What Is Intersex?
Updated July 05, 2011.
Definition:
Intersex refers to people who do not have typical male or female physical characteristics. The term intersex is used to describe people who are born with unusual sexual anatomy, rather than people who have changed their sexual anatomy through surgery or other treatment, who are typically referred to as transexual.
There is a wide variation in the extent to which people are affected by intersex, as well as the degree to which intersex characteristics are problematic for them.
Obviously, social acceptance plays a major role in how negatively having intersex characteristics affects people. Because medical professionals are not consistently well trained in understanding intersex issues, they do not always provide the best advice for the parents of a newborn with intersex characteristics.
Some of the ways people can be affected by intersex include:
As a sexual minority, people with intersex may be at increased risk of substance use and addiction problems.
Although rare, intersex characteristics can sometimes indicate underlying medical concerns, so if you or your child seems to have them, see a doctor.
Sources
Capital Health Region Addiction Services. Supporting Sexual Minority Clients. Professional Training Workshop, Victoria, BC, Canada. 2001.
Intersex Society of North America. What is intersex? Retrieved 2 July 2011.
Pronunciation: in-ter-sex
Also Known As: hermaphrodite
Alternate Spellings: inter sex, inter-sex
Examples: Jane was born with intersex characteristics, but her parents assigned her gender as female.
Definition:
Intersex refers to people who do not have typical male or female physical characteristics. The term intersex is used to describe people who are born with unusual sexual anatomy, rather than people who have changed their sexual anatomy through surgery or other treatment, who are typically referred to as transexual.
There is a wide variation in the extent to which people are affected by intersex, as well as the degree to which intersex characteristics are problematic for them.
Obviously, social acceptance plays a major role in how negatively having intersex characteristics affects people. Because medical professionals are not consistently well trained in understanding intersex issues, they do not always provide the best advice for the parents of a newborn with intersex characteristics.
Some of the ways people can be affected by intersex include:
- The person may appear to have a small penis -- either on a boy, or a girl with a larger than usual clitoris.
- The person may appear to have a scrotum that is divided so that it looks like a labia, or a labia that does not have a vaginal opening.
- The urethral opening may not be in the usual place, or may not have developed natually at all.
- Testes may be undescended so they are inside the body rather than in the scrotum. This may affect people who appear either male or female.
- Some people have unusual combinations of the X and Y chromosomes that typically determine gender.
- Some people's bodies don't respond to the messages of the sex hormones in the typical way, so don't develop sexual characteristics in the usual way.
- Breasts may develop or not develop as expected from the person's presumed gender.
As a sexual minority, people with intersex may be at increased risk of substance use and addiction problems.
Although rare, intersex characteristics can sometimes indicate underlying medical concerns, so if you or your child seems to have them, see a doctor.
Sources
Capital Health Region Addiction Services. Supporting Sexual Minority Clients. Professional Training Workshop, Victoria, BC, Canada. 2001.
Intersex Society of North America. What is intersex? Retrieved 2 July 2011.
Pronunciation: in-ter-sex
Also Known As: hermaphrodite
Alternate Spellings: inter sex, inter-sex
Examples: Jane was born with intersex characteristics, but her parents assigned her gender as female.
Source...