Corrective surgeries have been around for years to help people become one sex or the other. Old ways of thinking, especially during the 1960s, were to get the operation as soon as possible, normally within the first fifteen months of birth. Usually the external genitals were the deciding factor regardless of whether the child had male or female chromosomes. It was believed that this would be the least complicated reconstructive surgery.
Nowadays this way of thinking is changing. It isn't as easy as picking one gender over the other. Many factors besides external looks are coming into consideration, such as chromosomes, psychological, behavioral and neurological issues before surgeries are started.
Some experts also suggest letting the child have a say in the decision. While parents can choose the gender of their child in most cases, the gender they choose may not always be the gender the child associates with. Some experts recommend waiting until the child is mature enough and is able to understand all of the information about intersexuality before making a decision.
