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124-464: Intersex Human Rights Australia ( IHRA ) is a voluntary organisation for intersex people that promotes the human rights and bodily autonomy of intersex people in Australia, and provides education and information services. Established in 2009 and incorporated as a charitable company in 2010, it was formerly known as Organisation Intersex International Australia , or OII Australia . It is recognised as
248-470: A third gender , or conceptualize transgender people as a third gender. Infrequently, the term transgender is defined very broadly to include cross-dressers . The United States Census Bureau performs a census of the U.S. population every ten years. The questionnaire asks one question about sex, phrased as "What is person 1's sex?" and provides two checkboxes for the response, labeled "Male" and "Female". An explanatory page explains this question, using
372-410: A 2003 letter to the editor, political scientist Carrie Hull analyzed the data used by Fausto-Sterling and said the estimated intersex rate should instead have been 0.37%, due to many errors. In a response letter published simultaneously, Fausto-Sterling welcomed the additional analysis and said "I am not invested in a particular final estimate, only that there BE an estimate." A 2018 review reported that
496-458: A Public Benevolent Institution. The institution was founded in 2009 and established as a company in 2010. Founding president Gina Wilson stepped down on 1 September 2013. The current co-executive directors of IHRA are Morgan Carpenter , previously president, and Tony Briffa , known as the first publicly intersex mayor and previously vice-president. Tony Briffa is also the Vice-President of
620-506: A category, viewing this as a vindication of the argument that such classifications exacerbate parental fears. In March 2017, an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand community statement called for an end to legal classification of sex, stating that legal third classifications, like binary classifications, were based on structural violence and failed to respect diversity and a "right to self-determination". Citing cases where marriages have been annulled, and where marriage prospects are stated as
744-403: A child is born so noticeably atypical in terms of genitalia that a specialist in sex differentiation is called in, the number comes out to about 1 in 1,500 to 1 in 2,000 births [0.07–0.05%] . But a lot more people than that are born with subtler forms of sex anatomy variations, some of which won't show up until later in life. Anne Fausto-Sterling and her co-authors stated in 2000 that "[a]dding
868-454: A complex interplay of psychological, environmental, cultural, and biological factors". Gender identity is thus seen as a "psychological concept that refers to an individual's self-perception". Other studies have noted that, while there is some tentative evidence for a potential genetic, neuroanatomical, and hormonal basis for gender identity, the specific biological mechanisms involved have not yet been demonstrated. The term sex differences
992-725: A country with a third 'X' sex classification, shows that 19% of people born with atypical sex characteristics selected an "X" or "other" option, while 75% of survey respondents self-described as male or female (52% as women, 23% as men), and 6% as unsure. Intersex conditions can be contrasted with transgender gender identities and the attached gender dysphoria a transgender person may feel, wherein their gender identity does not match their assigned sex. However, some people are both intersex and transgender; although intersex people by definition have variable sex characteristics that do not align with either typically male or female, this may be considered separate to an individual's assigned gender,
1116-631: A direct form of self empowerment and critique such as in the ISNA 's first newsletter Hermaphrodites with Attitude . The Intersex Society of North America has stated that hermaphrodites should not be confused with intersex people and that using "hermaphrodite" to refer to intersex individuals is considered to be stigmatizing and misleading. Estimates of the number of people who are intersex vary, depending on which conditions are counted as intersex. The now-defunct Intersex Society of North America stated that: If you ask experts at medical centers how often
1240-488: A flag "that is not derivative, but is yet firmly grounded in meaning". The circle is described as "unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be." The organisation was nominated for a 2013 Community Organisation "Honour" Award for its work on anti-discrimination legislation. Founding former president Gina Wilson
1364-427: A girl or boy but then identify with another gender later in life, while most continue to identify with their assigned sex. The number of births where the baby is intersex has been reported differently depending on who reports and which definition of intersex is used. Anne Fausto-Sterling and her book co-authors claim the prevalence of "nondimorphic sexual development" in humans might be as high as 1.7%. However,
