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{{Infobox |
{{Infobox |
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| − | | image = Intersex Flag. |
+ | | image = Intersex Flag.svg |
| caption = Intersex pride flag |
| caption = Intersex pride flag |
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| attractedtype = |
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| romance = |
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| − | | different = |
+ | | different =*[[Non-binary]] |
| + | *[[Transgender]] |
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| + | *[[Intergender]] |
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| + | *[[Bisexual]] |
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| + | *[[Bigender]] |
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| + | *[[Androgyne]] |
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| + | *Unisex |
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}} |
}} |
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| − | '''Intersex''' is an [[umbrella term]] for people |
+ | '''Intersex''' is an [[umbrella term]] for people who are born with or develop sex characteristics that differ from the [[Gender binary|binary]] notions of a "male" or "female" body. These differences are called variations, and may involve one's hormones, chromosomes, external and internal reproductive organs, or secondary sex characteristics. An individual's intersex traits may include variations in one or multiple of the aforementioned types. These differences can be noticed at birth or later in life.<ref name="Interact">{{Cite_web |url=https://interactadvocates.org/faq| title=FAQ: What is intersex?| author=interACT}}</ref><ref name="UNFE">{{Cite_web |url=https://www.unfe.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/UNFE-Intersex.pdf |title=United Nations FACT SHEET Intersex |author=United Nations for LGBT Equality |format=PDF}}</ref> |
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| + | {{Stub}} |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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The term "intersex" is comprised of "inter-", meaning "between", and "-sex". The term was coined in 1917 by geneticist Richard Goldschmidt,<ref> |
The term "intersex" is comprised of "inter-", meaning "between", and "-sex". The term was coined in 1917 by geneticist Richard Goldschmidt,<ref> |
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| − | {{Cite_print|titlepart=Vorläufige Mitteilung über weitere Versuche zur Vererbung und Bestimmung des Geschlechts.|title=Biologisches Centralblatt|author=Goldschmidt, Richard|language=German|url=https://archive.org/details/biologischeszent35rose/page/564/mode/2up?view=theater}}</ref> but it |
+ | {{Cite_print |titlepart=Vorläufige Mitteilung über weitere Versuche zur Vererbung und Bestimmung des Geschlechts. |title=Biologisches Centralblatt |author=Goldschmidt, Richard |language=German |url=https://archive.org/details/biologischeszent35rose/page/564/mode/2up?view=theater}}</ref> but it did not gain popularity until used by biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling in 1993.<ref name="fausto">{{Cite_web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239657377_The_Five_Sexes_Why_Male_and_Female_are_not_Enough |title=The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough |author=Fausto-Sterling, Anne |partialdate=January 1993}}</ref> |
==Community== |
==Community== |
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{{Quote |
{{Quote |
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| quote = The word intersex also invokes a community. Intersex people are diverse, coming from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders and orientations, faiths, and political ideologies. We are united by<br/>1. our experiences living with variations in our sex traits,<br/>2. the belief that these differences are a natural part of human diversity,<br/>3. the idea that people deserve their own choices about their own bodies. |
| quote = The word intersex also invokes a community. Intersex people are diverse, coming from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders and orientations, faiths, and political ideologies. We are united by<br/>1. our experiences living with variations in our sex traits,<br/>2. the belief that these differences are a natural part of human diversity,<br/>3. the idea that people deserve their own choices about their own bodies. |
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| − | | speaker = |
+ | | speaker = |
| source = [https://interactadvocates.org/faq/ interACT. FAQ: What is intersex?] |
| source = [https://interactadvocates.org/faq/ interACT. FAQ: What is intersex?] |
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}} |
}} |
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| + | According to the ISNA it is estimated that as many as 1.7% of individuals are born with intersex traits; however, cases of intersex people can be unreported or undiagnosed. Additionally, many people may be unaware of their intersex traits unless they receive genetic testing. Intersex people are not as uncommon as once believed; they have just been invisible until recent years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frequency|author=ISNA|url=https://isna.org/faq/frequency/}}</ref><ref name="InterAct">{{Cite web|title=Intersex 101: Everything You Want to Know!|author=InterAct|url=https://live-interact-advocates.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/INTERSEX101.pdf}}</ref> Intersex individuals may have any [[gender identity]] or [[gender expression]].<ref name="campaign">{{Cite_web |url=https://www.intersexequality.com/intersex |title=Who is intersex? |author=Intersex Campaign for Equality}}</ref> |
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| − | Between 0.05% and 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits.<ref name="UNFE" /> It is a decentralized community of people with very different characteristics or backgrounds. |
