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Don't Call Them Hermaphrodites
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They prefer the term "intersex." And now that a South African track star has thrust them into the spotlight, this surprisingly large minority group thinks their Stonewall moment just may have arrived.
When Caitlin Childs first heard about South African track star Caster Semenya, who was asked to submit to a gender-verification test after her gold-medal win at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin last month, she braced herself for the deluge of ill-informed media analysis. She didn’t have to wait very long.
“There was a lot of dehumanizing language tossed around about Semenya,” Caitlin says. “The word hermaphrodite was used a lot, which is pretty offensive. It was upsetting to see all of these people pop up who seem to think they have the right to speculate about what somebody else’s body looks like.”
“I live a very regular life. I have kids. I’m a Realtor. It’s a wonderful thing... that our genitals are not placed on our foreheads.”
Caitlin is a 26-year-old community organizer from Atlanta, a brunette with a wide smile and a confident voice. And like one out of every 2,000 people, she was born with an intersex body. Intersex, or DSD (Disorders of Sex Development), is more complicated than most people think. Not just a single variation, it actually encompasses a wide variety of medical conditions involving bodies not considered “standard” for either male or female. Conditions like congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an endocrine disorder in which the body has too many (or not enough) sex steroids, which can influence the appearance of genitalia. And androgen insensitivity syndrome, which can cause people born with XY chromosomes (male typical) to appear feminine.
Despite the fact that intersexuality is much more common than generally reported, however, except for brief news sensations like Semenya—and recent speculation about singer Lady Gaga—hardly ever does anyone think about intersex people. But now, perhaps for the first time ever, an intersex person is making the evening news, and intersex activists think this just might be a defining moment for their movement.
Many are using the opportunity to speak out. “Intersex bodies should not be treated as though they are a sickness that needs to be cured, nor should [Semenya] face social stigmatization for the narrow-mindedness of some,” read one typical blog post. Op-eds across the globe have condemned the public debate as snarky. And Semenya herself declared her pride in her physicality. "God made me the way I am, and I accept myself,” she told South Africa’s You magazine. “I am who I am and I'm proud of myself.”
“There is nothing wrong with having an intersex body, we’re just another variation of the human possibility,” says Caitlin, who’s been outspoken on the issue since first hearing the term for the first time at a conference she attended at 18, which she cites as a turning point in her own activism. “Even for me, I was older, but I was still pushed to do a surgery, but I resisted that and I feel very lucky to do that.”
Janet Green, who more readily identifies with the term DSD, works with Accord Alliance, an organization of health-care professionals and advocates that launched last March with the goal of promoting a new standard of care for people with DSD. Janet says most intersex people—at least those that aren’t world-class runners—live pedestrian lives. “I live a very regular life,” she says. “I have kids. I’m a Realtor. I do lots of things with my time that have nothing do with advocacy. It’s a wonderful thing for everyone’s self-perceived inadequacies or differences that our genitals are not placed on our foreheads!”
The intersex-rights movement seeks the same things most civil-rights struggles seek: mainstream acceptance, equality under the law, the right to safely be “out.” And, oh yeah: They don’t want to be called “hermaphrodites.”
“The term ‘hermaphrodite’ is stigmatizing and confusing,” says Alice Domurat Dreger, a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University who is cited regularly by intersex individuals and advocates. “It usually suggests to people that someone has all the organs of males and females—but that is not physically possible. The medical profession came to a consensus about three years ago to get rid of all terms based on the root ‘hermaphrodite’ (including ‘pseudo-hermaphrodite’) because they are stigmatizing and confusing.”
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Although I was aware of the biological diversity issues surrounding intersex people, I didn't know that 'hermaphrodite' was considered outmoded/pejorative. I'll drop it from my lexicon.
It isn't pejorative. It's a kind of intersex, although the condition is usually termed "true hermaphrodite," i.e. has both a penis and vagina, whether or not either functions in some capacity.
In an interview with me a couple years ago, Dreger used the word "hermaphrodite" unabashedly. I have a feeling this is one of those word issues where the labelees are attempting to evade the connotations of the label, which we have learned time and again is simply not possible UNTIL there is a sea change in society.
So please don't worry about it. More important than the words is that we simply accept these folks -- which may include a rewriting of the rules so women like Semenya aren't caught in an impossible situation.
Regarding Semenya, I'd like to point out that there is no ambiguity with regard to her sex. Her condition, Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, or CAIS, gives her female sexual parts and an inability to respond to testosterone and other androgens. She lacks a uterus and ovaries, and thus can't have children, but has everything else. I'm sure she has thought of herself as 100% woman since the day she was born and may even have been surprised to learn she was unusual.
I agree with "hithere3." Remember how in the '60's it was "black is beautiful," but then "black" became "insulting" b/c it was said to be "innacurate" (just like "hermaphrodite"), so they changed it to "African-American," although the same thing could be said for the label "white" & never was (nobody's skin is really "black" or "white"). Then, when prejudice decreased, "black" no longer became an insult.