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#17330933023791488-470: A group of children's hospitals in the United States found that 53% of 133 parent and adolescent participants recruited at five clinics did not like the term "intersex". Participants who were members of support groups were more likely to dislike the term. A "dsd-LIFE" study in 2020 found that around 43% of 179 participants thought the term "intersex" was bad, 20% felt neutral about the term, while 37% thought
1612-594: A language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (such as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms”. The Britannica dictionary defines gender as “a person's own sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female”. The American Heritage Dictionary (5th edition) states that gender may be defined by identity as "neither entirely female nor entirely male"; its Usage Note adds: Some people maintain that
1736-582: A means of explaining being transgender; "we can collaborate a lot with the intersex movement by making it clear how wrong that approach is." An intersex character is the narrator in Jeffrey Eugenides ' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex . The memoir, Born Both: An Intersex Life ( Hachette Books , 2017), by intersex author and activist Hida Viloria , received strong praise from The New York Times Book Review , The Washington Post , Rolling Stone , People Magazine , and Psychology Today ,
1860-474: A natural basis for “gender” construction, and “gender” should not be viewed as the cultural interpretation of a pregiven “sex.” Both sex and gender must be seen as theoretical abstractions or idealizations, developed in specific practices of explaining and predicting human behavior and based on the feminine and masculine styles of lived experience. Mari Mikkola has put forward the "Trait/Norm Covariance Model", divided into descriptive traits and evaluative norms, as
1984-470: A precise biological definition for the term, and making distinctions between "male pseudohermaphrodite", "female pseudohermaphrodite" and especially " true hermaphrodite ". These terms, which reflected histology (microscopic appearance) of the gonads , are no longer used. Until the mid-20th century, "hermaphrodite" was used synonymously with "intersex". Medical terminology shifted in the early 21st century, not only due to concerns about language, but also
2108-708: A protected attribute under the Bill." On 25 June 2013, the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act passed with cross-party support, and became law on 1 August 2013. This was the first time "intersex status" had been a protected attribute under Australian discrimination legislation. The organisation has stated that "while sex or gender markers are still required", it supports binary, non-binary and multiple gender classifications for adults, but only binary classifications for infants and children, fearing stigmatisation and
2232-497: A rationale for early medical interventions, IHRA campaigned for marriage rights regardless of sex characteristics. The institution expressed concern at the marriage implications of constructions of intersex as a third sex. In 2017 the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 specifically refers to '2 people' rather than 'same-sex' with respect to the definition of marriage. Intersex Human Rights Australia
2356-407: A response published by Leonard Sax reports this figure includes conditions such as late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Klinefelter syndrome , which most clinicians do not recognize as intersex; Sax states, "if the term intersex is to retain any meaning, the term should be restricted to those conditions in which chromosomal sex is inconsistent with phenotypic sex, or in which the phenotype
2480-401: A separate definition stating that "The word sex tends now to refer to biological differences, while gender often refers to cultural or social ones." Merriam-Webster defines sex as "either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures." or "the sum of
2604-480: A shift to understandings based on genetics . The term "hermaphrodite" is also controversial as it implies the existence of someone fully male and fully female . This is a fantasy by certain people who seek "hermaphrodite" sex partners ; in the Intersex movement, such people are called "wannafucks". As such the term "hermaphrodite" is often seen as degrading and offensive, although many intersex activists use it as
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#17330933023792728-449: A social construction. Gayle Rubin , for example, defines her influential concept of the sex/gender system as "the set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity”. However, feminists who maintain that sex is also constructed are critical of the distinction. Monique Wittig argues that naturalizing sex neglects its social character. Building off Wittig, Judith Butler writes: If
2852-689: A spectrum between men and women, with "many shades in between, including hermaphrodites, a perfect balance of male and female". Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24–79), a Roman naturalist , described "those who are born of both sexes, whom we call hermaphrodites, at one time androgyni " (from the Greek andr- , "man", and gyn- , "woman"). Augustine (354 – 430 AD), the influential Catholic theologian, wrote in The Literal Meaning of Genesis that humans were created in two sexes, despite "as happens in some births, in