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| + | Some examples of variations are:<ref name="Interact" /> |
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| − | Intersex individuals may have any [[gender identity]], including man, woman, [[non-binary]], intersex woman, intersex man and other.<ref name="campaign">[https://www.intersexequality.com/intersex/ Intersex Campaign for Equality. Who is intersex?]</ref> Each intersex person has a unique relationship to their [[gender]], [[assigned gender at birth]], the gender they were raised as, and how that relates to their experience being intersex. |
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| − | The intersex community sometimes uses the terms CAFAB/CAMAB – Coercively Assigned Female At Birth/Coercively Assigned Male At Birth,<ref>[https://www.glbtrt.ala.org/news/archives/2845 Word of the Week: AFAB/AMAB, Variations]</ref> due to the way intersex people are often assigned their birth. Often it happens by modifying genitals in pediatric surgery, which is not necessary and non-lifesaving, done when an individual cannot decide for themselves. Such procedures only serve making a person more stereotypically male or female. Children can later (as teens or adults) feel completely different about their gender or agree with the assignment, experiences vary.<ref name="Interact" /> |
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| − | People with some variations of sex anatomy are intersex by definition, but not all identify as such. These variations are, but are not limited to:<ref name="Interact" /> |
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*[[wikipedia:Androgen insensitivity syndrome|Complete or partial androgen insensitivity]] |
*[[wikipedia:Androgen insensitivity syndrome|Complete or partial androgen insensitivity]] |
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*[[wikipedia:Congenital adrenal hyperplasia|Congenital adrenal hyperplasia]] |
*[[wikipedia:Congenital adrenal hyperplasia|Congenital adrenal hyperplasia]] |
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*[[wikipedia:Hypospadias|Hypospadias]] |
*[[wikipedia:Hypospadias|Hypospadias]] |
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| − | *[[wikipedia:Klinefelter syndrome|Klinefelter |
+ | *[[wikipedia:Klinefelter syndrome|Klinefelter syndrome]] |
*[[wikipedia:XY gonadal dysgenesis|XY gonadal dysgenesis]] |
*[[wikipedia:XY gonadal dysgenesis|XY gonadal dysgenesis]] |
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| + | After years of activist efforts, members of the hijra community in India gained legal recognition in 2014 as part of a [[third gender]] category. Aspects of the hijra identity can include wearing clothing and cosmetics that are considered [[feminine]]. Some intersex people are part of the hijra community.<ref name="Sapiens">{{Cite_web |url=https://www.sapiens.org/biology/hijra-india-third-gender/ |title=India's Third Gender Rises Again}}</ref> |
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| − | Intersex people were known to exist as early as ancient history. [[wikipedia:Pliny the Elder|Pliny the Elder]] wrote in his ''[[wikipedia:Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' about "those who are born of both sexes, whom we call hermaphrodites, at one time androgyni". The term "hermaphrodite" is a slur and incorrect term to use for intersex individuals,<ref>[https://isna.org/faq/hermaphrodite/ Is a person who is intersex a hermaphrodite?]</ref> but it's known to have been used in history to describe them. |
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| + | ====Coercive gender assignments==== |
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| − | In medieval times in Europe, law often recognized intersex people, but required them to legally use the gender identity which stereotypical characteristics prevail in the person's appearance.<ref>[[wikipedia:Decretum Gratiani|Decretum Gratiani]]</ref><ref>[[wikipedia:Institutes of the Lawes of England|Institutes of the Lawes of England]]</ref> In some cultures, since early times there are systems that recognize the [[third gender]]. The [[wikipedia:Hijra (South Asia)|Hijra]] recognize [[transgender]] and intersex citizens within the third gender category.<ref>[https://www.sapiens.org/biology/hijra-india-third-gender/ India’s Third Gender Rises Again]</ref> |
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| + | Intersex people often are forced and coerced into undergoing surgery or hormone replacement due to binarist views of gender and sex. The surgeries are known as intersex genital mutilation (IGM), intersex surgeries, or normalization surgeries. These surgeries often happen to children below 2 years old. However, they also happen to older children, teens, and adults. These surgeries include ones which alter genitals that do not need surgery to function or removing organs that produce sex hormones.<ref name="Interact" /> Health professionals may describe these surgeries to parents and patients as an emergency or necessity; many parents and patients are never fully informed on the negative health effects or given resources and insight from intersex people.<ref name="Interact" /><ref name="rethinking" /> The United Nations has stated nonconsensual and unnecessary surgeries for intersex people are human rights violations.<ref>{{Cite_web |url=https://www.bmeia.gv.at/oev-genf/speeches/alle/2021/10/united-nations-human-rights-council-48th-session-joint-statement-on-the-human-rights-of-intersex-persons |title=Joint Statement on the Human Rights of Intersex Persons |author=United Nations Human Rights Council, 48th session}}</ref> They often cause reduced sexual function, reduced fertility, worse emotional well-being, and other complications.<ref name="Interact" /> One study estimates that 8.5-20% intersex people may experience [[gender dysphoria]] in regard to their assigned gender<ref>[https://www.nature.com/articles/nrurol.2012.182 Gender dysphoria associated with disorders of sex development]</ref> and that these actions can cause mental suffering.<ref name="UNFE" /> Due to this and the prevalence of nonconsensual medical intervention, the fight for the bodily autonomy of intersex people is a main objective of intersex organizations and activists.<ref>[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968808016300179 The human rights of intersex people: addressing harmful practices and rhetoric of change]</ref><ref>[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673-018-9855-8 The "Normalization" of Intersex Bodies and "Othering" of Intersex Identities in Australia]</ref> |
