Key Terms in Evolutionary Biology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality: Intersexuality

= Author =

Nora Burke

= Definition =

Intersex is a very general term used to describe people born with a reproductive anatomy that prevents them from being categorized as a classic male or female. It is not one specific condition, but a variety of possible conditions considered to occur on a “sex anatomy spectrum” (Intersex Society of North America). Intersex is sometimes considered to be the “middle category” between “male” and “female,” or a third gender. It is important to understand that the term “intersexual” is a social classification created by human society, and not nature. The definition of intersex varies because many of the doctors who diagnose it have varied opinions of what should be considered “intersex” and what should be considered “normal” (male or female). Intersex conditions generally cause no physical pain, but psychological trauma can of course result if an intersexed individual's peers are not sensitive to the condition. Approximately one in 2,000 children are born with a visible intersex-related abnormality (Intersex Society of North America).

In a world where sex and gender are commonly believed to coincide with one another, intersexuality challenges this preconceived notion. Much more common than it is typically believed to be, the importance of understanding intersex lies not only in human rights, but in the pursuit of the understanding of evolutionary biology. The idea that there are more than two genders opens countless doors for evolutionary biologists, and one cannot possess a full understanding of sex and gender without understanding the many elements and types of intersexuality.

= Examples in Context =

In the world of social-psychology, intersex illustrates the idea of sex verses gender. To biologists, “male” means making small gametes and “female” means making large gametes (which can be applied universally, to all species) (Roughgarden, 2004). However, these two distinctions do not necessarily correspond with other aspects of the body/mind/sexuality. Gamete size refers to sex, while other aspects refer to gender. Examples in nature include some species whose sex difference is almost indistinguishable; in others, there are 2 forms of males where one form resembles the female. Many species have more than two genders, or different forms of the sexes. In many species, males and females have no difference in chromosomes (Roughgarden, 2004). If an individual is a hermaphrodite, however, it makes both small and large gametes (common among plants and sea life). Contrary to the popular misconception, which was once considered acceptable, hermaphrodites are not the same as intersexual individuals, and hermaphrodism does not exist among humans (Roughgarden, 2004).

In Joan Roughgarden’s “Sex Versus Gender,” various misconceptions are discussed involving the idea of sex versus gender. Roughgarden introduces a series of sexuality and gender related myths and then defies them; Roughgarden effectively points out that (Roughgarden, 2004): 1. An organism is not necessarily male or female for life 2. Males are not necessarily bigger than females 3. In certain species, males are the ones who give birth 4. Males do not always have XY chromosomes and females XX chromosomes 5. There are not necessarily only two genders 6. Males and females do not always look different from one another 7. Males do not always control females

= Scientific Background =

Of course, intersexuality exists not only in humans, but in all species; the known causes (though mostly undetermined) are adrenal hyperplasia, male hormones taken by the mother prenatally, problems with the testes (which affect the production of male hormones), deficiency, insensitivity syndrome] (testicular feminization). Studies have also provided evidence of a potential link between gonadal intersex and agricultural pesticides. Intersexuality is sometimes so subtle that it is not noticed until puberty, adulthood, or even an autopsy after death (Intersex Initiative).

Types of intersexuality can be divided into four main categories: 1. 46, XX intersex: person has chromosomes and ovaries of a woman, but genitals of a man. 2. 46, XY intersex: person has chromosomes of a man, but genitals are incomplete or female. 3. True Gonadal Intersex: person has both ovarian and testicular tissue 4. Complex/undetermined Intersex: person has an altered number of chromosomes, no discrepancy between internal and external genitalia (Intersex Initiative).