Personally, I like hermaphrodite b/c it has social/cultural roots unlike the medically created word "intersex" & even moreso "disorders of sex development" (yuck!!! as if THAT isn't insulting. it literally pathologizes us.) Just like the word "lesbian," it come from Greek culture, & "lesbian" is just as "inaccurate," as many residents of the Greek island Lesbos have pointed out, & yet we have proudly adopted it. There is nothing innately insulting about hermaphrodite -- let's drop all the confusion & just focus on getting society to accept us.
@hither3, twilight, rdschekal & roadhunter (and anyone else who comments without actually reading the article).
Read the article to learn why the term hermaphrodite is both factually wrong and not a current medical term. Your comments are just plain hickish ignorance. I actually pity you and the people who have to interact with you.
Thank you's to mblips & scMax101 for trying to educate the idiocracy.
jbo: resorting to ad hominems undercuts your arguments, i'm afraid.
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you will run into problems if your definition of a sex requires that the parts function properly. for one, male humans who can no longer achieve an erection naturally could no longer be defined as men by your treatment. likewise, genetically male babies whose genitalia does not develop correctly would also not be male or men by your treatment.
not that you said so, but lest you be tempted to define sex by genetics, that is problematic. take semenya, who is XY, but outwardly, is female in every way.
I hear that "Hermaphrodite" is not pejorative, to YOU. For example, consider the word "negro". Is it merely descriptive? Or has it attained a negative meaning, due to how it has been used?
For intersex folks, "Hermaphrodite", has a similar negative aspect.
Intersex folks tend to have a mix of male & female traits.
"Hermaphodite" is a medical term. I shall keep it, along with other medical terms I know, within my lexicon.
Rdschenkel - You did not read the article. "Hermaphrodite" is no longer the accepted medical term. I don't care what word you use but don't comment on an article without reading it, it means you care more about your opinion that that of the journalist who did research.
SCMax: incorrect.
on pubmed i just found over a 200 articles in the last 9 months that use the term "true hermaphrodite" in major medical journals.
Agreed.
I won't drop it from mine. If we call these people intersex, twenty years from now, that word will be criticized as well, and replaced with something else.
The term "colored" was not considered insulting other than the tone in which it was used. It was replace with the confusing and inaccurate "black" to describe brown people. Black, was, in turn, replaced with African American, which is often not accurate. People from Haiti are darker brown than many people, but they aren't African.
Well roadhunter whatever makes you happy, since this is obviously all about you.
It's about having sensitivity and respect and calling a group of people what they are ASKING you to call them.
A few years ago, a speech language pathologist friend of mine gently corrected me when I used "harelip," because I didn't know that the correct term is "cleft lip" or "cleft palate." Instead of digging my heels in and insisting there is no reason for me to change my ways, I simply started using the correct term, given to me by a professional in the know. Take a cue here.
But if logic is the only thing that convinces you, then there's this: "Hermaphrodite" only refers to organisms that possess fully developed and functional male and female sex organs. So "hermaphrodite" scientifically cannot apply to people because people can't have both sets of fully developed and functional sex organs. On a logical level, it is inaccurate.
Hence, "intersex"... In other words, the person is saying, "I am somewhere between male and female." And even though their body might be somewhere between male and female, they still can identify as 100% male or 100% female, or they can identify as neither or both or just plain between.
1) Thank you
2) FYI, another term mentioned in the article was "DSD". This is a widely reviled term, among those of us who are intersex. It relegates us to something broken & needing to be fixed. In many cases, Intersex folks are simply uncommon, but perfectly normal variants of more common folks. For more discussion on the use and opposition to the use of the term "DSD", check out the Organisation Intersex International (OII) at http://www.intersexualite.org/
3) Yup, I'm intersexed
We haven't heard from Caster so hopefully she's still strong and hasn't been thrown into a tailspin by all the media attention. Her strength of character is a lesson for everyone on how to live your life. I think she was lucky to be raised in an environment so unaware.
When I was a little girl I had an inter-sex babysitter. The only thing I knew about his gender was that when he was born they were unable to determine his gender. The doctor assured his parents that sex was all nurture over nature and let them pick a gender. The dad wanted a boy.
He took a lot of flack from his dad for his successful babysitting business and his outright defiance to follow in his dad's footstep and play high school football. There was constant whispering in the community--half thought his parents should back off and let him choose his own path, while others though the parents were too soft on him.
Eventually it was all to much for the dad and he completely abandoned the family. Anyway, Dave only found some happiness when he moved far, far away.
Whether she accepts the role or not, Caster is the perfect spokesperson. I hope she keeps living her life as she always has and resists the pressure to "fix" her gender.
