Community Conversation > Intersex talk
Question and Answer - What is Intersex?
Emerald:
What is Intersex?
Intersex is a condition where a child is born with reproductive organs, genitalia and/or sex chromosomes that are neither exclusively male nor female, or a combination of features of the male and female sexes.
Intersex individuals are treated in different ways by different cultures. Some societies include Intersexuals in the larger 'third gender' social roles. In most societies, Intersex individuals have been expected to select one sex, male or female, and conform to its gender role.
Shortly after birth or during early childhood, many Intersex people are subject to surgical genital modification to create the semblance of male or female genitalia for the purpose of assignment to one of the binary sexes/genders. Some of these children grow up to express a gender identity discordant with their assigned sex. During later adulthood, further surgery is frequently required because an incorrect sex/gender choice was made for the child.
There are increasing calls to the medical profession for recognition of the various degrees of Intersexuality as healthy, natural variations which should not be subject to correction. Often, the surgery is not necessary for protection of life or health, but is performed for aesthetic or social purposes. Defenders of the practice argue that it is necessary for individuals to be clearly identified as male or female in order for them to function socially. Still others believe the talk about 'third sexes' represents an ideological agenda to deride gender as a social construct, citing gender as a biological reality. However, many intersex individuals have resented the medical intervention. Some have been discontented with their surgically assigned sex/gender and opt sexual reassignment surgery later in life. Despite objections to the surgical practice, most of the Western medical profession currently supports it.
The highest Intersex estimates indicate 1 percent of live births exhibit some degree of sexual ambiguity, and between 0.1% and 0.2% of live births are ambiguous enough to become the subject of specialist medical attention, including surgery, to disguise the child's sexual ambiguity.
-Emerald :icon_mrgreen:
Berliegh:
--- Quote from: Emerald on August 28, 2006, 07:52:55 pm ---What is Intersex?
Intersex is a condition where a child is born with reproductive organs, genitalia and/or sex chromosomes that are neither exclusively male nor female, or a combination of features of the male and female sexes.
Intersex individuals are treated in different ways by different cultures. Some societies include Intersexuals in the larger 'third gender' social roles. In most societies, Intersex individuals have been expected to select one sex, male or female, and conform to its gender role.
Shortly after birth or during early childhood, many Intersex people are subject to surgical genital modification to create the semblance of male or female genitalia for the purpose of assignment to one of the binary sexes/genders. Some of these children grow up to express a gender identity discordant with their assigned sex. During later adulthood, further surgery is frequently required because an incorrect sex/gender choice was made for the child.
There are increasing calls to the medical profession for recognition of the various degrees of Intersexuality as healthy, natural variations which should not be subject to correction. Often, the surgery is not necessary for protection of life or health, but is performed for aesthetic or social purposes. Defenders of the practice argue that it is necessary for individuals to be clearly identified as male or female in order for them to function socially. Still others believe the talk about 'third sexes' represents an ideological agenda to deride gender as a social construct, citing gender as a biological reality. However, many intersex individuals have resented the medical intervention. Some have been discontented with their surgically assigned sex/gender and opt sexual reassignment surgery later in life. Despite objections to the surgical practice, most of the Western medical profession currently supports it.
The highest Intersex estimates indicate 1 percent of live births exhibit some degree of sexual ambiguity, and between 0.1% and 0.2% of live births are ambiguous enough to become the subject of specialist medical attention, including surgery, to disguise the child's sexual ambiguity.
-Emerald :icon_mrgreen:
--- End quote ---
An intersexed person can have male genitalia but still be intersexed. If they undergo a chromosome test their chromosomes can sometimes come out as female, even though they have male genitalia. Also intersexed people can have different done density to an avaerage male and be more closely to a female bone density structure.
Intersexed conditions are not just related to genitalia abnormnalities.
Melissa:
--- Quote from: Berliegh on June 28, 2007, 07:45:17 am ---An intersexed person can have male genitalia but still be intersexed. If they undergo a chromosome test their chromosomes can sometimes come out as female, even though they have male genitalia. Also intersexed people can have different done density to an avaerage male and be more closely to a female bone density structure.
Intersexed conditions are not just related to genitalia abnormnalities.
--- End quote ---
Quite true. My skeleton is more female than male and the differences are quite obvious. I am still awaiting the results of my chromosome test for the blood I had taken 2 weeks ago. Also, my genitalia are on the small side, so it was affected. The odd thing was that I had kids, but I did do so while I was quite young and had the best chance for success (19 and 22 years old). The second one did take a little while (several months) though. It's not unheard of though to have this happen.
Additionally, one other possible explanation for me is that I was a fraternal twin with a sister. It has been documented that it's possible for twins to swap blood in the uterus if the placentas overlap and thus the twins share chromosomes.
Anyways, I'll just wait to see what the results are.
Berliegh:
--- Quote from: Melissa on June 28, 2007, 12:18:03 pm ---
--- Quote from: Berliegh on June 28, 2007, 07:45:17 am ---An intersexed person can have male genitalia but still be intersexed. If they undergo a chromosome test their chromosomes can sometimes come out as female, even though they have male genitalia. Also intersexed people can have different done density to an avaerage male and be more closely to a female bone density structure.
Intersexed conditions are not just related to genitalia abnormnalities.
--- End quote ---
Quite true. My skeleton is more female than male and the differences are quite obvious. I am still awaiting the results of my chromosome test for the blood I had taken 2 weeks ago. Also, my genitalia are on the small side, so it was affected. The odd thing was that I had kids, but I did do so while I was quite young and had the best chance for success (19 and 22 years old). The second one did take a little while (several months) though. It's not unheard of though to have this happen.
Additionally, one other possible explanation for me is that I was a fraternal twin with a sister. It has been documented that it's possible for twins to swap blood in the uterus if the placentas overlap and thus the twins share chromosomes.
Anyways, I'll just wait to see what the results are.
--- End quote ---
Melissa, I wasn't able to have kids for possibly various reasons, one being very low testo since puberty. Also I don't have a visable adams apple and my voice appears female and hadn't ever broken. It was a nightmare as a guy but now it's working in my favour very nicely and is my best feature. My bone structure is on the small side and feature's (nose, ears and face etc) are on the small side. I'm still having tests and my bone scan reveals the same density, dimension as a genetic female. When they did the scan they didn't know I wasn't a genetic female and so the scan reflected that.
I have norticed differences between me and average males throughout my life but at first just put it down to looking like a feminine male. In recent years I thought there may be something else and my strong desire's to be female may not just be related to gender dysphoria.
Melissa:
I don't have a visible adam's apple either. When I said I had a female skeleton, I wasn't just talking about size, but everything including joints, bone size ratios, skull shape, etc. Despite having kids, I've also had little body hair, sparse beard, I'm smaller than everyone in my family (including my mom) except my twin sister, I've always had soft skin, muscles of female shape and size, good hips and butt, breast growth and I'm certain my T levels have dropped significantly in the 8 years or so prior to HRT. There's enough evidence that it's undeniable that there's definitely something physically different about me than those who start off as male. I don't know about bone density because I've never been scanned. As for the voice, I don't recall mine "breaking", but it did get lower. However, with starting HRT, it seemed to reverse itself (which was odd). One strange thing is, I guess I always had small testes (if that's what they actually are) and an excess of scrotal skin. That always drove me crazy, since it loved to stick to my legs. :eusa_sick: Anyways, hopefully the chromosome test will reveal an explanation. If not, then it's probably PAIS.
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