclesia de Caleio, which appears in a Papal bull from 1097.

Chaillot


In later Latin documents, the term varies between Callevio, Calloio, Challoio, Calloium, and Chalouel, then in the 13th century as Chailloel. In French, in the 14th century, it was most often written Chailluyau, in the 15th century, Chailluyau, Chaleau, Chayoux or Chailliau. The spelling Chaillot would not become the norm until the 19th century.

Chaillot


The name Chaillot comes from the French caillou meaning pebble.

Chaillot


Chaillot was originally a village on the outskirts of Paris. In the 16th century, Catherine de' Medici built the Château de Chaillot (no longer existing). Chaillot was incorporated into the city of Paris in 1860 by the Law of 16 June 1859. At that time, it was planned that Auteuil and Passy would form a new arrondissement that would be numbered the 13th arrondissement, but "The rich and powerful moving in did not like the number. They pulled strings and became the 16th, the unlucky association and postmark being transferred to the blameless but less influential folks around Porte d'Italie."

Chaillot


Among the landmarks of Chaillot are the Palais de Chaillot and the Jardins du Trocadéro at the Trocadéro, the Saint-Pierre de Chaillot church, the Musée Guimet, the Palais Galliera, and the Palais de Tokyo.

Chaillot


Lübeck School is located in Chaillot.

Chaillot


Marcel Proust died at his apartment 44 rue Hamelin, in Chaillot, in 1922.

Chaillot


The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux is set in a café on Place de l'Alma.

Chaillot


Large black flying squirrels (genus Aeromys) form a taxon of squirrels under the tribe Pteromyini. They are only found in South-east Asia.

Large black flying squirrel


There are two species of large black flying squirrel:

Large black flying squirrel


Black flying squirrel, Aeromys tephromelas

Large black flying squirrel


Thomas's flying squirrel, Aeromys thomasi

Large black flying squirrel


Thorington, R. W. Jr. and R. S. Hoffman. 2005. Family Sciuridae. pp. 754–818 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Large black flying squirrel


Geoffrey Notkin (born February 1, 1961) is an American actor, author, and entrepreneur. Notkin is known as one of the hosts of Meteorite Men, a documentary reality television series from Science Channel, which ran for three seasons. He is the president of the National Space Society, and holds a seat on the National Space Society Board of Governors. He is a long-time member of The Explorer's Club. In 2013, Notkin's Twitter account was nominated for a Shorty Award, honoring the best in social media. Notkin has also been interviewed on the Today show, Coast to Coast, and NASA Edge TV, and is a regular guest speaker at TusCon, an intimate science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention held annually in Tucson, Arizona.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin was born in New York City, but spent his childhood in and around London, England. Notkin spent several of his formative years in Purley, Surrey and attended school in Croydon and St John's Wood.

Geoffrey Notkin


His parents were Sam Notkin, a twice-decorated World War II veteran who worked for the Port Authority, and Gay Flint Notkin, who worked for the American Embassy in Paris, the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, and the State Department. Notkin credits his father, an amateur astronomer, for his interest in space and meteorites.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin left England at age 19 and lived in New York City, later attending New York City's School of Visual Arts (SVA), where he studied under renowned cartoonists Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman. Notkin eventually became the editor of Will Eisner's Gallery of New Comics for SVA.

Geoffrey Notkin


After graduating college, Notkin worked at RAW Books & Graphics for owners Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly. Notkin later became a production assistant to Art Spiegelman while he was creating his graphic novel, Maus, for which Spiegelman later won the Pulitzer Prize. Notkin inspired one of Spiegelman's Garbage Pail Kids, "Deaf Geoff."

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin worked as a geologist for a year with an American oil exploration company based in London.

Geoffrey Notkin


In 1976, at age 15, Notkin attended his first concert with childhood friend Neil Gaiman, to which he attributes his love of music. In 1977, age 16, Notkin was the drummer for a punk rock band, Ex-Execs, whose members included Graham K. Smith, Al Kingsbury, and Gaiman. In fact, the lead character in Gaiman's short story and film, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, was inspired by Notkin.