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| + | Some intersex people use the terms CAFAB/CAMAB – Coercively Assigned Female at Birth/Coercively Assigned Male at Birth<ref name="Word of the Week">{{Cite_web |url=https://www.glbtrt.ala.org/news/archives/2845 |title=Word of the Week: AFAB/AMAB, Variations}}</ref> due to being subjected to nonconsensual, unnecessary surgery. However, the terms are not exclusively used in this manner. A variety of experiences and relationships with assigned gender exists within these labels. The terminology is used by trans and cis intersex people alike.<ref name="Interact" /> |
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| − | In the second half of the 19th Century, surgeons in North America started offering cosmetic surgeries of genitals for those that did not meet the stereotypical "norm". However, most of these surgeries were performed on adults at their request. In the 20th Century, the practice evolved into operating on children. In the 1950s, Johns Hopkins University created a team that offered a "multidisciplinary" approach to intersex people, which in practice was one of the first steps into popularizing pediatric surgeries on intersex children "correcting" their genitals.<ref name="isna">[https://isna.org/faq/history/ ISNA. What's the history behind the intersex rights movement?]</ref> |
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| + | In the second half of the 19th Century, surgeons in North America started offering cosmetic surgeries of genitals for those that did not meet the stereotypical "norm." However, most of these surgeries were performed on adults at their request. In the 1950s, Johns Hopkins University instead began a practice of performing pediatric surgeries on intersex children without consent. The practice was developed by psychologist John Money, who ignored evidence he collected in 1953 that showed intersex adults had relatively low rates of psychopathology. He decided intersex children would best develop into what he defined as "normal" through surgically imposing a "male" or "female" body in early childhood, hormone treatments, and raising them based on their coercive assignment. Surgeons "corrected" intersex children's bodies by surgically altering their genitals into either stereotypically male or female. Because surgeons considered it more difficult to perform operations that made a child "male," most intersex children were forcibly assigned female through the procedures. The children could not give consent, and their parents often were not consulted.<ref name="isna">{{Cite_web |url=https://isna.org/faq/history |title=What's the history behind the intersex rights movement? |author=ISNA}}</ref> |
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| − | The practice developed by Johns Hopkins University in the 50s was that a child's potential for a gender identity that was considered "normal" was best when their body, upbringing and mind were perfectly aligned. At the time, it was easier to modify genitals to stereotypical cis female genitals, so most intersex children were assigned female at birth and "corrected" to be cis female with surgery, hormonal therapy and psychology.<ref name="isna" /> |
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| − | + | Money based his theory about intersex children based on the infamous "John/Joan case" involving David Reimer, who was assigned male at birth in 1965 and was not intersex. When Reimer was eight months old, his genitals were damaged by a circumcision. Johns Hopkins University staff and Reimer's parents concluded that it would be easiest to raise their child as female. Money declared it had worked, as he believed Reimer developed into a "normal" girl and later woman. However, Reimer's parents told him the truth many years later, saying that David Reimer had never felt fully female.<ref name="isna" /> |
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| − | Until late 20th |
+ | Until late 20th century, being intersex still meant being forcefully assigned to male or female and not being fully recognized in North America and Europe. "Normalization surgery" for intersex children was standard practice. In 1993, biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling published articles in The Sciences and The New York Times and stated that intersex people exist.<ref name="fausto" /> Scientists and authors such as historian and bioethicist Alice Dreger, social psychologist Suzanne Kessler, and aforementioned Anne Fausto-Sterling started publishing more works on the topic. Organizations such as [https://isna.org/ ISNA] and [https://interactadvocates.org interACT] were founded in the 1990s and 2000s.<ref name="isna" /> |
| + | ====Medical advocacy==== |
