Intersex Theme

Middlesex is a rich story written by Jeffrey Eugenides with various characters, events, places and themes. Although it is primarily about the life of Calliope Stephanides, it follows many other subplots and relationships. The book offers a deeper look into themes such as gender identity, race relations, and nature vs. nature. These themes are present throughout the entire book involving Cal’s entire family as they struggle to remain happy in their life. In the end, these themes helped produce a magnificent book detailing some of the struggles of growing up as intersex.
The lead character came into the world as a baby girl, Calliope Stephanides, in 1960. Her struggle with gender identity came to light as she entered puberty and began noticing
changes that weren’t typical with other girls. When describing the physical change in Jenny Simonson’s body at summer camp, she said, “Her patriotic swimsuit swelled in ways no one else’s did, looking down at my own body, there it was, like usual: the flat chest, the nothing hips, the forked, mosquito-bitten legs”. (P283). This unfortunate struggle was only perpetuated by her parents, who made jokes about her and left her heart broken and sad. In a conversation with her mother she yells “Don’t laugh” to which her mother replies “I’m sorry honey, but it’s just, you’ve got nothing to…. Hold it up”(P288). The reason this is so unfortunate is due to the importance of gender identity in a person. Gender identity is how individuals perceive and call themselves. It is part of what makes a person human, and as a child, it gives you a sense of self. Without it, one could be left confused about who they are, and why they are different from everyone else. Eventually medical testing unveils the true nature of Cal’s sex, and Cal finds out by reading Dr. Luce’s file left open on his desk. It is so moving to imagine Cal reading that description of her body and her life, and reaching the conclusion that he identifies more as a boy than a girl. Cal feels so strongly after seeing that paper that he runs away, leaving his family to live across the country. This action alone signifys the strength of having a true and confident sense of gender identity.
Depictions of different race relations play a large part in Middlesex.
The beginning speaks about the humiliation Greek immigrants felt in the US in the early 1900s. As an example, when Callie’s grandfather Lefty, a Greek immigrant, works at a Ford automobile factory, the Ford investigators try to “Americanize” him. They come to his home and question him, “How often do you bathe, Mr. Stephanides, and how often do you brush your teeth?” (P101). They walk around their kitchen, looking in the oven, pots, and garbage, as well as give their advice regarding his financial situation. It is appalling to even think of that happening in today’s times, as it was simply outright demeaning to Lefty and Desdemona. The relationship between the Greek Americans and the African Americans is filled with prejudice. During the depression, Desdemona is shocked that she is forced to work in a black neighborhood. “Desdemona looked in awe and terror at all the faces filling the windows, all the bodies filling the streets” (P1410. The Stepanides’ family is affected by the Detroit riots, which although not technically a war, felt like one with the National Guard and military forces filling the streets. In the context of the novel it presents a nice parallelism to the grandparent’s flight from Smyrna, due to a fire, while here, the Stephanides leave Detroit after a fire in their own
restaurant.
The final theme of nature vs. nurture is reflected heavily throughout the book. In the beginning of the novel, Calliope states “If you were going to devise an experiment to measure the relative influences of nature versus nurture, you couldn't come up with anything better than my life. (P19). Although her intersex status is not fully revealed until her teenage years, she is “nurtured” through her early years as a female. Cal is treated like a girl by her family and friends. Once puberty begins, however, she does not continue to develop like the other girls her age. She has more masculine changes like a bigger Adam’s apple and deepening voice. She feels that she is attracted to females, and when she reads Dr. Luce’s report about her condition which clearly states “Preliminary Study: Genetic XY (Male) Raised as a female” (p435), he chooses to identify as a male. She runs away to avoid treatment meant to further “feminize” her. Dr. Luce has determined that nurturing Callie as a female was more significant than the nature of her biology, but Callie calls him a liar. I think the author tries to show that it is neither nature or nurture which completely forms a person, and that it is a compromise between the