Geoffrey Notkin


As part of the punk rock scene in London and New York, Notkin performed at The Rock Garden in Covent Garden, the Fulham Greyhound, CBGB, The Stone Pony, and The Knitting Factory. Notkin remained a professional musician for over 20 years and worked with many artists, among them singer-songwriter Lach, with whom he formed a band called Proper iD; drummer Billy Ficca of Television; and Anne Husick of Band of Susans. Notkin appeared on four albums with Lach, including Blang! in 1997, produced by Richard Barone, which Billy Ficca also appeared on. Other albums Notkin performed on are:

Geoffrey Notkin


Kids Fly Free (2001)

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin's first meteorite hunt was in 1994 at Meteor Crater in Northern Arizona, followed in 1997 by a joint expedition to the Imilac strewnfield in the Atacama Desert with Steve Arnold, whom he met through email. Notkin has participated in meteorite hunting expeditions across the United States, including the famed Odessa Meteor Crater, Gold Basin in Arizona, and Brenham, Kansas, where Steve Arnold found the main mass of the Brenham meteorite.

Geoffrey Notkin


Meteorite hunting lead Notkin to attend his first Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in 1998, which he has attended every year since and where his meteorite company, Aerolite Meteorites, now exhibits.

Geoffrey Notkin


"I was so taken in with the experience of the city and the gem show," Notkin said. "As a kid, I would implore my parents to stop at roadside rock shops. Coming here for the first time, it was like a whole city of rock shops. Since then, I haven't missed a show in 22 years."

Geoffrey Notkin


Aerolite Meteorites, Inc.

Geoffrey Notkin


In 2005, Notkin established Aerolite Meteorites, an international meteorite company offering a wide range of products, from entry-level to museum quality specimens. Aerolite has supplied a genuine iron meteorite for use in The Wolverine (2013), though footage of the meteorite was ultimately cut from the film. Aerolite also supplied an iron meteorite weighing 88 pounds (40 kg) as a birthday present for Sting.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin and his company, Aerolite Meteorites, are supporters of Beads of Courage, a Tucson-based charity that aims to provide supportive arts-based care programs for children coping with serious illness. Notkin is a Carry a Bead celebrity participant and carried handcrafted beads with him while filming episodes for STEM Journals.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin co-hosted the critically acclaimed Science Channel show Meteorite Men with Steve Arnold, a fellow meteorite hunter. The show ran for three seasons and shot episodes in 11 countries, including Chile, Sweden, Poland, and Australia.

Geoffrey Notkin


Arnold and Notkin first met via email correspondence before embarking on a meteorite hunting expedition in the Atacama Desert in Chile in 1997. Notkin's written account of this trip was published in two parts in distinguished mathematician and meteorite specialist Joel Schiff's ‘’Meteorite’’ magazine in May 1998 and August 1998.

Geoffrey Notkin


Meteorite Men won two bronze Telly Awards for Season 1 and Season 2.

Geoffrey Notkin


Stem Journals is a science educational television show on Cox7 Arizona which Notkin hosted from 2013 to 2014. In 2014, the show won a Rocky Mountain Emmy and Bronze and Silver Telly Awards.

Geoffrey Notkin


In 2012, Notkin hand-selected a meteorite to be donated by his company, Aerolite Meteorites, Inc., as a part of the first-place trophy for the third annual Student NewSpace Business Plan Competition, which took place at the SpaceVision conference, organized by SEDS-USA.

Geoffrey Notkin


In 2013, Notkin was named "Stellar Partner of the Year" by Challenger Space Center Arizona for his work in supporting STEM education programs at the center, as well as for his exhibit, "They Came from Outer Space," which was featured in the main exhibit room at the center for two years.

Geoffrey Notkin


On November 14, 2015, Notkin gave a TEDx Talk at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland titled Meteorites: Life, Death, and Hope on Earth.

