Markisha Lewis
Intersex in Children and Adults
WGS 200.63.01
Many of us have been reflecting on questions about intersex and what it actually is. I’ll be explaining the definition of intersex, how common it is the conditions of intersex and what is basically considered to be intersex. Intersex is when a person is born with a sexual anatomy or reproductive system that doesn’t quite fit the description of male or female. Some examples are, a person could be born with an outer appearance as a female but could have male anatomy on the inside. Also a person can be born with what looks to be as both male and female genitals, such as, a boy can be born with a small penis or a scrotum that’s divided forming what can look like a labia or a girl can be born with a very large clitoris or even not having a vaginal opening. Then there’s the gene mix up. A person can be born with mosaic genetics which means that some of her cells have xx chromosomes and some have XY chromosomes.
Before doing research, I always thought that intersex can be determined at birth. But intersex sometimes isn’t noticeable until a person goes through puberty or if they find out that they aren’t able to reproduce as adults. When we say what is considered intersex, we mean what sexual anatomy makes you a person with intersex. Intersex is a category that was socially made up by biological variations. In today’s world, we decide what certain things are considered to be normal. We as humans come up with the decisions to say what is considered to be a small penis or a large clitoris and what weird combinations of body parts counts as intersex. There are different things that happens for one to be considered intersex. Doctors toda...
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...s body. More research and studies should be done on adults and children with intersex. More children and parents undergoing this condition should be introduced to support groups and personal therapist so that dealing with it can be easier. People should be more enlightened and empowered to become educated on this topic and being able to help anyone that’s in need of support.
Being a man doesn’t need the back up of a Y chromosome and being a woman doesn’t need both XX chromosomes as I made clear in this paper. I enjoyed reading and writing about intersex and informing myself and the people around me about it. My best friend is deciding to do his research paper on it and I’m helping my little cousin do a school project on intersex and genetic make-up. I’m proud of myself for doing something out of the box and being the voice for a person with intersex.
Sex exists in a binary system of male and female, and people can be forced into this binary. A mother of an intersex child states that the surgery comes from “the message that a child’s body is not acceptable as-is and should conform to what the state thinks it should be” (“Their Baby Was Born”). Sex, just like gender, exists in a binary, and when individuals do not fall into the two categories, society becomes uncomfortable. Sex, like gender, is socially constructed (Fausto-Sterling). This means that sex is a spectrum and not the binary it has been made to be. However, society continues to see the binary as normal and will attempt to force individuals to fit the already established system. Because they are in the middle of the sex spectrum rather than at the ends, most intersex individuals in the documentary experienced and continue to experience the same pressures to conform described by the mother and Fausto-Sterling. One person identified with the female gender, but her mother raised her as male. Despite her gender identification, she was continually told to be more masculine and to conform to her assigned male sex and gender. Others also had their appearance shaped through surgery and other means to fit into the sex-gender binary but now choose to identify as neither male nor female. However, this lack of gender-sex identification can leave them socially isolated since
...younger children. My aspirations are to be an elementary or middle school special education teacher and then a school psychologist, so I know how important it is for me to not compromise who I am or what I do to fit with the male gaze, so that I can set an example for the students I work with. Additionally, as a school psychologist, it seems likely that I will be counseling students who are struggling for an identity, or perhaps those who realize they don’t fit the body that they were born in, or even those who discover that they don’t identify with either of the binary genders. These students will need to understand that they exist for reasons far beyond reassuring the identity of someone else. This is a problem that needs to be addressed, and as teachers, we can do so by teaching our students to be comfortable with who they are, no matter who they choose to be.
There is more to gender expression, gender identities and biological sex that can be seen. The reason we do not go out looking for the differences between them is because some individuals are afraid of any difference that breaks their social norm. Each person is unique in their own way by having vast differences and challenges that they may face to become themselves. These differences and challenges is what bring us together and make up the communities we live in. They could be one someones teacher, best friend, sister. or brother, they could even be someones role model. Those “different people,” such as the interssexed, transgendered, or even biological males/females that differ from our social (daily) norms in the end are not that different.
"A lot of people see gender as very one-sided, girl or boy, but in reality, even the choices of one, the other, both, or neither just don't feel right.” Many people don’t realize that there are more gender identities than just “male” and “female.” In June 2016, The Williams Institute at UCLA estimated that about 1.4 million US adult’s genders don't align with the one they were assigned at birth. One can identify as the opposite gender from their assigned sex, as no gender, as both, or as a unique identity not so easily categorized.
It meets the guideline with its’ attention to assert a concern on gender identities and our scientific understanding of them. The writer essentially focused on scientific theories by Dr. Kranz and Dr. Cecelia Dhejne that the foundations of sex-reassignments are based upon a mismatch between gender-specific brain developments and how they are “scientifically” formed and the high suicide effects of it subsequently. Using important information such as transgendered people with brain structural differences reports relevant information in relation to the controversial idea of how changeable is gender and how it affects lives to this day.
