Intersex

**Intersex** is a term for those born with physical sex characteristics that cannot be traditionally classified as male or female. Variations may appear in a person’s chromosomes, natural hormones, genitalia/gonads, secondary sex characteristics, or some combination of these things. Intersexuality is observed in many animals including humans. According to the ISNA it is estimated that as many as 1.7% of people are born with intersex traits.

Intersex does not describe a specific body type but rather is an umbrella term for a broad range of conditions. Some intersex individuals may closely resemble one of the binary sexes, while others are closer to in between. An intersex person may have characteristics of both the male and female sexes, characteristics that fall somewhere in between male or female, or characteristics that don't fall into either.

Intersex individuals may have any gender identity, including male, female, and non-binary. They may identify as cisgender or transgender, or possibly another gender modality such as ipsogender or ultergender. Intersex people can have any assigned gender at birth, some may be AMAB or AFAB because their condition of intersex was not noticed at birth. Others may be corrosively assigned male/female at birth (CAMAB/CAFAB), meaning they had nonconsensual surgery preformed on them so their body more closely fits one of the binary sexes. In some rare cases they are AXAB. 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. Intersex is included in the LGBT+ community, though not all intersex people consider themself to be LGBTQIA+ on the basis on being intersex. This is largely a personal choice based on how one's status as intersex has (or hasn't) affected their experiences.

Someone who is not intersex is called dyadic or perisex. Intersex is not an identity, but is something one is born as. Some intersex traits are identified at birth, while others may not be discovered until puberty or later in life (although, the variation was always present, just unnoticed). One cannot "transition to intersex". Dyadic people who desire mixed sex traits may identify as altersex.

## Issues & Activism

Some issues faced by intersex people include:

* Nonconsensual surgery on intersex infants and children.
* Discrimination in sport.
* Discrimination in employment and the workplace.

Intersex activists address issues like these and more. In 1993, Cheryl Chase announced the founding of the Intersex Society of North America, initially a support group that developed into an advocacy group on intersex issues. Since then, other organizations have been founded such as InterACT, OII Europe, and IC4E.

## Intersex Spectrum

### Chromosomal Variations

* Klinefelter Syndrome
* Triple X Syndrome
* Turner Syndrome
* XXYY Syndrome
* XYY Syndrome
* 45,X/46,XY Mosaicism

### Hormonal Variations

* Androgen insensitivity syndrome
* Estrogen insensitivity syndrome
* Hypogonadism
* Hyperandrogenism
* Hyperestrogenism

### Gonadal Variations

* Ovotesticular disorder
* Gonadal dysgenesis
* Gonadal agenesis
* Uterus didelphys
* Hypergonadism

## Resources

1. ↑ InterACT: Intersex Definitions
2. ↑ https://isna.org/faq/frequency/
3. ↑ InterACT: Intersex 101 [pdf]
4. ↑ IC4E: What Is Intersex?
5. ↑ OII Europe: Intersex Issues - a short list
6. ↑ InterACT: Ethics of Surgery and Decision Making
7. ↑ InterACT: Discrimination in Sports
8. ↑ InterACT: Workplace Discrimination and Intersex Employees
9. ↑ What's the history behind the intersex rights movement?