Writing a story with an IS character; please help me get it right

[NovaSaber]

I'm not really sure if this is the right place to ask this, so maybe I should just ask that before going into detail.

I'm writing a novel in which one of the main characters is intersex. I kind of thought at first that it would come up less often than it does (so obviously her being intersex isn't the main focus of the story), so I didn't really decide on a specific intersex condition and wound up adding details without any specific real-life basis in mind, though I was never intentionally unrealistic about the subject.

Since I've gotten as far along as I have (finished the first draft, actually), would anyone here be interested in helping me "diagnose" her for the sake of improving my story's depiction?
I'll try to list everything that's said or implied about her that might be relavent to an intersex condition. Then, if there happens to be an IS condition she's entirely consistent with, great, I'll name it, and if there's one that she's reasonably close to I'll know what details to change. (And if there's nothing close enough to fit...I don't know yet.)

And if this isn't appropriate I'll understand that too. But I would rather look ignorant in my attempt to become less ignorant, than not ask and just remain ignorant.

[DriftingCrow]

Hello NovaSaber, welcome to Susan's Place and good luck on writing your book, it seems like a lot of hard work.

You might find Intersex Society of North America a useful site to look through, and there's also other websites that list and describe various known intersex conditions. Depending on what you described in your manuscript, your character may not even have a real diagnosable condition; you're the author so you could make something up, or do some reading on actual intersex conditions and tweak your narrative to comply with the condition you choose. I am not intersex or very knowledgeable about the different conditions, but maybe someone who is will come along.

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[Jamie D]

Okay, list her characteristics/traits

[NovaSaber]

Overall appearance
1. looks female with clothes on, or even when topless; average height and below-average but still healthy weight for a girl her age; considered an attractive girl by multiple characters
2. has small breasts (not specifically said to be small because of her IS condition, but could be)

If it matters, she's white, with light skin and black hair.

Details that matter to the plot
3. has an erectile phallus large enough for intercourse; external anatomy otherwise closer to typically female (not described in detail)
4. definite female gender identity, but with no desire to change her body; lesbian
5. was not atypically late in reaching puberty
6. possibility of "normalizing" surgery was brought up at birth (in 1996), meaning she was identifiably intersex at birth; there was no actual health reason for surgery; her mother got to make the decision, did some research, and decided against it
7. no incapacitating health problems; physically and mentally qualified to fly a highly maneuverable aircraft

And these other details are mentioned but would be easy to change.
8. said to have no testes (not even internally) and not produce sperm
9. implied she ejaculates like a male (I'm thinking about removing this implication regardless, but even if it goes unmentioned I should probably still know whether she would)

(8 and 9 are not inherently contradictory, since sperm is actually a minority component in semen; but I have no idea if there's an IS condition that involves this combination.)

I guess that's it. I haven't written anything that specifies her chromosomes, whether she can become pregnant, or anything else about her internal anatomy; this is because those aren't the kind of detail I'd mention for a reason other than to specify her condition. And no IS-related health problems are currently mentioned, but that's easily changed if necessary.

So is there anything that's consistent with what I've said? And if there's something that's close but doesn't quite fit, which of the details that I mentioned would I need to change if I wanted to make it that?

[Jamie D]

We have a lovely young lady here who has a condition very much like that.  She has posted about it. Her name is Tatyana.

"I have no testes" https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,150331.msg1248650.html#msg1248650

"MRI results - very excited" https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,150844.msg1255940.html#msg1255940

[NovaSaber]

Thank you.
Tatyana's condition definitely sounds about right, unlike anything I'd found in my attempts to research IS conditions without asking people.
And the fact that she got at least that far in medical examination of it without it being named is encouraging to me as well; I guess it's entirely plausible for someone to be reasonably aware of and informed about her body and still not know the cause or if anyone else has the exact same condition.

I think I know what I'm going to do now.