I think it's fantastic that the South African government IMMEDIATELY stood behind her. It's symbolic, but surely comforting for her to know her country is behind her.
Her "country" placed her in that bad position in the first place. At least
the health ministry and Athletes South African (ASA). The IAAF told
the ASA to have her tested before leaving the country. They didn't do
it and set her up for an INTERNATIONAL probe. What you see is
pure guilt from the the South African government. It's the duty of
ASA to have followed the rules and protected Caster. The choose
to go for the metal instead.
cry: i don't recall her sex coming into question until the berlin races. do you know something i don't?
She grew up with questions about her sex-wore the boys uniform
instead of the girls. It was leaked that the IAAF asked the ASA
to test her prior to the Berlin races. There was a urine test that showed
elevated testosterone levels.
For years we had women from Europe especially the former soviet union,who's athletic ability was questionable
and the world never bat an eye on their gender.Why now
is it so important?Is it because of the winner, where she's from or her race which one.
Give me a break. There was plenty of talk/testing of those ladies as well. It has nothing to do with her race, it is because she more closely resembled a man physically and she was competing as a lady. Nothing more.
No... it has nothing to do with race... In fact the silver-medalist this year and defending World Champion in Semenya's race was a Black Kenyan woman. In regards to the Russian/Soviet women, there were plenty of questions about there gender: http://zagria.blogspot.com/2008/08/tamara-natanovna-press-1937-and-irina.ht ml . Just read about the Press sisters. In fact the IAAF instituted gender verification partially in response to such questions and the Press sisters conveniently retired....
I am Black and really sick and tired of every issue being tied to race. Whether you agree with it or not, watching just one video of Semenya will allow you to understand why so many questions were brought up. Just due to Semenya's age alone in relation to her performance, many would have questioned some type of enhancement. She was 18, a decade or more younger than most of the other competitors. Track and Field athletes rarely reach their physical peaks so early.
Let's not rush to accuse others of racism before all facts are considered!
Yes, it's about race. In the past it's only been White women
whose gender were questioned. She is the first Black person
to have to undergo this test and now all of a sudden it's
in-humane. Like it wasn't unhuman for her Eastern European
White counter-parts?
Didn't anyone read "Middlesex"?
Yes. I'm surprised it didn't appear in the discussion.
1) I am intersex.
2) I read Middlesexed, and from the perspective of an intersex person, found it rather dreadful. dismissive, insulting & exploitative of the actual intersex experience.
I can't wait too hear from the religious nut jobs who are going to call for these poor people to be set on fire and banished to pergutory.
That intersex people choose to be this way, that it's a lifestyle and merely an excuse to live in sin.
I know, sort of off topic and why light a fire where there so far isn't one, but while I, in no way, make comparisons with this development issue and homosexuality, where there is commonality is that human sexual assignment is as biologically complex as every other function we are BORN with.
I cannot even begin to imagine the emotional complexities of being born with this and what this poor girl must be going through, with the entire world now discussing something she likely prayed would remain a private issue.
I sincerely hope that both the governing bodies in her sport and ALL of her fellow athletes support her and above all that all of the work and hardship she has dedicated to the sport she loves is not crushed by ignorance and bigotry.
Mother nature works in mysterious ways. My heart goes out to young lady for the emotional roller coaster she is enduring at this time.
You are setting up a straw man. I hate the right-wingers as much
as the next person but intersex people have GENETIC and biological
proof of their condition. Right-wingers are best at fighting against things
that CAN'T be disproven. There are plenty of right-wingers whose kids
have genetic problems whether developmental or sex related. You need
a Y-chromosome to have tests. If you are someone like Caster how
doesn't have any ovaries or a uterus and has testes, there is no doubt
that she is an XY male with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. The right
wing is not going to fight that. You can draw her blood, and SEE her
chrosomosmes.
They simply have a problem with things that science knows is true but
doesn't have ACTUAL proof of it like homosexuality and transgendered
people. If you can draw the blood of all homosexuals and SHOW that
there is something unique about their genes that others don't have, the
right-wingers will soon shut-up.
Science has actually gotten pretty good at figuring out what causes homosexuality: category 7 homosexuals can generally be picked out by a blinded reviewer by brain MRI. Males and females use their brains very differently (males tend to create specialized areas to accomplish things; females tend to use all of their brain for everything). Homosexuals generally have the 'wrong sex' brain.
They even know what causes it: high levels of estrogen at a particular developmental stage (as a fetus) feminizes the brain; get it aberrantly when you're male, and depending on the stage you can have behavior feminized, sexual attraction feminized, or both. If you're female, don't get it, and the reverse happens.
In the 50s and 60s, pregnant women were often injected with estrogen to 'stabilize' their pregnancies, which probably caused the large increase in numbers of homosexual men who came of age in the 70s and 80s. One would predict that the numbers in the young population are decreasing now, but that's the sort of data that seems impossible to get.
