Analysis Of 'The Five Sexes'

Male and female are simply not enough. Anne Fausto-Sterling makes this crystal clear in her work, "The Five Sexes". Her essay goes into detail about the history of hermaphrodites. People tend to shun anyone or any idea that is unusual. From birth, humans are programmed to think of certain things as normal, and to think of other things as weird. Sterling 's essay is very strong in medical information about intersexual people and it has different examples about living an intersexual lifestyle.

On page 20, Fausto-Sterling says "Even language refuses other possibilities...I have had to invent convention—s/he and his/her—to denote someone who is clearly neither male nor female or who is perhaps both sexes at once". It is true that hermaphrodites

According to Fausto-Sterling because Levi Suydam was said to be "More female than male", Levi was originally not allowed to vote. Levi asked to be included in the ballot, and this caused great commotion. To calm people down, a doctor had to examine Levi. The doctor reported that Suydam had a penis, so Suydam was considered a male. Ironically, Levi 's vote made a huge difference because his party won the election by a majority of one.

It is almost a requirement for people in society to conform to sexism. Sometimes it is the legal system or a higher power that play a huge role. This is seen earlier with Levi, but also when Fausto-Sterling discusses how the Jewish books of law the restrictions of each gender on page 23. "The Tosefta expressly forbids hermaphrodites to inherit their fathers ' estates (like daughters)...or to shave (like men). When hermaphrodites menstruate they must be isolated from men (like women)". This not only demonstrates the unfairness of herms, but even with the two "normal"

Young, and he had different characteristics than most. "Young did not pass judgment on the people he studied, nor did he attempt to coerce into treatment those intersexuals who rejected that option" (Fausto-Sterling 23). It seemed as if he was playing for both sides because he also had a book that influenced "modern surgical and hormonal methods of changing intersexuals into either males or females".

If origins really meant something, then the term "hermaphrodite" should hold the value of versatility and maybe even someone who is gifted. Fausto-Sterling talks about how the word hermaphrodite comes from the Greek. On page 22, she says "Hermaphrodite comes from the Greek names Hermes, variously known as the messenger of the gods, the patron of music, the controller of dreams or the protector of livestock". She also says, "Aphrodite, the goddess of sexual love and beauty". This demonstrates that the term hermaphrodite should not be a term of humiliation but it should be a term of