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| − | + | The era of thorough medical research of intersexuality and advocacy for intersex people began in 1993. More healthcare professionals started recognizing modern data and adjusted their standards to help intersex patients.<ref name="isna" /> However, it took a decade more to start banning the harmful practice of "intersex surgery" on children. Malta became the first country to ban non-consensual "normalization" surgery on minors in 2015.<ref>[http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=12312&l=1 Gender Identity, Gender Expression And Sex Characteristics Act]</ref> Chile passed legislation banning it in 2017.<ref>[https://brujulaintersexual.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/circular-7-laura-y-hana11.pdf Circular 7 de 2016: UN PASO ATRÁS EN LA LUCHA POR LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS DE LAS PERSONAS INTERSEXUALES EN CHILE.]</ref> California became the first US state to condemn nonconsensual surgeries on intersex children in 2018.<ref>[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SCR110 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 110]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 2019, more than 50 intersex advocate organizations signed a joint statement in multiple languages that condemns the introduction of "disorders of sex development" language into the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). In the statement, organizations state that in some cases, the guidelines associated with ICD-11 codes require unnecessary surgeries or other procedures that are not lifesaving, often performed on children without their consent and are grounded in gender stereotypes. The intersex advocate organizations called on the World Health Organization to reform their approach.<ref>[https://ihra.org.au/35299/joint-statement-icd-11/ Joint statement on the International Classification of Diseases 11]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | {{Quote |
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| ⚫ | The intersex flag was created by Morgan Carpenter from Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA, previously Organisation Intersex International Australia or OII Australia) in July 2013. The organization aimed to create a symbol that was unique--one that did not derive from existing flags, and one without pink and blue (which tend to be perceived as gendered). In Carpenter's words, the circle was chosen because it "is unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oii.org.au/22773/an-intersex-flag/|author=Morgan Carpenter|title=An intersex flag|date=2013-04-05|archivedate=20220311001548}}</ref> |
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| − | | quote = Foremost, we advocate use of the terms "typical", "usual", or "most frequent" where it is more common to use the term "normal." When possible avoid expressions like maldeveloped or undeveloped, errors of development, defective genitals, abnormal, or mistakes of nature. Emphasize that all of these conditions are biologically understandable while they are statistically uncommon. |
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| + | [[File:OldIntersexFlag.png|thumb|Older intersex flag]] |
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| − | | speaker = Milton Diamond |
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| + | An older version of the intersex flag was created by Natalie Phox on 11 August 2010, and posted to Wikimedia. The blue and pink gradient in the middle represents "the range of sexes between male and female", while the lavender color on the top and bottom of the flag represents "a combination of male and female traits". The flag was erroneously posted as a [[bigender]] flag, but the author clarified later on that they meant bigender as in "mixed sex characteristics, not gender", which is closer to the definition of intersex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://majesticmess.com/encyclopedia/intersex-flag-natalie-phox/|title=Intersex Flag, Natalie Phox|archivedate=20211203100359}}</ref> Unfortunately due to being mistakenly labeled as a "bigender" design, this flag was also used as a bigender flag for some time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://actuallyintersex.tumblr.com/post/91023535624/ok-im-getting-tired-of-explaining-this|title=ok, I’m getting tired of explaining this…|date=2014-07-07|archivedate=20181220000553}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Intersex-1-543925713|title=Intersex (1)|date=2015-07-04|archivedate=20210301231634}}</ref> |
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| − | | source = [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/518550 Management of IntersexualityGuidelines for Dealing With Persons With Ambiguous Genitalia] |
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| − | }} |
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| + | Overall, the flag created by Morgan Carpenter has seen more recognition and use than the design by Natalie Phox. For example, the Carpenter design was used in combination with the pride progress flag to create an intersex-inclusive version of the progress flag. This design was first published on June 6, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.them.us/story/progress-pride-flag-intersex-inclusive-makeover|title=The Progress Pride Flag Is Getting an Intersex-Inclusive Makeover|author=Shar Jossell|date=2021-06-08|archivedate=20220325155231}}</ref> |
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| − | However, intersex people still face discrimination and misunderstanding in healthcare, often due to lack of updating one's knowledge as a healthcare professional, causing harm despite good intentions.<ref name="rethinking">[https://www.palmcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Re-Thinking-Genital-Surgeries.pdf Re-Thinking Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants]</ref> |
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| + | ===Perceptions and discrimination=== |
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| ⚫ | In 2019, more than 50 intersex advocate organizations signed a joint statement in multiple languages that condemns the introduction of "disorders of sex development" language into the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). In the statement, organizations state that in some cases, the guidelines associated with ICD-11 codes require unnecessary surgeries or other procedures that are not lifesaving, often performed on children without their consent and are grounded in gender stereotypes. |