@pulmanomancer
If only.
Gay men can be just as masculine as straight men
Gay women can be just as feminine as straight women
And what about bisexuals? Can they ALL really just be confused?
Care to cite your references?
I personally found the part about how intersex individuals did not want to join the LBGTQ a little offensive. It seemed to claim that Transgendered individuals deviate from main stream society based off of sexual orientation which is not so. Transgendered individuals identifying as males might be attracted to males, females, or sometimes both. It is fine if intersex individuals do not want to identify with the increasingly obtuse acronym, but I would prefer that they do not misidentify the intention of the psuedo-alliance it represents.
I am personally ignorant of a way to term the goals of LBGT in such a way that it would apply to all the groups labeled and be exclusive of inter-sex individuals without inserting contrived nuances. (This does not mean such a definition does not exist, I simply cannot at this time think of one).
Although public opinion holds that the LGBT community is a unified block, they are like any other group of individuals. Questions about why transgendered (gender identification and the minority within LGBT) and homosexuality (sexual orientation, the majority) being grouped together abound within the community (the ENDA controversy in 2007 highlighted this schism).
I wouldn't be offended as is it not about you :). Intersexed individuals as a community have determined that they are not about sexual orientation and better represented away from LGBT. Their choice, more power too them.
Intersex conditions are genetic conditions. Like being born with a certain
bad congential heart or having autism. It's a medical CONDITON.
LGBT are not a result of a medical problem. They have different issues
than intersex people.
well, usually it is genetic, but not necessarily. intersex can also arise from developmental errors, despite normal genetics.
your other comment is patently true to all readers, i hope.
So Intersex individuals do not have to deal with discrimination, issues of gender identity, stigma from non-societal confirmation, people questioning what gender they really are or should be? It seems to me that limiting whatever grand scheme of things integrates LGBT individuals, were it to exclude those who are who they are because of a "medical problem" would not be cohesive for long. For example if there is a hereditary component to homosexuality then the acronym would loose all but the T. If it was about sexual preferences it would loose the T. If it is about people making "lifestyle choices" then it would not be a designation that many of the individuals I know (myself included) who currently identify with it would support.
Bad examples. Intersex, for many folks, is more like a woman who is over 5'10" tall, or a natural redhead. Uncommon & MAY have related issues. But most intersexed folks do NOT have profound medical issues comparable to "bad congenital hearts or autism".
Great article! I had no idea.
More power to Caitlin, absolutely.
But the elephant in the room, which this article doesn't address, is: Should she be competing against women? Does she have an unfair advantage?
We readily use the feminine pronoun is referring to her, but is that because being intersex entails, in purely physiological terms, being "more" female or "more" male? 60-40? 75-25? Or do we refer to Cailtin as "she" because she self-identifies as female?
While this topic promotes healthy public discourse and helps to mitigate stigma, it is a quandary for athletic governing bodies.
Yes, the best rule of thumb is refer to people in the gender the refer to themselves in.
It might be hard for some to wrap their minds around, but, yes, if someone says they are a woman, they are a woman, and you refer to them as such.
It's called treating a lady like a lady. :)
Very well put. Just as Obama is as much white as he is black, we refer to him as a black man because that is the identity which he has chosen, and we should all respect that.
alice k - I would happily call anyone whatever it is they would like to be called, however, this does not mean they should be allowed to participate in a sex specific sport. I don't purport to know what the answer is, but it is surely not that a man can participate in a womans sporting event because they say they are a woman, or they were raised as a woman, or that they believe they are a woman in a mans body. The interesting question (to me anyway) is not the social one but the sporting one in the case of the runner from SA.
I disagree, because what are the possible options? If someone like Semenya has the talent, they shouldn't be barred from competition because they have a physical difference.
What if someone had 6 toes and say hypothetically that gave them an advantage when running? Would you bar them because they had a physical advantage due to something considered an "anomaly"? No? Than only sex/hormone advantages qualify as characteristics for disqualification in this discussion?
What if a woman who is XX has a vagina, clitoris, breasts, etc. but also has a hormonal imbalance where she creates too much testosterone (this exits by the way). Should she be banned because her body has more testosterone than the "average" woman? Obviously not. Would you require her to regulate her hormones medically first before being allowed to compete. The idea is ludicrous.
What do you do? Create an Intersex world of competitive sports? Obviously not. Do you throw them in with the Special Olympics? That suggestion even as a joke is offensive. Do you force her to have surgery to change her body as contingent to her participation? Again, we'd all agree that idea is quite disturbing.
To what degree does someone have to be "not female enough" or "not male enough" to be disqualified? How do you decide if someone is 60/40, 50/50, or 40/60 male/female? The answer is you DON'T because treating someone like that is demeaning and dehumanizing.
She is a woman, she considers herself to be a woman. She has female sex organs. She should be allowed to compete with women. Say she breaks every record in her career, all we should do is applaud her for her success.
