Intersex
| Sexual Characteristics: | Male and/or/nor/between Female |
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| ⚠ WARNING ⚠ |
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Intersex is a term for those born with physical sex characteristics that cannot be traditionally classified as wolffian (male) or müllerian (female). Variations may appear in an individual’s chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, gonads, secondary sex characteristics, or some combination of these things.[1][2]
Intersex does not describe a singular specific body type but rather is an umbrella term for a broad range of variations and traits. Some intersex individuals may closely resemble one of the binary sexes, while others are closer to in between. An intersex individual may have characteristics of both the wolffian and müllerian sexes, characteristics that fall somewhere in-between, or characteristics that fall into neither.[2]
Intersex individuals may have any gender identity, including man, woman, non-binary, etc.[2] They may identify as cisgender or transgender, or possibly another gender modality such as ipsogender or ultergender. Intersex individuals can have any assigned gender at birth. Some may be assigned male or female because their variation of intersex was not noticed at birth. Others may be coercively assigned male or female at birth (CAMAB/CAFAB), meaning they had nonconsensual surgery performed on them so that their body fits more closely with one of the binary sexes. In some rare cases, and depending largely on the country and governing laws, intersex individuals may be assigned intersex or X at birth.[3]
Intersex is included within the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, though not all intersex individuals consider themselves to be LGBT+, due to the fact that intersex is a physical condition, and not a social (gender) one. However, intersex experiences can lead to unique or non-normative gender and orientation experiences. Some intersex individuals find they benefit from the support provided by LGBT+ communities.[4]
As intersex is a condition one is born with (or developed naturally later on), one cannot medically or socially transition into being intersex. Instead, those who desire to physically transition into having mixed sexual characteristics may identify as altersex.[5]
Related Terms
| Label | Relationship | Description | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perisex | Opposite | Individuals who are not intersex, or whose bodies were born entirely binary male or female. | Dyadic is the opposite of intersex. |
| Parsex | Similar | Individuals who are not perisex, or have neither entirely binary male nor female sex traits. | Parsex can include both intersex and altersex. |
Frequency Estimates
Intersex variations are observed in many animals including humans. According to the ISNA, a sex specialist is called in for every 1 in 1500 to 2000 births to assess atypically presenting genitalia. However many intersex conditions are not visible at birth and only present themselves later on in the individual's life.[6][7]
The estimated population of intersex individuals ranges from 0.018% to 1.7%, the estimation depending on what conditions are considered to fall within the intersex umbrella or not.[6][8] Conditions such as late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia, vaginal agenesis, Turner’s syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome, and other non-XX and non-XY aneuploldies, are sometimes not considered to be part of the intersex umbrella, depending on the medical professional. According to a 2002 study by Dr. Sax, if late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia is considered an intersex umbrella, it would encompass 88% of all intersex cases.[6]
Issues & Activism
Content Warning: Intersexphobia
Corrective Surgery
Many individuals, including medical professionals, justify non-consensual surgeries on intersex children with the reasoning that being intersex is disabling or may cause medical complications. Other medical professionals believe that atypical sexual characteristics may later lead to emotional trauma due to the intersex individual's inability to meet standard societal expectations, however there is little evidence to support this.[9][10][7]
Although some intersex variations can cause medical issues or inhibit physical functioning, not all of them do. In some cases, infants are non-consensually subjected to unnecessary surgical procedures such as clitoral reduction, vaginoplasty, gonadectomy, and hypospadias repair, primarily to normalize appearance, not to improve physical functionality.[9] Some medical professionals advise against corrective surgery, especially based around cosmetic desires, due to the potential complications of surgery. These complications include emotional distress and suffering, depression and anxiety, gender dysphoria, chronic physical pain, incontinence, loss of sensation, scarring, infertility, or the need for further surgeries or medical intervention.[9][10][8][7]
Many medical professionals advocate that unnecessary surgery should be a choice made by the intersex individual when they have aged and are able to consent.[9][10][8]
Other Issues
Other issues faced by intersex individuals include, but are not limited to:[11][12][13][14]Also see hermaphrodite.