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| ⚫ | From a medical perspective, the growing consensus among health care professionals is that intersex characteristics are part of natural human diversity.<ref>[https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4615-0621-8 Pediatric Gender Assignment: A Critical Reappraisal.]</ref><ref>[https://isna.org/pdf/Frader2004.pdf Health Care Professionals and Intersex Conditions]</ref><ref>[https://rd.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00431-009-1086-x.pdf Ethical principles and recommendations for the medical management of differences of sex development (DSD)/intersex in children and adolescents]</ref><ref>{{Cite_web |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/518550 |title=Management of Intersexuality: Guidelines for Dealing With Persons With Ambiguous Genitalia |author=Diamond, Milton and Sigmundson, H. Keith |partialdate=October 1997}}</ref> However, intersex people still face discrimination and misunderstanding in healthcare, often due to healthcare professionals failing to update their knowledge and causing harm regardless of their intentions.<ref name="rethinking">[https://www.palmcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Re-Thinking-Genital-Surgeries.pdf Re-Thinking Genital Surgeries on Intersex Infants]</ref> |
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| − | === |
+ | ===Controversy=== |
| + | {{Warning|title=Trigger warning|text=This section uses a word that is now recognized as a slur against intersex people in order to describe its historic usage. Reader discretion is advised or skip to [[Intersex#Media|the next section]].}} |
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| ⚫ | The intersex flag was created by Morgan Carpenter from Organisation Intersex International Australia in July 2013. The organization aimed to create a symbol without pink and blue |
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| + | Modern scientific understandings of intersex traits have proven that none of the forms of hermaphroditism found in other species apply to humans.<ref name="Is a person who is">{{Cite_web|url=https://isna.org/faq/hermaphrodite/|title=Is a person who is intersex a hermaphrodite?|archivedate=20220125051110}}</ref> While many animal species are described scientifically as "hermaphrodites",<ref name="UH">{{Cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/2010to2014/2010-intersexuality.html#:~:text=While%20many%20animal%20species%20are,or%20persons%20with%20intersex%20conditions. |title=Intersexuality |date= May 15, 2010|archivedate=20220123140807 |author=Diamond, Milton |work=|publisher=University of Hawaii}}</ref> using the term to describe intersex humans is offensive and is considered a slur.<ref name="Is a person who is" /> |
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| − | === |
+ | ====Adding the I==== |
| + | The movement to include the letter "I" for "intersex" in the acronym LGBTQIA+ is met with both support and hesitance from the intersex community.<ref name="Intersex Initiative" /><ref name="Exposure">{{Cite web|url=https://exposure.org.uk/2020/02/should-intersex-people-be-included-in-the-lgbt-community/|title=Should intersex people be included in the LGBT community?|author=Angela Mascolo|date=2020-02-04}}</ref> One reason people support including the "I" in the LGBTQIA+ acronym is the direct similarities of erasure of the queer community societally and in psychiatry. In addition, Western medicine and surgical treatments is heavily motivated by homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and sexism, all of which are also experienced by people who want to [[transition]].<ref name="Intersex Initiative" /> Both communities still fight for the right to not have their bodies 'rectified' or 'fixed'.<ref name="Exposure" /> |
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| − | Intersex people that have intersex anatomical traits often are forced into undergoing medical procedures due to stereotypical understanding of what "normal" is or limited understanding of gender. Such procedures are known as intersex surgeries or normalization surgeries, which are non-lifesaving. Most intersex surgeries without one's consent happen to children below 2 years old, after being offered to the child's parents. They include modifying genitals which do not need surgery to function or removing organs that produce sex hormones.<ref name="Interact" /> |
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| + | The criticism for the adding the "I" is a fear that the inclusion gives the impression that being intersex is inherently queer, or implies that intersex individuals are [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]], and/or [[transgender]] or another [[queer]] label.<ref name="Intersex Initiative" /> This argument stems from the false premise that intersex falls under the [[umbrella term]] of [[transgender]], despite the two not being related. Additionally, being intersex refers to biological features and is not a [[gender identity]], which is another common motivator for the exclusion of the "I".<ref name="Exposure" /><ref name="Amnesty">{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/05/intersex-rights/|title=Intersex Rights|author=Amnesty International}}</ref> |
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| − | Surgeries to change genital appearance may be described to parents by some health professionals as an emergency or necessity; some parents are never told about the risks of these surgeries and the fact that waiting is an option, or encouraged to meet intersex adults.<ref name="Interact" /><ref name="rethinking" /> |
