Several degrees of androgyny

[Butterfly]

Several degrees of androgyny
By Sarah Boseley
August 27, 2009


http://www.smh.com.au/world/science/several-degrees-of-androgyny-20090826-ezsn.html?skin=text-only


IT IS the first question any parent asks after the birth of their child: is it a girl or a boy? In rare cases the midwife has to say honestly: ''I don't know.''

There are babies born who, left to grow up without medical intervention, will be both and neither. They have been called hermaphrodites, pseudohermaphrodites and intersex children, but doctors now prefer to speak of sex development disorders, because a disorder can often be put right.