Inside Intersex
Photo courtesy of Fredde Lanka/The Guardian
An important conversational thread now found commonly amongst modern discussions surrounding sex and gender is whether one’s biological sex (the chromosomes and sexual organs they are born with) can determine their gender expression (how they present socially). However, something many miss is that the very basis of this conversation is reliant on the fact that there exists two static sexes (male and female), when, in fact, they are merely umbrella terms to classify similar sexual organs and chromosomes. While it’s true that many people do fall under the umbrella of male or female and share highly similarly biological sex markers, it doesn’t mean everyone is made exactly the same, which is especially true for intersex people: individuals who do not possess a definitive biological correlation to either sex (Planned Parenthood 1). Generally, intersex people are defined as those who possess reproductive or sexual anatomy that do not match the typical XX or XY chromosomes or the typical sexual organs usually assigned with male or female individuals. Intersex traits usually manifest as alternating or abnormal hormone levels (such as a large amount of female hormones being produced within an individual with male reproductive organs), atypical size of reproductive organs (unusually small male reproductive organs or large female reproductive organs), and/or a mixture of different chromosomes (such as someone with XXY chromosomes or someone who possesses cells with alternating chromosomes) (InterACT 1). While this concept may sound incredibly foreign to many, the intersex phenomenon is actually incredibly common, with around 2% of the world’s population falling under this category (Planned Parenthood 1). For reference, about as many intersex people exist as people with red hair do.
An important thing to keep in mind is that intersex people are completely healthy and suffer no adverse effects as a result of their atypical sexual organs/chromosomes (InterACT 1). And, while this is a widely accepted fact, most children that are born intersex undergo a series of medical procedures and surgeries to “correct” their reproductive organs or hormone levels so as to make them appear more “normal”. This practice stems from the assigning of a static sex at birth, where doctors are obligated to label a newborn as either male or female. When chromosomes or reproductive organs get in the way of a distinct label, doctors can alter the newborn’s body so as to make them more alike to one of the two normally accepted sexes (Planned Parenthood 1). These procedures are also non-harmful to the child’s body, but the question of whether such practices are moral (in the sense that they alter a non-consenting party’s physical being without necessary medical cause) or not has recently been brought to the attention of the medical world. The primary issue at hand is that intersex traits are currently defined and treated as a medical problem/abnormality in need of correction, when, in reality, it is an unusual yet perfectly normal manifestation of naturally occuring chromosomes in the human body. Thankfully, support for intersex children and communities is on the rise, and multiple organizations such as the Intersex Society of North America are currently working to manage such issues, decide on new medical norms for handling intersex births, and raising awareness surrounding the topic (Planned Parenthood 1).
Beyond a strictly medical perspective, though, intersex people must undergo additional challenges in regards to how they identify. In a world where the norm is to present as a man or woman while in possession of male or female biological markers respectively, how are those with a combination of the two supposed to exist? Of course, many intersex people may fall nearer to the male sex as opposed to the female sex (and vice-versa), choosing to base how they identify off of that alone. Many families choose a legal sex for their intersex child at birth and, with the help of medical procedures, raise them to present as the corresponding gender. Even then, many find out they are intersex amidst puberty while their bodies are developing, and some intersex people never discover their atypical chromosomes at all (making the phenomenon perhaps even more common than we currently realize) (InterACT 1). All of this is to say that, much like how the gender spectrum is, in itself, a fluid and expansive scale of social presentation as well as individual acceptance, the biological makings of each and every person is unique, meaning we cannot possibly assign a gender binary to the members of our society. Individuals are free to present in whichever way they desire, and the existence of intersex people proves that a perceived biological necessity to present one way or another simply isn’t applicable to the human race.
Citations
Parenthood, Planned. “What Is Intersex?: Definition of Intersexual.” Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/gender-identity/sex-gender-identity/whats-intersex.
“# What Is Intersex?” Intersex Society of North America, https://isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex/.