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"when the media gives out the wrong/ sensationalised meaning of the condition, this does more damage than ever"
I was referring toCAH as a whole, not just on the surgery side of things.If an article/tv program concentrates on the genital side of CAH and hardly (if at all) mentions the medication or the life-threatening side of CAH, then I believe it has only told half the story.Normal people who aren't affected or have family affected by CAH find the condition hard to fully understand.They read articles/watch programs and think "so your daughter was born a boy" because a lot of the time, the media concentrates on the gender issue side of CAH without fully explaining the complete facts.The media likes to attract paying customers so will put in big letters for the title something like "Is she a boy or a girl?"(emphasizing on the gender side of CAH again because that is what sells. The media knows it will draw interest).
In fact, they make things worse because they then jump to another unrelated condition that is intersex and the whole lot just gets muddled up in the public's minds.It is quite a complex condition to understand so anyone who hasn't heard of it or looked deeply into it, will just rely on the media to explain what it is.
This is what I mean when I refer to the media doing more harm.I know you will disagree because you represent the media, but this is my personal opinion and I am talking through experiences of reading/watching programs, and then friends calling to say "so that's what's wrong with your daughter" but not actually on the right lines.
So, Betsy, do you think the article was well written in your eyes?Do you not think the writer shouldn't have jumped to another condition about boys born "without a penis" without naming the actual condition so that the general public aren't confused by this?