It is important to understand the difference between gender and sex. The English language defines “sex” by using the anatomy that an individual is born with. In other words, the reproductive organs that makes someone female or male. “Sex” also includes the chromosomes that someone obtains to make them male or female, the different gonads, sex hormones and the inner and outer genitalia. When defining gender dysphoria and its connection to sex. Within the gender dysphoria disorder, which is a sex disorder, there are other developments that affect the normal and natural indications of each sex assignments. The use of “cross-sex” hormones, are very popular when someone is trying to masculinize or feminize the individuals original gender.
In today’s society humanity tends to be close-minded and judgmental; therefore, society often tends to justify or ridicule a persons choice of lifestyle. A delicate topic that isn’t addressed enough is Gender Dysphoria, also known as Gender Identity Disorder. Gender Dysphoria is a complicated term, but in essence, it’s a personal struggle to identify as a specific sex. Many issues have been brought to light when it comes to adolescents who battle with Gender Dysphoria, such as, body dysmorphia, mental health, and Sex Reassignment Surgery. Although they are not of age to make life-changing decisions, adolescents who struggle with the disorder should be able to consider the same alternatives that are offered to adults.
In today’s society we as humans are aware and accepting of more identities than we ever have been before. Civil rights movements all over the world are advocating for everything from marriage equality, to laws protecting gender-queer people. However, it isn’t perfect. Just as there will always be racists and homophobes, there will always be people who say gender identity is a choice. Well, a study done earlier this year proves those people wrong.
Levine, S. B. (1990). THE STANDARDS OF CARE FOR GENDER IDENTITY DISORDERS. HARRY BENJAMIN INTERNATIONAL GENDER DYSPHORIA ASSOCIATION.
This essay will discuss the ways sexuality is gendered and their impacts towards both men and women by exploring the contemporary heterosexual scripts from a sociological perspective on three main aspects; i.e. sex drive, desire and power. It studies how men are deemed to have a higher sexual edge than women, who acts as the relationship gatekeepers. This essay analyses the theory that women predictably pursuits love and relationships while men are more sexually controlled by lusts and cravings. Sexual dominance and passiveness is another traditional script inspected in this essay, focusing on how men are always expected to be the prevailing initiator thus devouring more power in relationships while women stays being the weaker, submissive receivers.
Each individual is inevitably born as one or the other; male or female, but that does not mean that they have discover their sexuality yet. Gender and sexuality are two different entities. Gender is what people use to identify themselves as while filling out an application, while sexuality is what sex and gender are desire to like or love. Human sexuality is constructed socially, and their desire is influenced by a person’s individual childhood or exposure to familial or religious contacts. People have become open minded about their sexuality. Society judges and discriminates in different ways against a person’s sexuality.
The sex and gender binary is a socially-constructed classification of sex and gender into two distinct and biological forms of masculine and feminine. The binary is a restricting concept that enforces the ideology that solely two genders exist—it is a social boundary that limits people from exploring gender identity or mixing it up (Larkin, 2016). As Mann depicts it, the binary constrains us to take on one gender identity, and to follow through with the expected roles assigned to that gender. The implications are that it compels people to fit into the binary and follow the patriarchal, heteronormative traditions of society (Mann, 2012). However, the binary was not always so clear-cut, but certain concepts from scientific research such as the
Typically, XX chromosomes designate females and XY designate males, which both of these will develop into socially acceptable genders of the assigned chromosomes. Although this is mostly correct, there are some variations to the rule in which a person will differ from the assigned chromosomes and have physiological differences that will affect gender identity development. Eliza Dragowski, an assistant professor psychology, writes in a report titled Childhood Gender Identity… Disorder? Developmental, Cultural, and Diagnostic Concerns, "The second path points to anatomical brain differences. It is supported by postmortem examinations of brains of male-to-female transsexuals, which show a typical female-sized portion of the central subdivision of the bed nucleus of the stria terminal, a brain area vital in sexual behavior." This proves brain similarities between males and females, which can lead to them becoming transsexuals later in life. Their brain affects how they develop their own gender identity. Furthermore, genetic differences influence a developing identity, "review of the most recent research indicates the presence of various genetic variations that do not cause changes in reproductive anatomical structures but may produce gender-variant identities” (Dragowski). A variation of these genes will have a significant effect on gender since its part of their
Preves, Ph.D., Sharon E. "Intersex Narratives: Gender, Medicine, and Identity." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 32-42. Print.
Transgender people, as defined by the Encyclopedia of human services & diversity, are those who “identify with the gender roles of the opposite sex”. (Nance cite) Of course, acceptance is not the first stage of a new concept. As people did not accept them for a natural being, they suppressed their feelings and/or expressed them in private. The world has slowly become accepting, but there is still a ways to go.