International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities
Intersex is a condition in which an individual is born with genitalia and/or reproductive system not fitting conventional descriptions of female or male physiology, resulting from various causes (e.g. hormonal, genetic). Intersex conditions vary widely, and sometimes individuals with atypical chromosomal makeup (such as XXX or XYY) but no outwardly visible variance are termed intersexed. Frequency estimates range from 0.06 per cent (ISNA) to 1.7 per cent (Fausto-Sterling 2000) of births, depending upon defining criteria. While Western physicians consider intersex a medical emergency, some cultures consider intersexed individuals a third gender (sex), often holding specific ritual powers and practices not open to others.
Intersex and gender activists cite difficulties in defming intersex as proof that the categories 'male' and 'female' are not clear-cut and stable. Challenging both the conceptualisation of intersexuality and conventional treatments, the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) targets surgeries performed on infants to make their genitalia conform to medically determined, gender-dependent standards.
Though such surgeries are claimed vital to ensure development of a healthy gender identity, activists say this approach is concerned more with the comfort of parents, doctors and society. They point out that 'normal' genitalia vary tremendously in size and shape; further, surgical treatments reify both the naturalness of two polarised sexes and the primacy of genitalia—rather than other aspects of body and mind—in sex/gender assignment and personal identity (Dreger 1998, 1999).
Male sex assignment for an intersexed infant has generally been based upon doctors' assessment of the penis: will the penis be capable of performing vaginal penetration (heterosex) and standing urination? Thus a chromosomally male (XY) intersexed infant with a 'micropenis' traditionally has been assigned female and undergoes penis 'reconstruction' to form a (nonfunctional) clitoris. Similarly, a chromosomally female infant with atypically large labia and clitoris is often surgically altered to provide her with more 'feminine' and less 'obtrusive' genitalia. Kessler (1998) asserts that these treatment protocols reinforce a phallocentric perception of manhood and masculinity grounded in size and assertive action, juxtaposed against dainty and passive womanhood or femininity.
References and further reading
Dreger, A.D. (1998) Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
(ed.) (1999) Intersex in the Age of Ethics, Hagerstown, MD: University Publishing Group.
Fausto-Sterling, A. (2000) Sexing the Body, New York: Basic Books.
Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) at http://www.isna.org
Kessler, S. (1998). Lessonsfrom the Intersexed, Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
See also: bodies and biology, male; hijras
ELIZABETH RENFRO
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