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| + | While some intersex people do identify as one or more of the LGBTQIA+ identities, there is a concern that the association with LGBT may drive away parents of intersex children who seek out information. Another critique is the conflation between LGBT and intersex, as being combined with LGBT may make it harder for intersex people to gain visibility on their own. Searching the terms "LGBTI" brings an overwhelming about of resources for LGBT-specific issues, with little to mention of issues pertaining to intersex people. Another concern is the inclusion of the "I" being used only for tokenism and not actually furthering the development of research or resources for the intersex community.<ref name="Intersex Initiative">{{Cite web|title=Adding the "I": Does Intersex Belong in the LGBT Movement?|author=Emi Koyama, Intersex Initiative|url=http://www.intersexinitiative.org/articles/lgbti.html}}</ref> |
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| − | United Nations considers intersex surgeries without one's consent human rights violations. The surgeries often result in complications, reduced sexual function, reduced fertility or worse emotional well-being.<ref name="Interact" /> There are studies that an estimate of 8.5-20% intersex people may experience [[gender dysphoria]] in regards to their assigned gender<ref>[https://www.nature.com/articles/nrurol.2012.182 Gender dysphoria associated with disorders of sex development]</ref> and that intersex surgeries can cause mental suffering if done without consent.<ref name="UNFE" /> Intersex organizations ask to let everyone decide about their own bodies and let them decide whether they want surgery or not.<ref name="Interact" /><ref>[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968808016300179 The human rights of intersex people: addressing harmful practices and rhetoric of change]</ref><ref>[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673-018-9855-8 The “Normalization” of Intersex Bodies and “Othering” of Intersex Identities in Australia]</ref> |
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| − | Adult intersex individuals can also face attempts to persuade them into undergoing surgery.<ref name="Interact" /> |
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==Media== |
==Media== |
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| − | |||
===Literature=== |
===Literature=== |
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| + | *[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22896551-none-of-the-above None of the Above] by I.W. Gregorio - 2015 |
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| + | *[https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/30841979-born-both Born Both: An Intersex Life] by Hida Viloria - 2017 |
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===Film=== |
===Film=== |
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| − | * |
+ | *[[IMDb:tt0995829|''XXY'']] - 2007 |
===Television=== |
===Television=== |
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| − | *[[w:c:faking-it:Lauren Cooper|Lauren Cooper]] in ''Faking It'' is an intersex person |
+ | *[[w:c:faking-it:Lauren Cooper|Lauren Cooper]] in ''Faking It'' is an intersex person. The character was written after consulting multiple [https://interactadvocates.org/ interACT] members<ref>[https://interactadvocates.org/intersex-inclusion-in-popular-media/ Intersex Inclusion in Popular Media]</ref> |
===Music=== |
===Music=== |
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| + | *[[w:c:rupaulsdragrace:Raven van Dorst|Raven van Dorst]] is an intersex rock artist from the Netherlands. |
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==Resources== |
==Resources== |
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*[https://interactadvocates.org/resources/intersex-organizations/ Intersex Support and Advocacy Groups] |
*[https://interactadvocates.org/resources/intersex-organizations/ Intersex Support and Advocacy Groups] |
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*[https://interactadvocates.org/ interACT] |
*[https://interactadvocates.org/ interACT] |
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| + | *[https://ihra.org.au/ Intersex Human Rights International] |
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*[http://oiiinternational.com/ Organisation Intersex International] |
*[http://oiiinternational.com/ Organisation Intersex International] |
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*[http://www.isna.org/ Intersex Society of North America] |
*[http://www.isna.org/ Intersex Society of North America] |
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Revision as of 00:33, 15 June 2022
Intersex is an umbrella term for people who are born with or develop sex characteristics that differ from the binary notions of a "male" or "female" body. These differences are called variations, and may involve one's hormones, chromosomes, external and internal reproductive organs, or secondary sex characteristics. An individual's intersex traits may include variations in one or multiple of the aforementioned types. These differences can be noticed at birth or later in life.[1][2]
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Etymology
The term "intersex" is comprised of "inter-", meaning "between", and "-sex". The term was coined in 1917 by geneticist Richard Goldschmidt,[3] but it did not gain popularity until used by biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling in 1993.[4]
Community
The word intersex also invokes a community. Intersex people are diverse, coming from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders and orientations, faiths, and political ideologies. We are united by
1. our experiences living with variations in our sex traits,
2. the belief that these differences are a natural part of human diversity,
3. the idea that people deserve their own choices about their own bodies.
