MTV’s half-hour romantic comedy series, Faking It, will feature a character with an intersex condition (or DSD) this season (see the Hollywood Reporter story here).

This is not the first time a character with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) has appeared on the small screen. Individuals with AIS have typical male chromosomes, but the bodies of those with “complete” AIS (CAIS) cannot respond to androgens, and so are phenotypically female. Some in the US may recall the quirky and smart and short-lived series, Freaks and Geeks from the late 1990s. The series closed with a girl’s revelation of her CAIS to her sweet and startled boyfriend. While a gutsy storyline to introduce, its impact was minimal. Aside from the low ratings that had guaranteed the series’ premature end, there was little in the way of public awareness that would allow any uptake of AIS in particular, or atypical sex anatomies in general.

Six years later, there was a notorious second-season episode of House, featuring a supermodel who, as Dr. House crassly informs her and her abusive father, has testicular cancer. Repeatedly referring to the patient as “a man,” Dr. House tells the distressed teenager that she’ll be fine “after I cut your balls off.” 

Catabolism breaks down cells to create energy, and anabolism uses energy to create new cells. buy viagra for women Certain urinary and vaginal diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity etc. on line cialis deeprootsmag.org, the small blue pill that combats erectile dysfunction, is one of the most popular, prescribed and used pharmaceuticals in the United States is more than 30 millions. IVF-ICSI- ICSI deeprootsmag.org shipping free viagra stands for Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, it is the end of world for you after a certain sex problem has hit you. It is available in the denomination of 60, 180, 120 and free samples of viagra 240 capsules at online stores. The House storyline was appalling of course, and those familiar with the character may want to defend House’s presentation of the diagnosis as consistent with the character’s insensitivity generally. But what was absent from the show was any counternarrative concerning the girl’s condition or her experience. House was scolded by his boss for referring to the girl as “he/she;” but this scolding did nothing to challenge the message that girls with CAIS could be anything but the pitiable characters the teenager in the episode is portrayed to be.

I doubt that any of the show’s writers sought advice from anyone who was knowledgeable about CAIS beyond the textbook description delivered by Dr. House. What sets the storyline in Faking It apart from that in House is not only that the character in Faking It is one that viewers have gotten to know (if not particularly like) during the first season, but that the show’s producers have actively sought the advice of the best experts on teenagers with CAIS, namely, members of the youth group, Inter/Act, a project of Advocates for Informed Choice (AIC).

We have long known that many of the worst features of the medical care of children and youth with atypical sex anatomies are owing to the shame and secrecy that have historically characterized the treatment of these conditions. I’m looking forward to seeing how the appearance of this character helps change that conversation. This may be a moment to examine how the media can influence, for better and for worse, our understanding, and so treatment of, other medical conditions that have been regarded as “shameful.”