2976-632: A statement recognizing "increasing general understanding and acceptance of the term 'intersex'". Australian sociological research on 272 "people born with atypical sex characteristics", published in 2016, found that 60% of respondents used the term "intersex" to self-describe their sex characteristics, including people identifying themselves as intersex, describing themselves as having an intersex variation or, in smaller numbers, having an intersex condition. Respondents also commonly used diagnostic labels and referred to their sex chromosomes, with word choices depending on audience. Research on 202 respondents by
3100-536: A suggested replacement. In this model, the term "descriptive traits" includes physical and anatomical traits, roles, and self-conceptions. So for example, "sex traits" (such as having ovaries) and "gender traits" (such as wearing make-up) are both subsumed under the category of descriptive traits, whereas "being feminine" is taken as an evaluative norm. Evaluative norms reflect how descriptive traits are evaluated by external observers, and certain descriptive traits may correlate with certain evaluative norms. So for example
3224-520: A television show, and television's first intersex character played by an intersex actor. Intersex peer support and advocacy organizations have existed since at least 1985, with the establishment of the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia in 1985. The Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group (UK) was established in 1988. The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) may have been one of
3348-470: A testament, depends on which sex prevails." The foundation of common law, the 17th century Institutes of the Lawes of England described how a hermaphrodite could inherit "either as male or female, according to that kind of sexe which doth prevaile". Legal cases have been described in canon law and elsewhere over the centuries. Some non-European societies have sex or gender systems that recognize more than
3472-514: A venue where the American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference. Sex or gender While in ordinary speech, the terms sex and gender are often used interchangeably, in contemporary academic literature, the terms often have distinct meanings, especially when referring to people. Sex generally refers to an organism's biological sex, while gender usually refers to either social roles typically associated with
3596-401: Is "determined biologically, in five ways": According to Poston, "[s]ex refers mainly to biological characteristics, while gender refers mainly to sociological characteristics." While noting that typically sex is assigned based on genital inspection at birth, Raine Dozier states that biological sex is "a complex constellation of chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, and reproductive organs." In
3720-721: Is "intersex". In 1917, Richard Goldschmidt created the term "intersexuality" to refer to a variety of physical sex ambiguities. However, according to The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies , it was not until Anne Fausto Sterling published her article "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough" in 1993 that the term reached popularity. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Intersex
3844-780: Is a combination of that of a man and that of a woman", and reputedly possessed supernatural properties. He also recounted the lives of Diophantus of Abae and Callon of Epidaurus . Ardhanarishvara , an androgynous composite form of male deity Shiva and female deity Parvati , originated in Kushan culture as far back as the first century AD. A statue depicting Ardhanarishvara is included in India's Meenakshi Temple ; this statue clearly shows both male and female bodily elements. Hippocrates ( c. 460 – c. 370 BC, Greek physician) and Galen (129 – c. 200/216 AD, Roman physician, surgeon, and philosopher) both viewed sex as
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3968-413: Is a consensus that cultures at this time differentiated categories of people by 'gender', if this is defined as rules of behavior and roles based on sex. It is likely that the highly differentiated cultures of this period did not possess a single gender classification system, and instead their conception of gender may have been culture-specific, much like contemporary societies. It is feasible that some of
4092-399: Is also an umbrella term : in addition to including people whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex ( trans men and trans women ), it may include people who are not exclusively masculine or feminine (e.g. people who are genderqueer , non-binary , bigender , pangender , genderfluid , or agender ). Other definitions of transgender also include people who belong to
