Tracking bodies, producing sexes: the insertion of congenital adrenal hyperplasia on newborn screneening

Abstract

The present article seeks to discuss the way through which intersexualities are being produced and managed in a context where new biotechnologies constitute themselves as crucial tools on the process of remodeling bodies and producing subjectivities. In order to achieve this, from an "ethnography of archives", national scientific articles that handle the insertion of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) ? which appears in medical literature as the most current cause of intersexuality in the Brazilian Newborn Screening Program ? are analyzed. The results so far obtained point to a series of controversies related to this condition in newborn screenings, such as the elevated number of "false-positives" and the fact that it does not necessarily represent a risk to the subjects' lives (one of the most important criteria for the inclusion in screenings).

Keywords

• Intersexualidade
• Hiperplasia Adrenal Congênita
• Gênero
• Ciência.