According to the ISNA it is estimated that as many as 1.7% of individuals are born with intersex traits; however, cases of intersex people can be unreported or undiagnosed. Additionally, many people may be unaware of their intersex traits unless they receive genetic testing. Intersex people are not as uncommon as once believed; they have just been invisible until recent years.[5][6] Intersex individuals may have any gender identity or gender expression.[7]
Some examples of variations are:[1]
- Complete or partial androgen insensitivity
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Hypospadias
- Klinefelter syndrome
- XY gonadal dysgenesis
After years of activist efforts, members of the hijra community in India gained legal recognition in 2014 as part of a third gender category. Aspects of the hijra identity can include wearing clothing and cosmetics that are considered feminine. Some intersex people are part of the hijra community.[8]
Coercive gender assignments
Intersex people often are forced and coerced into undergoing surgery or hormone replacement due to binarist views of gender and sex. The surgeries are known as intersex genital mutilation (IGM), intersex surgeries, or normalization surgeries. These surgeries often happen to children below 2 years old. However, they also happen to older children, teens, and adults. These surgeries include ones which alter genitals that do not need surgery to function or removing organs that produce sex hormones.[1] Health professionals may describe these surgeries to parents and patients as an emergency or necessity; many parents and patients are never fully informed on the negative health effects or given resources and insight from intersex people.[1][9] The United Nations has stated nonconsensual and unnecessary surgeries for intersex people are human rights violations.[10] They often cause reduced sexual function, reduced fertility, worse emotional well-being, and other complications.[1] One study estimates that 8.5-20% intersex people may experience gender dysphoria in regard to their assigned gender[11] and that these actions can cause mental suffering.[2] Due to this and the prevalence of nonconsensual medical intervention, the fight for the bodily autonomy of intersex people is a main objective of intersex organizations and activists.[12][13]
Some intersex people use the terms CAFAB/CAMAB – Coercively Assigned Female at Birth/Coercively Assigned Male at Birth[14] due to being subjected to nonconsensual, unnecessary surgery. However, the terms are not exclusively used in this manner. A variety of experiences and relationships with assigned gender exists within these labels. The terminology is used by trans and cis intersex people alike.[1]
In the second half of the 19th Century, surgeons in North America started offering cosmetic surgeries of genitals for those that did not meet the stereotypical "norm." However, most of these surgeries were performed on adults at their request. In the 1950s, Johns Hopkins University instead began a practice of performing pediatric surgeries on intersex children without consent. The practice was developed by psychologist John Money, who ignored evidence he collected in 1953 that showed intersex adults had relatively low rates of psychopathology. He decided intersex children would best develop into what he defined as "normal" through surgically imposing a "male" or "female" body in early childhood, hormone treatments, and raising them based on their coercive assignment. Surgeons "corrected" intersex children's bodies by surgically altering their genitals into either stereotypically male or female. Because surgeons considered it more difficult to perform operations that made a child "male," most intersex children were forcibly assigned female through the procedures. The children could not give consent, and their parents often were not consulted.[15]
Money based his theory about intersex children based on the infamous "John/Joan case" involving David Reimer, who was assigned male at birth in 1965 and was not intersex. When Reimer was eight months old, his genitals were damaged by a circumcision. Johns Hopkins University staff and Reimer's parents concluded that it would be easiest to raise their child as female. Money declared it had worked, as he believed Reimer developed into a "normal" girl and later woman. However, Reimer's parents told him the truth many years later, saying that David Reimer had never felt fully female.[15]
Until late 20th century, being intersex still meant being forcefully assigned to male or female and not being fully recognized in North America and Europe. "Normalization surgery" for intersex children was standard practice. In 1993, biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling published articles in The Sciences and The New York Times and stated that intersex people exist.[4] Scientists and authors such as historian and bioethicist Alice Dreger, social psychologist Suzanne Kessler, and aforementioned Anne Fausto-Sterling started publishing more works on the topic. Organizations such as ISNA and interACT were founded in the 1990s and 2000s.[15]
Medical advocacy
The era of thorough medical research of intersexuality and advocacy for intersex people began in 1993. More healthcare professionals started recognizing modern data and adjusted their standards to help intersex patients.[15] However, it took a decade more to start banning the harmful practice of "intersex surgery" on children. Malta became the first country to ban non-consensual "normalization" surgery on minors in 2015.[16] Chile passed legislation banning it in 2017.[17] California became the first US state to condemn nonconsensual surgeries on intersex children in 2018.[18]