4216-428: Is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations. Some intersex organizations reference "intersex people" and "intersex variations or traits" while others use more medicalized language such as "people with intersex conditions", or people "with intersex conditions or DSDs (differences of sex development)" and "children born with variations of sex anatomy". In May 2016, interACT published
4340-712: Is complex, but intersex people are often added to the LGBT acronym, resulting in the acronym LGBTI (or when also including asexual people, LGBTQIA+ ). Emi Koyama describes how inclusion of intersex in LGBTI can fail to address intersex-specific human rights issues, including creating false impressions "that intersex people's rights are protected" by laws protecting LGBT people, and failing to acknowledge that many intersex people are not LGBT. Organisation Intersex International Australia states that some intersex individuals are homosexual, and some are heterosexual, but "LGBTI activism has fought for
4464-421: Is consistent with the individual's gender identity, but in rare circumstances, an individual's assigned sex and gender do not align, and the person may be transgender . In very rare cases, an individual may have sex characteristics that complicate sex assignment, and the person may be intersex . Though sex and gender have been used interchangeably at least as early as the fourteenth century, this usage
4588-554: Is described as female, male, and intersex, gender can be described as feminine, masculine, androgynous, and much more." According to the CDC people whose internal psychological experience differs from their assigned sex are transgender , transsexual , or non-binary . The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) used to use gender instead of sex when referring to physiological differences between male and female organisms. In 2011, they reversed their position on this and began using sex as
4712-427: Is important to differentiate between sex, sex category, and gender. They say that sex refers to the socially agreed upon specifications that establish one as male or female; sex is most often based on an individual's genitalia, or even their chromosomal typing before birth. They consider sex categories to be dichotomous, and that the person is placed in a sex category by exhibiting qualities exclusive to one category or
4836-425: Is incorrect in this instance. The historic meaning of gender , ultimately derived from Latin genus , was of "kind" or "variety". By the 20th century, this meaning was obsolete, and the word gender was almost always used to refer to grammatical categories , although there are a small number of examples of gender being used as a synonym for sex prior to the 20th century, and even as early as 1474. This changed in
4960-732: Is nevertheless named as a reviewer for a "DSD Genetics" website funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia. In a submission to the UN Committee Against Torture in 2016, the organisation submitted that Australian governments recognise the dignity and rights of LGBTI people, but at the same time, "harmful practices" on intersex children continue. In March 2017, representatives of IHRA participated in an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand consensus "Darlington Statement" by intersex community organisations and others. The statement calls for legal reform, including
5084-577: Is no clear consensus definition of intersex and no clear delineation of which specific conditions qualify an individual as intersex. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and many medical journals classify intersex traits or conditions among disorders of sex development (DSD). A common adjective for people with disorders of sex development (DSD)
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5208-426: Is no other universal difference between males and females. By definition, males are organisms that produce small, mobile gametes ( sperm ); while females are organisms that produce large and generally immobile gametes ( ova or eggs). Richard Dawkins stated that it is possible to interpret all the differences between the sexes as stemming from this single difference in gametes. Bhargava et al. note that
5332-466: Is not classifiable as either male or female", stating the prevalence of intersex is about 0.018% (one in 5,500 births), about 100 times less than Fausto-Sterling's estimate. Terms used to describe intersex people are contested, and change over time and place. Intersex people were previously referred to as " hermaphrodites " or "congenital eunuchs ". In the 19th and 20th centuries, some medical experts devised new nomenclature in an attempt to classify
5456-657: Is often described as a biological construct defined on an anatomical, hormonal, or genetic basis." In The Psychology of Gender , it is stated that "sex refers to the biological categories of female and male, categories distinguished by genes, chromosomes, and hormones." One of the (context dependant) guidelines used by the American Psychological Association states that "[t]here are a number of indicators of biological sex, including sex chromosomes, gonads, internal reproductive organs, and external genitalia." Sociologist Dudley Poston states that sex in humans
