Parents Battle Over Child’s Gender Identity After Divorce, Intersex Child Living As Girl Wants To Be A Boy

Two parents are battling over a child’s gender identity following a divorce. The child, Aubrey, has lived as a girl since being born as an intersex baby. This means that baby Aubrey was born with both male and female genitalia, and was sexually ambiguous. After consulting with each other and the doctor, the parents decided to make the baby a girl by allowing surgery that would give the child female genitalia. This allowed the family to list Aubrey as a “female” on her birth certificate, and all seemed well. However, with Aubrey now 4-years-old and the parents divorced, things are getting complicated. The child’s mother, Michelle, says that Aubrey is now expressing a desire to live as a boy instead of a girl, and she plans to honor those wishes. However, the child’s father, Kyle, says that Aubrey is a girl, and that the birth certificate proves it. Now, the child is being forced to live as different genders, being a female when with father Kyle and a male when with mother Michelle.

The Daily Mail reports that divorced parents Kyle and Michelle are at odds over the gender identity of their 4-year-old child. The child, named Aubrey at birth, was born intersex and had both male and female organs, making the child sexually ambiguous. However, after speaking with the doctor and discussing their options, the family decided to have a surgery performed on the baby that would give the child female sex organs. The family then listed the child as female on the birth certificate and Aubrey lived as female until the age of 4.

Despite the joint decision to allow Aubrey to live as a girl, Michelle says that she is no longer comfortable with that decision as Aubrey is expressing interest in living as a boy instead. Michelle says that Aubrey is now associating as a male and that she is allowing the child to dress in boy’s clothing and play with boy toys at her home. However, the child’s father, Kyle, is not okay with the sudden change. Kyle says that Aubrey must live as a girl at his home and the child wears girl’s clothing and plays with girl toys while in his custody.

Enjoyed seeing #sociology on the Dr. Phil show today, thanks to @Georgiann_Davis! Good discussion of intersex kids and parenting. @ASAnews

— Pop Culture Freaks (@PopCultureFreak) November 30, 2015

As a result of the confusion, Kyle’s new wife, Brittany, contacted Dr. Phil for a consultation and the pair met to discuss the situation on live television. The show was titled “Mama’s Little Boy or Daddy’s Little Girl: Identity Confusion or Brainwashing?” and featured the couple as they hashed out the details of their child’s confusing birth.

The full episode can be watched below.

Kyle’s new wife Brittany says that the gender identify war between the two parents is causing the child to become confused, and that Aubrey is being forced to live as two genders. Brittany points out that Aubrey does seem to prefer toys that are typically associated with boys, but that many times the child will opt for clothing that appears more feminine. However, it is unclear exactly which of these choices are due to gender identity and which are due to living life as a specific gender due to the parents’ choice, made at birth.

Interestingly, it was noted that at the time of birth, Aubrey’s chromosomes showed the child was 70 percent more male than female, so it is not clear why the doctor advised the couple to have surgery making Aubrey a girl. However, the ISNA organization, which supports intersex people and their families, notes that many children are “made” into girls at birth simply because it is easier to make a child appear as a female than a male.

Knowing that the child was born with 70 percent more male chromosomes than female chromosomes, do you think the father should be obligated to allow the child to live as a male?

[Image via YouTube/Dr. Phil]