- discrimination in sport
- discrimination in employment and the workplace
- discrimination in general society
- discrimination in close relationships
- discrimination in religion and religious practices
- discrimination in educational institutions
- being told their sex is harmful, a disorder, or a disability
- fetishization, sexualization, or objectification of their body, sex, and genitalia
- being compared to animals that dehumanizes their identity
- being treated as "freaks of nature" (e.g. bearded women within circuses)
Flags and Symbols
The most commonly used intersex flag was created by Morgan Carpenter in 2013. Yellow and purple were chosen for the design as alternatives to the strongly-gendered colors of blue and pink. The purple circle in the middle symbolizes "wholeness and completeness" as well as "the right to be who and how we want to be".[16]
An earlier flag design was made by Natalie Phox in 2009, though the flag is less commonly used today. It was originally introduced as a bigender flag, but Phox later added the correction that it was an intersex flag, which caused confusion around the intention of the flag. It is likely that this flag was introduced as a bigender flag due to the distinction between gender and sex not being as common knowledge during the time of its creation. Because it was posted under the name bigender, some individuals mistakenly claim it as a bigender flag, but Phox's design has always been intended to represent intersex individuals.[17]
Intersex is sometimes represented with a combination of the male and female symbols (⚥ or ⚨), though these symbols are also commonly used to represent bigender and androgyne respectively.[18] Intersex is also sometimes represented by the Mercury symbol (☿), which was originally used in botany to denote hermaphroditic plants, however not every intersex individuals uses this symbolism due to hermaphrodite being a slur.[19][20]
Intersex (Phox)
Further Reading
- Ethics of Surgery and Decision Making - https://interactadvocates.org/resources/intersex-resource-topics/ethics-of-surgery-and-decision-making/
Resources
- ↑ "Intersex Definitions". interACT, 19 Feb, 2021, https://interactadvocates.org/intersex-definitions/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 admin author. "WHO / WHAT IS INTERSEX?". Intersex Quality, 6 Apr, 2013, https://www.intersexequality.com/intersex/.
- ↑ "GENDER DIVERSITY TERMINOLOGY". Student Affairs, https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/csgd/explore-lgbtq-resources/identity-based/gender-terms#:~:text=CAFAB%2FCAMAB%3A%20Coercively%20assigned%20female,attempt%20to%20erase%20their%20difference.. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ Mascolo, Angela. "Angela Mascolo explores how people with differing sex characteristics can be embraced". Exposure, 4 Feb, 2020, https://exposure.org.uk/young_peoples_work/should-intersex-people-be-included-in-the-lgbt-community/.
- ↑ Ray Marquez, Mx. Anunnaki. "Biological and Anatomical Sex: Endosex, Intersex & Altersex". Anunnakiray, 12 Dec, 2019, https://anunnakiray.com/2019/12/12/biological-and-anatomical-sex-endosex-intersex-altersex/#:~:text=Altersex%20refers%20to%20possible%20sexes,their%20sex%20to%20appear%20intersex..
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "How common is intersex?". ISNA, https://isna.org/faq/frequency/. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Gregario, I.W. "Spare intersex kids needless surgeries". NY Daily News, 20 Jul, 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20170724041004/http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/spare-intersex-kids-needless-surgeries-article-1.3339223. Archived on 24 Jul, 2017.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "INTERSEX 101 Everything you want to know!". interACT, https://web.archive.org/web/20211203042509/https://live-interact-advocates.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/INTERSEX101.pdf. Archived on 3 Dec, 2021.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 M. Joycelyn Elders, David Satcher, Richard Carmona. "Re-Thinking Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants". Palm Center Legacy, Jun, 2017, https://palmcenterlegacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Re-Thinking-Genital-Surgeries-1.pdf.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Its Intersex Awareness Day – here are 5 myths we need to shatter". Amnesty International, 26 Oct, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/10/its-intersex-awareness-day-here-are-5-myths-we-need-to-shatter/.
- ↑ "Intersex Issues – a short list". oii Europe, https://www.oiieurope.org/intersex-issues/. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ "Resources: Intersex Discrimination in Sports". interACT, https://interactadvocates.org/resources/intersex-resource-topics/discrimination-in-sports/. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ "Resources: Workplace Discrimination and Intersex Employees". interACT, https://interactadvocates.org/resources/intersex-resource-topics/workplace-discrimination-and-intersex-employees/. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ "Intersex people are among the most vulnerable among the LGBTI population, study finds". ILGA Europe, 5 May, 2023, https://www.ilga-europe.org/blog/intersex-people-are-among-the-most-vulnerable-among-the-lgbti-population-study-finds/.
- ↑ "What's the history behind the intersex rights movement?". ISNA, https://isna.org/faq/history/. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ Carpenter, Morgan. "An intersex flag". Intersex Human Rights Australia, 5 Jul, 2013, https://ihra.org.au/22773/an-intersex-flag/.
- ↑ "Intersex (Phox Design)". Pride Flag Guide, 21 Jun, 2021, https://flag.library.lgbt/flags/intersex-phox-design/.
- ↑ "Bigender". Symbols, https://www.symbols.com/symbol/bigender. Accessed on 26 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ Stearn, William T.. "THE ORIGIN OF THE MALE AND FEMALE SYMBOLS OF BIOLOGY†". Wiley Online Library, May, 1962, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/1217734.
- ↑ lucky_earther. "Which astronomy-style symbol do you prefer for intersex and why?". Reddit, r/intersex users, 7 Sep, 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/intersex/comments/1fatk2k/which_astronomystyle_symbol_do_you_prefer_for/.
