intersex

Examples of intersex in the following topics:

• Sex and Physiology

  • "Sex" refers to physiological differences between male, female, and intersex bodies.
  • In humans, sex is typically divided into male, female, or intersex.
  • Many intersex individuals, however, argue that such a procedure is invasive and unnecessary.
  • Intersex advocates such as Anne Fausto-Sterling label surgery without consent as a form of genital mutilation, and argue that surgery on intersex babies should wait until the child can make an informed decision for themselves.
  • Characterize the physiological differences among male, female, and intersex individuals and the controversies surrounding "corrective" surgery

• Defining Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

  • "Sex" refers to physiological differences found among male, female, and various intersex bodies.
  • Due to the existence of multiple forms of intersex conditions (which are more prevalent than researchers once thought), many view sex as existing along a spectrum, rather than simply two mutually exclusive categories.
  • "Gender" is a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being male, female, or intersex.
  • The standard model has been criticized for saying that humans are sexually dimorphic: this means each and every human being is either male or female, thus leaving out those who are born intersex.
  • In humans, sex is typically divided into male, female, or intersex (i.e., having some combination of male and female sex characteristics).

• Gender and Sociology

  • "Sex" refers to physical or physiological differences between males, females, and intersex persons, including both their primary and secondary sex characteristics.
  • When babies are born, they are assigned a gender based on their biological sex—male babies are assigned as boys, female babies are assigned as girls, and intersex babies are usually relegated into one category or another.

• Biology of Sexual Behavior

  • For the purposes of this discussion, we will be examining male and female anatomy; however, it is important to keep in mind the wide variety of intersex anatomy that exists, and that much of the biology below corresponds to different intersex bodies in different ways.

• Gender as a Spectrum and Transgender Identities

  • Transgender is an umbrella term that refers to the state of one's gender identity (in other words, one's self-identification as woman, man, neither, both, or something different) not matching one's assigned sex (their identification by others as male, female, or intersex, based on genetic and biological characteristics).

• Understanding Concepts

  • This can be seen today, for example, when an intersex child (a child having both male and female sex characteristics) is born, and doctors and parents feel immediately compelled to categorize the child into one of two pre-determined sexes.

• Human Sexuality and Culture

  • Sexuality differs from biological sex, in that "sexuality" refers to the capacity for sexual feelings and attraction, while "biological sex" refers to how one's anatomy, physiology, hormones, and genetics are classified (typically as male, female, or intersex).