And if the day comes where drag queens are racing down the track next to genetic women, I will pour myself a cocktail, sit back, laugh, and LOVE the world I am living in. But sadly that day is never gonna happen.
So let this lady continue to run, for Pete's sake!
Someone with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome is an XY genetic male
with testes, no ovaries and no uterus.
However, their body is "insensitivity" to the production of testosterone.
So they only produce like 3-5 times MORE testosterone than XX genetic
females. Where as XY genetic males WITHOUT problems make like
20 times more testosterone than XX genetic females.
So Caster has a bit of a testosterone advantage until she gets her testes
surgically removed.
they do have testes. they are tiny and undescended and, usually, non-functional in every way.
But they can lead to testicular cancer so they tend to usually
surgically remove them.
yes.
you know, i'd like to see this sort of thing discussed more, if only because it forces us to think more deeply about what it means to be sexually male or female, both, or neither.
I really feel for these people and the challenges that they face.
Perhaps one day we'll be able to diagnose and correct the birth defects while still within the womb.
i think the article argues that it is not a "defect" at all, or shouldn't be thought of as one.
Well that's just silly.
My wife was born with only 1 working Kidney, but that doesn't make it normal. There's a difference between treating people fairly and with respect, as opposed to saying that there's nothing medically wrong with them.
This is exactly the type of mentality intersex people are fighting against. These aren't "defects". Let these people be themselves. When they become ADULTS, they can decide if they want to alter their bodies.
Some of these "defects" as you put it go all the way to the chromosomal level. Some people are XXY or XYY. So what would you do, go into the baby's DNA and "zap out" all of those pesky extra Ys or Xs? Good luck with that.
At what point do "differences" become "defects"? I suppose it's whatever YOU say is normal, Rdschenkel. Wake up.
It's not a defect, it's a genetic mutation.
why not both?
Once again, reading the article, intersexed individuals lead full lives, have kids win athletic events, etc.
The only defect most of see here, is in your thinking. If only there were a way to fix that.
I meant Caster, not Caitlin. But the point is the same...
And referencing a comment above, to refer to the condition as a birth "defect" is counterproductive.
As a mother who gave birth to an Intersex child, I can say I find the term Hermaphrodite offensive, since the term most people connect it to circus freaks of the pass.
Secondly, fixing the "birth defects" is not always easy as it sounds. Our child was born with a genetic sex makeup of XO, XY, XYY, with a then small penis and one testis; an internal vagina and uterus and streak ovaries on the opposite side of the testy. This is just another category that falls under Intersex, in addition to having the genetic make up with both sexes, the child also faces possible future issue health issues since anyone born with there genetic chromosomes mixed faces. With the exception of immediate family no one knows about him and yes we are raising him a boy, our may fear is that if people find out they may think of him as some freak, since most Americans get freaked out whenever the work sex appears. So I have great admiration for Caitlin and hope that by the time my son is older it won't be much of an issue, but I fear it may take a very long time.
I hate to question you but you are claiming that your child was
born with SIX extra sex chromosomes? There is no medical
data reporting the birth of a child with FIFTY-ONE total chromosomes.
I'm not sure that is compatible with life. Are you sure your doctor
gave you the right KAROTYPE?
EACH of the three chromosome types you reported is a SINGLE syndrome.
1) XO= Turner's syndrome. genetic female with streak ovaries, short
statue, webbed neck. 45 chromosomes total
2) XY= genetic male with normal male sexual organs. 46 chromosomes
3) XYY= A.K.A. the "aggressive male syndrome". Taller than the average
male. But otherwise completely normal male sexual organs.
47 total chromosomes.
He got it right, and no he doesn't have 51 total chromosmes. The sex chromosomes are made up as XO, XY and XYY it is not 100% each, their is a percentage of each, it you go to the intersex site you will see this is one of the rarer Intersex conditions out there.
So you are saying EACH of your child's cells has different
numbers of chromosomes? That's like a 1 in a trillion
chance of occurring.
I just did a medline search and still couldn't find a case report
of a child with that description. Those rare genetic
findings are usually reported to the medical community
so other doctors can keep a look out for it and diagnose
it early.
There are lots of mosaics out there: this kid is a mosaic, I assume. Not that rare. (I also do medical research, often involving kids with genetic problems).
Search medline with mosaic karyotypes sex
pulmanomancer: Search medline with mosaic karyotypes sex
-------------------------------
Thanks Pul,
a mosaic makes more sense. I thought she was talking about
a brand new genetic syndrome. But yeah, mosaics are pretty
common if you take the time to examine multiple cells in each
person's body.
