User:KNNorm/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Intersex rights in the United States

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
In our class discussion on "What is Gender?" we briefly touched on how the existence of intersex people challenges the gender and/or sex category binary. The discussion was wide ranging, from medical procedures on newborns to the rights of intersex adults. I realized that while I have a very basic knowledge of the term intersex, I could know a lot more. I chose this article as a start to furthering my own understanding of this topic.

Evaluate the article
Lead section: This lead section has the tough job of summarizing a huge issue in a very short space, however I think they attempted to be too concise. The introduction seems a little unorganized and I think some of the language could be more precise, in order to give a better understanding of the topic. A reader doesn't learn much about Intersex rights from reading the Lead Section and doesn't leave with a clear idea of what the article will elaborate on. You need to read further in order to get that information. Finally, although it's an article on Intersex rights, not intersex people in general, it seems like a good idea to have a definition of the term in order to create context for the rest of the article.

Content: Overall, the article provides a lot of information about intersex civil society organizations, efforts to advance intersex rights, and common forms of discrimination against intersex individuals. This page is a solid jumping off point for learning more about intersex people and the status of their rights in the United States. However, there are definitely some content gaps. The content jumps around frequently and it's often unclear how or why one section is connected to another. You have to read each section several times to understand the evolution of intersex rights throughout our history. There are also some key terms that should be defined or linked. Finally, the history of intersex human rights begins with white colonists. Based on our classroom discussions and readings, I know this is not where the story of intersex people begins in the U.S. More discussion of indigenous culture and how that history contributed to, or clashed with, colonial intersex rights would be a valuable addition.

Tone and balance: The tone does a good job of staying impersonal and educational, despite some emotionally charged content. The authors managed to convey the information in a neutral way.

Organization and writing quality: The article could use a professional touch up. They are managing a huge amount of information, but the organization makes it hard to follow. There is no unifying narrative. Each section is organized differently, with different formats (bullets vs. numbers) and structures (past to present, vs. most recent with nods to the past).

Overall impression: This article has good bones but needs some work. Wikipedia designated it as a C-Class article and the Talk page has limited contributions. I get the impression that a motivated individual did their best to compile a lot of information on an important topic, but needs some help organizing it. I would feel the need to double check any information I took from this page before sharing it, even in a casual setting.