= History =

Many cultures throughout history did not possess an understanding of the idea of a “third gender,” hence most people were expected to conform to either the male or female gender role. Though there is evidence of the recognition of intersexuality in numerous ancient civilizations, the concept was first acknowledged by medical authors in the Victorian era. An intersexed individual was then known as a true true hermaphrodite (a term derived from the Greek God of masculinity, Hermes, and the Greek Goddess of female sexuality and beauty, Aphrodite (Intersex Society of North America). The term “intersexual” was first introduced in Europe, just prior to the second World War (Intersex Initiative). At first considered to be a rare occurrence, the multiple military physical exams performed revealed that this sort of “abnormality” was in fact much more common than was believed. In the 1920’s, intersex conditions began to communicate to doctors the notion that sexual identity could actually conflict with biological sex, which introduced different types of surgeries (Intersex Initiative). Many responded to these abnormalities by surgically sculpting the individual’s genitalia to more closely resemble that of either a male or a female (depending on the circumstances), however rarely giving consideration to sexual blending (Etkins, 2002). Unless the case was extreme, most of these surgeries were performed due to psychosocial concerns, as opposed to health-related reasons. John Hopkins University created the first medical center exclusively devoted to intersexuality in the 1950’s. The method was called “optimum gender rearing,” or maximizing the chances of a “normal,” or heterosexual, identity by ensuring as much as possible that a child’s physical, biological, and mental qualities correspond with each other (Intersex Society of North America). In the early 1990’s, Anne Fausto-Sterling published an article in the New York Times, which exposed the realities of intersex, sparking the establishment of the Intersex Society of North America, and thus marking the beginning of an organized intersex rights movement (Intersex Society of North America).

= Debates =

Throughout previous generations, intersexuality has served as an example of the never-ending battle between nurture nature and nurture. The extremely controversial “John/Joan” study, conducted by John Money (Intersex Society of North America) illustrated the many injustices of sexuality-related medical care. The study was originally conducted due to the accidental destruction of the otherwise healthy male child, David Reimer's, genitals during a circumcision operation. Seeing this tragedy as an opportunity to further his own proposed system (Intersex Society of North America) for intersexed children, David Money convinced the parents of David Reimer to use surgical, hormonal, and psychological treatments to actually raise David as a female. Completely ignoring David's actual gender, Money claimed for years that the experiment was a "success;" however, upon learning of his former sex, David immediately reassumed his original identity as a male. The intersex rights movement is now compared to the women’s rights movement, the civil rights movement, and the LGBT rights movements (Intersex Society of North America). Intersexuality activists commonly hold the belief that “nurture” alone cannot possibly determine one’s true gender, or the gender role in society they would choose. For many children born with intersex, the decision is made for them: a “concealment-centered model of care” for intersexual individuals, believed to have stemmed from the Johns Hopkins model, is still commonly present among doctors (Intersex Society of North America). While surgery is usually performed on individuals to “normalize” their genitalia, these surgeries are more often than not medically unnecessary, and exist mostly to relieve the parents of stress. This surgery is viewed by many intersex activists as an attempt to “make intersexuality disappear.” The Intersex Society of North America advocates assigning an intersexual child a loose gender role for the sake of a normal childhood, and then allowing the individual to choose their own gender when they are older (Intersex Society of North America). A central goal of most intersex advocacy groups is to help the public to understand intersex conditions, as well as view them as human rights issue. While there are many options to prevent these “complications” (such as offering abortions to women considered likely to give birth to an intersexual child), as well as the prevailing idea that only two genders should encompass all individuals, the intersex rights movement doesn’t appear to be going away anytime in the near future (Intersex Initiative).

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= References  =

Etkins, Richard. Blending Genders. London: Routledge Publishing. 2002.

Roughgarden, Joan. Evolution's Rainbow. Berkley: University of California Press, 2004.

www.isna.org. Adam Mathias. 2008. Intersex Society of North America. March 23, 2010 &lt; http://www.isna.org/&gt;.

www.intersexinitiative.org. Creative Commons. 1993-2008. Intersex Initiative. March 20, 2010 &lt; http://www.intersexinitiative.org/index.html&gt;

Image: www.QueersUnited.Blogspot.com. &lt; http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/&gt;