Maria29: I want to wish you the best of luck w/your son. I am an intersex woman & I think you made a good decision to raise him as a boy b/c all the intersex adults i know who were intersex males as infants but had their small penises removed to turn them in to "normal females" ended up miserable & confused b/c they felt like men all their lives but their parents lied to them as the doctors told them to & told them they were women. many even tried to get sex changes as adults to become men, only to realize then that they had originally been intersex males. Pls remember that his success & self esteem will be greatly impacted by your beliefs so pls support him however he grows up to be. If he is perhaps gentler or less aggressive than other boys, that is completely okay & doesn't mean he can't still be a very happy & successful human being. Fyi: my parents sheltered me from situations where i would be nude around others - w/o my realizing it was b/c of being intersex -- & this seemed to work well b/c I grew up thinking my genitals were perfectly fine & still feel that way. If you ever want to talk about this/get support, I can be reached at www/hidaviloria.com.
Rdschenkel:
As to 'correcting the birth defects' of intersex people, it reminds me of an Arthur C. Clarke (Ray Bradbury?) short story from the '50s. Earth is contacted and informed that humans are descendents of lost colonists a galactic empire. When the empire rediscovered us, we had mutated in a horribly disfiguing way, so they left us alone. But now that they know how to turn white people black, they've come to offer their assistence and have us region the rest of the empire.
I guess I'm saying that perhaps intersex people don't necessarily feel the need to be 'corrected,' just accepted as they were born.
I once read a Clark book in school, loved it.
Whether they feel the "need to be corrected" as adults, when there is no choice in the matter, is a much different thing than if (1) the technology exists, and (2) it can be done in the whom.
Also, I think it's kind of insulting to these individuals that you would assume that they would never want to have biological children if given the choice.
1) If you don't remove the testes from people with Androgen
insensitivity syndrome (AIS). It turns into cancer. There body
isn't producing enough estrogen so you have to give them some
hormonal therapy.
2) Some people have a very small a short vagina so they are unable
to have sexual intercourse until they get surgery. Some have
extra tissues or a an enlarged clitoris that looks like a micro-penis
and they WANT surgery to modify slightly.
3) Some people have to HAVE surgery to have a functional reproductive
system. People is AIS are infertile but other intersex disorders can
have fertility fixed at some level.
4) There is such a thing as being extremely P.C. and ignoring some
REAL medical problems that intersex people are born with.
As a mother who gave birth to an Intersex child, I can say I find the term Hermaphrodite offensive, since the term most people connect it to circus freaks of the pass.
Secondly, fixing the "birth defects" is not always easy as it sounds. Our child was born with a genetic sex makeup of XO, XY, XYY, with a then small penis and one testis; an internal vagina and uterus and streak ovaries on the opposite side of the testy. This is just another category that falls under Intersex, in addition to having the genetic make up with both sexes, the child also faces possible future issue health issues since anyone born with there genetic chromosomes mixed faces. With the exception of immediate family no one knows about him and yes we are raising him a boy, our may fear is that if people find out they may think of him as some freak, since most Americans get freaked out whenever the work sex appears. So I have great admiration for Caitlin and hope that by the time my son is older it won't be much of an issue, but I fear it may take a very long time.
If she's Androgen insensitive - as she appears to be - then she can't actually benefit from that excess testosterone. That's what androgen insensitivity means, that she's partly immune to the stuff.
Three times the normal female average might actually be *less* effective for her than a normal amount would be to another woman.
The International Athletics bodies recognise this - in 1996, 8 athletes with androgen insensitivity "failed the sex test" but were allowed to compete anyway. Because severe androgen insensitivity - severe enough to result in female external genitalia - means they get no advantage.
Excellent article, by the way.
And yes, we *do* prefer the word "Intersex". Few of us are hermaphrodites. We don't like the word "pseudohermaphrodite" either, unless it's used in a purely technical sense for a few of us.
I qualify there. I'm a "protandrous dichogamous pseudohermaphrodite". Protogynous ones are far more common.
But I really prefer "woman with an unusual medical history". Or just plain "woman" for short.
We have more than enough problems with just the medical issues. Some - not all - Intersex conditions are life-threatening. Knowledge amongst medics is sadly lacking. It rather puts a cramp in one's social life, to say the least.
But the real problems are the legal ones, and the persecution we suffer from journalists, commentators, religious and social commenters, all of whom have both an invincible ignorance, breathtaking arrogance, and venomous malice.
This article was thus something of a breath of fresh air. Such accuracy and well-researched writing should be the norm though, rather than the exception. But it's almost as rare as dichogamy in humans.
Did the athletes with AIS get their testes surgically removed
before being allowed to continue competing, or did were they
allowed to compete while receiving 3 times higher levels of
testosterone?
Why did you feel the need to continue the speculation about "Lady Gaga", especially in an article that chastises people for describing others as hermaphrodites?
Also, I'm interested in how this person has children. Are the adopted? If they are biologically hers, I say she's a woman. The ability to bear children should be enough to define someone as female. Just because she has some genetic anomalies that might make her stronger than most women is no reason to disqualify her. Most athletes at this level are genetically superior to the average human. They won the ovarian lottery. So what?