Geoffrey Notkin


In 2015, Notkin emceed the regional edition of NASA FameLab, a global competition featuring early career scientists with the intent to nurture the skills necessary to communicate science-related topics to a public audience. The competition was held in Arizona at Phoenix Comicon 2015.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin holds a position on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society and is often a keynote speaker at the International Space Development Conference, an annual spaceflight event hosted by the NSS. He is also writes a column for Ad Astra magazine, the official publication of the NSS, titled "Throwing Pebbles at the Sky."

Geoffrey Notkin


In addition to being president of the National Space Society and holding a position on its Board of Governors, Notkin also serves on the Board of Directors of the Astrosociology Research Institute and as an adviser to Deep Space Industries. Notkin is also currently involved with Megafonzie, a new multi-platform science network.

Geoffrey Notkin


Asteroid 132904, discovered at Mount Palomar in California by astrophysicist and fellow meteorite specialist Robert Mason, was named "Notkin" in honor of his work in science education.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin has participated in several spaceflight events and conferences, notably Space Rocks. The pilot event took place on April 22, 2018, at the O2 Arena in London and celebrated advances in spaceflight and the art, music, and culture they inspire. Space Rocks won Best Event at the 2018 Progressive Music Awards, hosted by Prog Magazine.

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin is also involved with Taking Up Space, an organization dedicated to expanding educational and vocational opportunities for Native American girls by keeping them interested in STEM fields and ultimately sending them to Space Camp. In 2018, Notkin was the emcee for a fundraising event held in Tucson, Arizona, featuring guitarist Gabriel Ayala.

Geoffrey Notkin


Other spaceflight events with which Notkin has been associated include:

Geoffrey Notkin


Planetary Defense Conference

Geoffrey Notkin


Notkin has also written articles for digital and print international publications, including:

Geoffrey Notkin


Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

Geoffrey Notkin


Coliseum Mineral, Fossil, Gem, and Jewelry Show

Geoffrey Notkin


Geoffrey Notkin at IMDb

Geoffrey Notkin


'Grue jay' is the informal portmanteau name for a wild hybrid between a blue jay and green jay observed in Texas, United States in 2023.

Grue jay


In May 2023, a post on the Facebook group "TEXBIRDS" reported that the bird had been observed near a yard in Bexar County, Texas. The individual was first suspected to be a hybrid of a blue jay and a green jay for sharing vocal and morphological characteristics of both birds, which was later confirmed. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin observed the bird the following month after its capture, and collected a blood sample before attaching a metal leg band and releasing it on-site. The bird was not seen in the following years, but returned to the same location in June 2025. Following its description in the scientific journal Ecology and Evolution, press coverage nicknamed it the 'grue jay', referencing the common names of both parent species.

Grue jay


The observed hybrid specimen is the offspring of a female green jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus, formerly Cyanocorax yncas pro parte) and a male blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata). The predominant blue color of the back and tail is most similar to the blue jay, but it has the crown, nasal tufts, and black facial mask of the green jay. Unlike both parent species, the chin and upper throat are blue. As such, it exhibits a codominant intermediate plumage phenotype, rather than a blended one. The occurrence of the hybrid is believed to have originated from an increased overlap of the ranges of the two species in the decades preceding its discovery. The most recent common ancestor of the blue and green jays lived at least 7 million years ago ago, making their hybridization surprising.

Grue jay


Two other cases of intergeneric hybridization (hybrids between individuals of different genera) have been documented in the family Corvidae prior to the discovery of the 'grue jay'. These are between California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) and Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), and between blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) and Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). No hybrids involving Cyanocorax luxuosus (green jay) have previously been reported in the wild, although a hybrid between a "green jay" (either Cyanocorax luxuosus or Cyanocorax yncas; not distinguished at that time) and a blue jay was produced in captivity at the Fort Worth Zoo, reported in 1981. At this time, the researchers noted that the possibility of a natural occurrence of this hybrid in the wild would be unlikely and not expected to occur, as the two species' breeding ranges were then separated by around 200 kilometres (120 mi).

Grue jay


The Dehumanization of Art and Other Essays on Art, Culture, and Literature is the first English translation of philosopher José Ortega y Gasset's La deshumanización del Arte e Ideas sobre la novela, published in 1925. This composition includes three more essays in addition to Ortega's original work.


