The Organization Intersex International in the US describes intersex people as those who are “born with a mix of anatomical sex traits that are traditionally considered to be both 'male' and 'female','or atypical for either.'" Intersex individuals may have biological characteristics of both the male and female sexes. There are many opinions on which types of sexual variations count as intersex. The Intersex Society of North America states that some doctors believe that the presence of “ambiguous genitalia” is the only clear sign of an intersex individual. Others say that a person’s brain must be exposed to a mix of hormones before they are born in order to be classified as intersex. Some think that a person has to have ovarian and testicular tissue to be put in this category. This article asserts that because each case of intersexuality is different, “intersex anatomy does not always show up at birth.” Intersexuality may not be discovered until puberty, adulthood, or even death. The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia describes intersex as “a discrepancy between the external and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).” It also refers to an older term, hermaphroditism, as a commonly used example. This term came from combining the names of Hermes (the god of male sexuality) and Aphrodite (the goddess of female sexuality, love, and beauty). But the group of intersex conditions is also commonly called disorders of sex development (DSDs) in order to replace “misleading, confusing, and insensitive” terms. The article goes on to describe the symptoms and causes associated with intersexuality.
Sources: The Organization Intersex International US: http://oiiusa.org/what_is_intersex
The Intersex Society of North America: http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex
The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001669.htm
Just after looking at this post in juxtaposition to that of the 'masculine' and 'feminine' posts I found it really interesting that even since the time of the Greeks, humans have had the desire to try to concretely categorize others, namely as either masculine or feminine. However, I am glad that despite these previous rigid conceptions, we are making progress and realizing not everything, especially people, can be so easily defined.
ReplyDeleteI found the conflict of opinion between doctors to be quite striking in this article. It seems that their divisions over whether intersex should be defined by anatomy or brain function represents a larger devision of opinion that encompasses discussions of sex and gender. Perhaps because there is no clear definition, and "each case of intersexuality is different," it shouldn't be a category at all.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of inter-sexuality has always been a very controversial topic. I even find it interesting that amongst the top minds in the world this idea still strikes a lot of attention. What is to be considered an "Inter-sex" is entirely to difficult for one to determine. No on can solidify what a true Inter-sex is because those who are affected by this develop in different ways, thus making it impossible to define them all under one category. I agree with Rebecca, I believe that there should not be a category to put them in at because of the differences that they experience.
ReplyDeleteReally thoughtful comments from everyone.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this story about South African runner Caster Semenya for some further discussion of the relevance of intersex issues: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/11/caster-semenya-runner-intersex
Like Rebecca, I found the different doctors' veiws on what defines a person as intersex or not to be quiet perplexing. What levels of confusion do this raise for people who are intersex and how society views and treats them?
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