Roadhunter,
To say for someone to be define as female is the ability to bear children is very short sighted as there are many women today who cannot bear children due to any number of issues not the leat being Intersex. there are women who are born with Turners Syndrome (they have XO sex chromosomes instead of XX) and by all rights are female but unfortunately usually will lose any ovaries they are born with before they hit puberty.
Maria,
people with Turner's Syndrome aren't born with real ovaries. They have
"streak" ovaries which is really a residual fragment. They are genetic
females in that the ABSENCE of a Y-chromosome is what is defined
as a genetic female. This includes people with: XO, XX, and XXX.
I agree Road hunter's statement is ignorant, because there are plenty
of XX genetic females who are infertile for one reason or the other that
has nothing to do with genetics.
She looks like a woman to me. But maybe I can't read her "poker face".
She has male features and a deep male-voice. All due to to
carrying testes that are producing 3 times higher levels than
for XX genetic females.
I kinda wish they had clarified the children thing too. This is something new to most of us, and I think more, rather than less, information would help intelligent people- which I'm guessing most TDB readers are- to gain understanding.
If you have Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), you have no
uterus, no ovaries, no prostate so you can't produce sperm or eggs.
You are infertile. There other types of intersex conditions that will
allow you to produce either sperm or egg and use IVF to impregnant
yourself (if you have a uterus) or a segregate mother (if you don't).
Well, I totally support Semeya and anyone else who is intersex, or whatever the term they prefer is, to exist and to be treated fairly and without prejudice.
However, I do have to question such exaggerations that she obviously appears female in this comment section. She obviously appears to have male musculature and characteristics and that is why there was question and confusion regarding her gender. Pretending to be blind doesn't strike me as being a productive way of advancing the advocacy and protection of a minority group. Be real.
How did all this become an issue about intersex? This is just another case of a fringe interest group hitching a ride on something in the news for publicity.
This is simply a question of whether people who are not women should compete in women's sports events. The only reason that women don't compete in the same events as men is that they would never have a chance to win or place, and at some point in the past we decided to separate them out. Just to advance some minority group's political agenda, should women have to put up with non-women competing in their sporting events?
I was born without the talent to compete at the top level in athletics. Semeya was born without the sex characteristics to do so. We're both eliminated from such events. Sucks, but that's life. We can do other things in life. Top-level athletics is an elite space that few can participate in.
I think it's finally making sense to me, Ieuuwz. You've finally explained it in a way I can understand. Fancy that, and I'm even using a non-man brain!
Here's another helpful analogy: It's exactly like how, along with the talent for top-level athletics, Ieuuwz was born without the capacity for empathy or the ability to see the world in shades of gray. That deficiency "eliminates" him from the "elite spaces" of "top-level" humanity and intelligence. (Oops, wait, I think I meant "basic," not "top-level." I'm so inferior, I get so confused sometimes! It should've read "...basic humanity and intelligence.")
Henceforth, everyone, the two main categories to exist under are Man or Non-man. Under Man is where all of the important, superior "events" happen. Under Non-man, there are two subcategories: Woman and Non-woman.
So, listen up. We non-men should stop distracting and nagging all of the Men with our non-issues. They have important things to do with their penises. I mean, it's almost penis o'clock, and you're making them late for their Penis Board Meeting. To be followed by their Scrotal Tour of Mid-level Sport Domination. And then onto their Testicular War Room Bonanza Delight Hour.... If they get off schedule, their whole DAY will be off!
I'm tired.
Alice, you are talking to the Mad hatter! What century is he in? Me Man, you woman, shut up and know your place, ten steps behind me. leuuwz admission that he can't complete at the top level of athletics seems to color the way he looks at the world with bitterness. Alice, when do you go on tour, with your stand-up? You are a hoot!
Well, ieuuwz might be making the point too bluntly for TDB readers, but this is indeed the point. It has nothing to do with being prejudice on a personal level, it is just that these competitions are set up this way for a reason. Her physical capabilities are those of a man, because her body is that of a man. I'm not saying it makes her a bad person or that she should be humiliated like this (very stupidly & poorly handled, in my opinion) but it does mean that it is unfair for her to compete in women's sports.
It seems it time to look at the issue without prejudice and ignorance. Perhaps we need to cataracterize the participants in sports as how equal they are in strength and size, rather then sex. How we make it as fair as possible and repect the dignity of the individuals will take a enlightened long debate.
Sorry, I can't agree. I think people are focusing on what they want to focus on because such scrutiny has been placed on her. She looks like a man to you because you are looking for those cues. She doesn't look like a man to me.
