Media Appearances
The Bruchim Podcast
“The Medicalization of Circumcision” with Elizabeth Reis
February 28, 2025
Many Jewish males are circumcised in the hospital without any Jewish ritual, but how did this become the case? Eli and Max are joined by the historian Prof. Elizabeth Reis (CUNY), who has studied the medicalization of circumcision in mid-century New York. While rabbis were glad to see mainstream support for circumcision, they worried about a shift away from the religious component of circumcision, which is exactly what happened. We explore this tension, and we discuss a fascinating historical moment in which a mohel could perform a brit milah in the hospital, and how shorter hospital stays for women giving birth changed the practice of Jewish circumcision and provided opportunities for rabbis to criticize mothers. Plus, we discuss how circumcision might relate to medical and Jewish responses to intersex conditions.
CBS Sunday Morning Show
“Living an Intersex Life”
October 29, 2023
According to statistics cited by the U.N., .05 to 1.7 percent of the world's population is intersex, defined as having external or internal sexual organs that are not clearly male or female. As a matter of course, doctors in the past performed surgery on babies, ostensibly so that they would live a "normal" life. Correspondent Erin Moriarty talks with Pidgeon Pagonis (who was born looking female on the outside but also with testes and XY chromosomes) about Pagonis' memoir, "Nobody Needs to Know"; with professor Elizabeth Reis, author of "Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex"; and with urologist Dr. Ilene Wong, who believes the medical community has failed intersex patients.
This is Probably a Really Weird Question — Podcast
“Am I Intersex?” with Elizabeth Reis
February 23, 2023
Dr. Ronnie Hyon and Professor Rebecca Davis explore the question, "Am I intersex?" with special guest Elizabeth Reis, author of Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex. Together, they unpack the medical, ethical, and historical dimensions of intersex identities—highlighting past and ongoing harm in medical treatment, the evolution of terminology and care, and the importance of bodily autonomy. The conversation emphasizes the beauty of human variation and calls for an expanded understanding of "normal" that affirms intersex people without pathologizing them.