In 2019, more than 50 intersex advocate organizations signed a joint statement in multiple languages that condemns the introduction of "disorders of sex development" language into the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). In the statement, organizations state that in some cases, the guidelines associated with ICD-11 codes require unnecessary surgeries or other procedures that are not lifesaving, often performed on children without their consent and are grounded in gender stereotypes. The intersex advocate organizations called on the World Health Organization to reform their approach.[19]
Flag
The intersex flag was created by Morgan Carpenter from Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA, previously Organisation Intersex International Australia or OII Australia) in July 2013. The organization aimed to create a symbol that was unique--one that did not derive from existing flags, and one without pink and blue (which tend to be perceived as gendered). In Carpenter's words, the circle was chosen because it "is unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be."[20]
Older intersex flag
An older version of the intersex flag was created by Natalie Phox on 11 August 2010, and posted to Wikimedia. The blue and pink gradient in the middle represents "the range of sexes between male and female", while the lavender color on the top and bottom of the flag represents "a combination of male and female traits". The flag was erroneously posted as a bigender flag, but the author clarified later on that they meant bigender as in "mixed sex characteristics, not gender", which is closer to the definition of intersex.[21] Unfortunately due to being mistakenly labeled as a "bigender" design, this flag was also used as a bigender flag for some time.[22][23]
Overall, the flag created by Morgan Carpenter has seen more recognition and use than the design by Natalie Phox. For example, the Carpenter design was used in combination with the pride progress flag to create an intersex-inclusive version of the progress flag. This design was first published on June 6, 2021.[24]
Perceptions and discrimination
From a medical perspective, the growing consensus among health care professionals is that intersex characteristics are part of natural human diversity.[25][26][27][28] However, intersex people still face discrimination and misunderstanding in healthcare, often due to healthcare professionals failing to update their knowledge and causing harm regardless of their intentions.[9]
Controversy
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Modern scientific understandings of intersex traits have proven that none of the forms of hermaphroditism found in other species apply to humans.[29] While many animal species are described scientifically as "hermaphrodites",[30] using the term to describe intersex humans is offensive and is considered a slur.[29]
Adding the I
The movement to include the letter "I" for "intersex" in the acronym LGBTQIA+ is met with both support and hesitance from the intersex community.[31][32] One reason people support including the "I" in the LGBTQIA+ acronym is the direct similarities of erasure of the queer community societally and in psychiatry. In addition, Western medicine and surgical treatments is heavily motivated by homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and sexism, all of which are also experienced by people who want to transition.[31] Both communities still fight for the right to not have their bodies 'rectified' or 'fixed'.[32]
The criticism for the adding the "I" is a fear that the inclusion gives the impression that being intersex is inherently queer, or implies that intersex individuals are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender or another queer label.[31] This argument stems from the false premise that intersex falls under the umbrella term of transgender, despite the two not being related. Additionally, being intersex refers to biological features and is not a gender identity, which is another common motivator for the exclusion of the "I".[32][33]
While some intersex people do identify as one or more of the LGBTQIA+ identities, there is a concern that the association with LGBT may drive away parents of intersex children who seek out information. Another critique is the conflation between LGBT and intersex, as being combined with LGBT may make it harder for intersex people to gain visibility on their own. Searching the terms "LGBTI" brings an overwhelming about of resources for LGBT-specific issues, with little to mention of issues pertaining to intersex people. Another concern is the inclusion of the "I" being used only for tokenism and not actually furthering the development of research or resources for the intersex community.[31]
Media
Literature
- None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio - 2015
- Born Both: An Intersex Life by Hida Viloria - 2017
Film
- XXY - 2007
Television
- Lauren Cooper in Faking It is an intersex person. The character was written after consulting multiple interACT members[34]
Music
- Raven van Dorst is an intersex rock artist from the Netherlands.
Resources
- Intersex Support and Advocacy Groups
- interACT
- Intersex Human Rights International
- Organisation Intersex International
- Intersex Society of North America