If you compare photos of her next to her fellow female runners, she is only slightly more muscular than they are. What's working against her besides that is her square jaw, strong chin, cropped-in cornrows, and lack of earrings. There are quite a few other female runners who have no hint of boob, at least when in uniform. And quite a few who have broad shoulders, too. But they have flowing hair or earrings, and their sex has not come into question, so you ignore the masculine cues. Semenya has feminine eyes, cheeks, mouth/smile, hands/feet, and throat, and you'll see those feminine cues if you look for them.
Look at some of the other more muscular female competitors and pretend for a second they are guys with wigs on. It's not that hard to see the similarities. In fact, if you start looking at the world in general in this way, you can really start seeing how there is quite a wide spectrum of gender and sex. There are a lot of masculine women out there who do a lot of work with make-up, hair, and fashion to feminize themselves. We're just so used to reading these "costumes" as being "who" those people are, so you glaze over and miss those same masculine cues. And the converse is true for men. I challenge anyone to try it, and I swear you'll see a few women (with high voices, etc) who are one adam's apple away from looking like dudes in drag or a few "pretty" men (with low voices) with gorgeously girlish faces (like River Phoenix).
And if that doesn't convince you, try comparing pictures of Semenya and Usain Bolt. She looks like a squeak toy in comparison to him.
Ieuuwz is making the real point here. It is unfair to have someone with a man's body and physical musculature and capabilities compete in women's sports. This does not mean I think she should be treated unfairly in life or humiliated by the idiots who let this whole issue be handled this way. Women's and men's sports are separated for a reason. If you gals want men to start competing in women's sports, I am sorry to inform you there will be very few women ever winning again.
And if Semenya's body looks to be "obviously" female to you, I highly suggest you get your eyes checked.
I am hope Semenya gets all the support she needs through this public debacle, and that people can learn to be more tolerant of intersexed people.
The reason this has become about intersex is b/c that's what Semenya has been revealed to be, & the reason sports does not know how to define her or determine whether she has a physical advantage is b/c medicine has refused to deal with us openly & honestly, but instead, hidden our existence. They have always labeled people like Semenya -- with xy chrom, testes, but external female genitalia female. You've probably known several & thought them to be totally regular women, b/c they're almost always feminine looking & heterosexual (Semenya's the 1st exception i've seen). So for you to say she's not female flies in the face of medical & legal facts. Whether she has any hormonal advantage will depend on which type of intersex condition (which level of AIS) she has, b/c some have less hormonal advantage than regular women, & I think that's what they're trying to determine & why it's taking so long. But if medicine had been more upfront about this, sports committees could have determined this w/o using Semenya to do so.
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I got the impression that this athlete was not at all aware that she was intersex. It seemed kind of cruel. Whatever she/he is, she/he is a human being.
She didn't know. However her athletic organization (Athlete South Africa)
was told by the IAAF to test her before leaving South Africa. There
apparently had been some questions. The ASA decided to ignore
the request forcing the IAAF to do it when INTERNATIONAL media were
all over the story. The ASA failed her.
Semenya's athletic perfection
Starts queries into sex selection
Before they cast a vote
They test if a remote
control will engender erection.
News Short n' Sweet by JFD8
http://twitter.com/JFD8
I think it's the South African authorities who need to be corrected. Their pants are down, their cover's blown....George Patton
jbo206: I'm curious, are you intersex? Because you act like you know exactly what all of us want. Fyi: I'm intersex & have been an activist for over 13 years, thus I know that in the beginning of our civil rights movement, we actively used "hermaphrodite" & many, including myself, still do now. Many terms are "inaccurate," (like "lesbian," which also has ancient greek roots) &, in terms of the "medical label" point you make: medicine is the one area that has been most harmful to us & today tried to define us as people with "disorders of sex development." I prefer hermaphrodite to that pathologizing "medical label" any day.
thanks, twilight. reasonableness seems to be in such short supply these days.
we love ya!
Very interesting article and comments.
You make me laugh with your witty comments Alice (love the image of drag queens, perhaps in Flo-jo stylee outfits, running down the track) but I'm afraid the minute I saw Caster it was so obvious this was not your usual woman. Her square shoulders, musculature, build, face, hair, all mark her out as being towards the masculine end of the intersex spectrum.No one could mistake her for a chromosomally 'normal' woman.
Martina Navratilova was regarded as very butch in her day, but she is clearly female in comparison.
I really feel the South African Athletics Association failed Caster in their bid to win a medal. They knew. But they put her in for the international race anyway.
However I did see interviews with Caster, before her intersex status was exposed, I found her very evasive, almost as if she knew there was a question mark.
If she wore boys school uniform, perhaps she did have an inkling. After all she would never have had a period would she?
What is refreshing is that Caster's village and family obviously accepted her for who she is. Especially as lesbians are treated with extreme prejudice in South Africa, sometimes raped to 'teach them how to be' .
If we had mixed gender sports, races ect, women would never win again, especially in sprints. Women do almost as well as men in endurance sports like marathons and long distance swimming.
Thank you.
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