Ignorance and fear of the unknown, of what is different, have been causes of wars throughout history. At Psychology-Online we want to combat ignorance and that is why we bring you one of the most unknown topics even in society today. We want to inform you about What is intersexuality, its definition, types and characteristics.
Although it is true that in recent years intersexuality has been thematized from various perspectives, for a large part of society it still remains a mystery about which little or nothing is said. It is estimated that between 0.05% and 1.7% of the world population is born with intersexual traits, but… what do we know about intersexuality?
What is intersexuality: definition
The intersexuality is the term used to designate the condition of those people who They are born with sexual characteristics -such as genitals, chromosome patterns or gonads (ovaries and testicles)- that do not correspond to the typical -and hegemonic- binary notions on female or male bodies. That is, they do not fit anatomically within the sexual parameters that constitute the binary man-woman model.
Characteristics of intersexuality
The characteristics of an intersex person can be very diverse. A key concept to understand it is that of “variation”, since intersexuality refers to all those situations in which “the sexual body of an individual varies from the standard of culturally valid feminine or masculine corporality.”
These variations are diverse and, therefore, the characteristics of the person who possesses them, too. There is no particular body that can be categorized as intersex, but rather a wide set of corporalities possible, whose variations are given by a way of measuring and looking at bodies from a biomedical and cultural perspective. In this way, intersex bodies are classified, concluding in the 4 types described in the following section.
Types of intersexuality
Intersexuality can be grouped into 4 types:
- Intersexuality 46, XX (with virilization). The chromosomes correspond to those of a woman (XX), they have uterusbut the external genitals correspond to those of a man, that is, they present penis.
- Intersexuality 46, XY (with subvirilization). The chromosomes are those associated with men (XY), but the external genitalia appear feminine or ambiguous.
- True gonadal intersexuality. The person simultaneously presents ovaries and testes, whether completely or not. The chromosomes can be XX, XY or both at the same time, and the external genitalia can also be male, female or intermediate.
- Complex or indeterminate intersexuality. This category would be like a catch-all for all those cases that do not fit into the previous categories. There would be no incongruence between internal and external sexual characteristics, but sexual hormones or the number of chromosomes could be affected (e.g.: XXY, XXX, X0).
Causes of intersexuality
According to a study by the University of Santiago de Compostela, the causes of intersexuality would be divided into 6:
- Congenital andrenocortical hyperplasia. It is a hereditary dysfunction of enzymes involved in the synthesis of steroid hormones. This is the main cause of the first type of intersexuality explained in the previous section, that is, intersexuality 46, XX (with virilization).
- Androgen insensitivity syndrome. In this case, the receptors responsible for capturing testosterone are not capable of doing so, so, even though the chromosomes are XY, the body ends up developing like that of a woman. It is the main cause of the second type of intersexuality explained in the previous section, that is, 46, XY intersexuality (with subvirilization).
- Gonadal dysgenesis. This is an inadequate development of testicles and/or ovaries.
- Hypospadias. It includes alterations in testosterone metabolism.
- Turner syndrome (X0). The lack of a chromosome makes the development of sexual characteristics difficult, in addition to leading to other problems. Here you can read the .
- Klinefelter syndrome (XXY). The presence of an extra X chromosome implies that more typically female secondary sexual characteristics develop, despite having testicles and a penis.
Intersexuality cases
Here are some historical and famous cases of intersex people:
In case of Cheryl Chase
Founder of the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA), she has been one of the most important activists of intersexuality. As a child, like many cases of intersex people, she was subjected to medical operations in order to force her body to conform to one of the two hegemonic sexes.
The cases of athletes Caster Semenya and Sarah Gronert
Making a career in sports for an intersex person is much more difficult, since they are constantly the subject of criticism and encounter more obstacles as they cannot be classified into one of the two categories (female or male) without technically implying an advantage or disadvantage.
In the case of Semenyaworld champion in the 800 meter dash, the athlete has been sued so that she cannot participate in the female category since she has internal testicles that produce higher levels of testosterone compared to other women.
The tennis player Sarah Gronertwho was born with characteristics of both sexes, has decided to have surgery to be able to continue with her career.
The famous case of Lady Gaga
Thanks to which the world of intersexuality became a little more visible. The singer confessed that she was intersex after at one of her concerts a bulge was noticed under her miniskirt and the media jumped on her with all kinds of speculation.
The model Hanne Gaby Odiele
Hanne Gaby Odiele openly declared that she was intersex with the aim of normalizing her condition and breaking the taboos around intersexuality.
Difference between hermaphrodite and intersexuality
The word hermaphrodite It derives from Greek mythology, from the combination of the names of Hermes and Aphrodite, who, according to myth, had a son gifted with the attributes of both parentswho, undecided about the masculinity or femininity of the creature, decide to give it the name Hermaphrodites.
In addition to being a character from Greek mythology, the term hermaphrodite is used as Medical diagnostic, being inaccurate since it lends itself to misunderstandings. This often leads to the belief that intersex people are people with both sexes, that is, literally with a penis and vagina.
Instead, term intersexuality implies that the person is situated between the two sexesman-woman, as if in the middle of a continuum.
The intersex community recommends not using the terms “hermaphroditism” or “hermaphrodite” when referring to intersex people, due to the pejorative connotations of the context in which they have been used.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Battaglino, V.L. (2019). Intersexuality: a critical analysis of hegemonic sociocultural representations of bodies and identities. Methaodos. Social Science Review, 7(1): 41-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v7i1.275
- Hernández Guanche, V. (2009). Intersexuality and scientific practices: science or fiction? RIPS. Journal of Political and Sociological Research, 8(1),89-102. Available at: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=380/38011446008
- Ramírez, K. (2019). The forgotten neighbor of Adam and Eve: Intersexuality and hegemonic discourses in tension. Postgraduate thesis. National University of La Plata. Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences. In Academic Memory Available at: http://www.memoria.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/tesis/te.1745/ te.1745.pdf