The essays seek to understand and explain the relatively new movement of nonrepresentational art and defend these pioneering artists attempting to escape from the embraced realism and romanticism movements. The dehumanization of art refers to the removal of human elements from these works, eliminating the content, but keeping the form. In his work, Ortega explains how the untrained eye, which is used to seeing only content in traditional paintings, must find a new approach to viewing the work of art.


Adelaide of Auxerre (born between 865 and 870, died between 928 and 929) was a Duchess consort of Burgundy by marriage to Richard, Duke of Burgundy, and had the title Countess of Auxerre, possibly as ruling Count.

Adelaide of Auxerre (born c. 870)


She was the daughter of Conrad II, Duke of Transjurane Burgundy.

Adelaide of Auxerre (born c. 870)


In 888, she married Richard, Duke of Burgundy. Adelaide is called Countess of Auxerre between 888 and 921. Exactly why is not clarified. It has been suggested that this was because she was given the County of Auxerre as her dowry. It is possible that she was ruler of Auxerre.

Adelaide of Auxerre (born c. 870)


Rudolph of France, who married Emma of France, daughter of Robert I of France

Adelaide of Auxerre (born c. 870)


Adelaide of Burgundy, married Reginar II, Count of Hainaut.

Adelaide of Auxerre (born c. 870)


Ermengarde of Burgundy (born c. 905 and died c. 945)

Adelaide of Auxerre (born c. 870)


Renatus is the fourth studio album by Swedish rock band Dynazty. The album shows a totally radical change in the sound of the band, where they leave the hard rock and embodied in a sound heavy metal with rapid and severe riffs, and flirtations with the power metal. The name means "rebirth" in Latin and describes a new phase of the band. It is also a remarkable change in their line up member, bassist Joel Fox Apelgren was replaced by Jonathan Olsson and a recent change of label, StormVox Records for the Spinefarm Records.

Renatus (Dynazty album)


All songs were written by Dynazty.

Renatus (Dynazty album)


Dawn Of Your Creation

Renatus (Dynazty album)


Nils Molin – lead vocals

Renatus (Dynazty album)


Rob Love Magnusson – lead guitar

Renatus (Dynazty album)


Mikael Lavér – lead guitar

Renatus (Dynazty album)


Jonathan Olsson – bass

Renatus (Dynazty album)


Carya tonkinensis, the Vietnam hickory, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Carya native to Assam in India, southern China, and northern Indochina. Local people harvest the wood for timber and furniture making, and collect the edible nuts for vegetable oil production.

Carya tonkinensis


Sofia Church (Swedish: Sofia kyrka), named after the Swedish queen Sophia of Nassau, is one of the major churches in Stockholm, Sweden. It was designed during an architectural contest in 1899 and was inaugurated in 1906. It is located in the eastern part of the island of Södermalm, standing on the north east peak of the Vita Bergen park. Sofia church belongs to Sofia parish of the Church of Sweden.

Sofia Church


List of churches in Stockholm

Sofia Church


Mullumbimby Hydro-electric Power Station Complex is a heritage-listed former hydroelectric power station at Wilsons Creek Road, Mullumbimby, Byron Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by William Corin and built from 1924 to 1926. It is also known as Lavertys Gap Power Station and Mullumbimby Power Station and Substation. The property is owned by the Byron Shire Council and Essential Energy. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 27 June 2014.


As early as 1909 government interest in securing a local water supply saw an area set aside on the main arm of the Brunswick River for a future water supply. Credit for the eventual location of the complex can be partially attributed to Councillor W. E. Selwood who advised Council that by erecting a weir across Wilsons Creek and running the water initially through an open cut drain and then through tunnels the water could operate hydro-electric units.


Mullumbimby Hydro-electric Power Station was an undertaking by Mullumbimby Municipal Council. The initial station was designed by consulting engineer William Corin, who was commissioned by the local council in September 1923 to prepare and commence the scheme. The site of the power house was surveyed in December 1924.