5580-416: Is questioned. The concept of "doing gender" recognizes that gender both structures human interactions and is created through them. Transgender people experience a mismatch between their gender identity or gender expression , and their sex assigned at birth . Transgender people are sometimes called transsexual if they desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another. Transgender
5704-510: Is represented at numerous international events, including the "first United Nations Human Rights Council side event on intersex issues" in March 2014, alongside Mauro Cabral and representatives of Intersex UK and Zwischengeschlecht . The Intersex flag was created in July 2013 by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia (then known as Organisation Intersex International Australia) to be
5828-439: Is sometimes used by linguists to refer to social gender as well as grammatical gender. Some languages, such as German or Finnish, have no separate words for sex and gender. German, for example, uses "Biologisches Geschlecht" for biological sex, and "Soziales Geschlecht" for gender when making this distinction. Traditionally, however, a distinction has been made by linguists between sex and gender , where sex refers primarily to
5952-628: Is the socially constructed performance which takes place during routine human interactions, rather than as a set of essentialized qualities based on one's biological sex. The term first appeared in Candace West and Don Zimmerman's article "Doing Gender", published in the peer-reviewed journal, Gender and Society . Originally written in 1977 but not published until 1987, "Doing Gender" is the most cited article published in Gender and Society . West and Zimmerman state that to understand gender as activity, it
6076-508: Is typically applied to sexually dimorphic traits that are hypothesized to be evolved consequences of sexual selection . For example, the human "sex difference" in height is a consequence of sexual selection, while the "gender difference" typically seen in head hair length (women with longer hair) is not. Scientific research shows an individual's sex influences their behavior. Sex differences are primarily caused by hormonal, genetic, and environmental factors. According to David Geary ,
6200-508: The Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia . Intersex Human Rights Australia campaigns in favour of personal autonomy in medical interventions affecting intersex people, including an end to cosmetic or "normalising" surgeries on intersex infants. In late 2012, the Senate's Community Affairs References Committee established an inquiry into the involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities. In February 2013, intersex
6324-684: The Australian Governments ' proposed Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill included intersex as a "gender identity". This was criticised by IHRA on the basis that intersex people needed protection, but biological differences should not come within the definition. Writing in the Equal Rights Trust journal Equal Rights Review , Gina Wilson wrote, "Legislators initially did not have a clear understanding of what intersex was, but having given evidence to Senate Committees and spoken with legislators individually we are hopeful that intersex will be
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#17330933023796448-614: The International Classification of Diseases , stating that this causes "harm" and facilitates human rights violations, calling on the World Health Organization to publish clear policy to ensure that intersex medical interventions are "fully compatible with human rights norms". The institution also engages directly with clinicians and biologists. While opposing use of terminology that it describes as pathologising, such as " Disorders of Sex Development ", Carpenter
6572-530: The Lurie Children's Hospital , Chicago, and the AIS-DSD Support Group (now known as InterConnect Support Group) published in 2017 found that 80% of Support Group respondents "strongly liked, liked or felt neutral about intersex" as a term, while caregivers were less supportive. The hospital reported that the use of the term "disorders of sex development" may negatively affect care . Another study by
6696-672: The Malta declaration . Human rights institutions are placing increasing scrutiny on harmful practices and issues of discrimination against intersex people. These issues have been addressed by a rapidly increasing number of international institutions including, in 2015, the Council of Europe , the United Nations Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2024,
6820-490: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies". Sex assignment at birth usually aligns with a child's external genitalia . The number of births with ambiguous genitals is in the range of 1:4,500–1:2,000 (0.02%–0.05%). Other conditions involve the development of atypical chromosomes, gonads, or hormones. Some persons may be assigned and raised as
6944-510: The Oxford English Dictionary , gender is defined as—in a modern and especially feminist use—"a euphemism for the sex of a human being, often intended to emphasize the social and cultural, as opposed to the biological, distinctions between the sexes", with the earliest example cited being from 1963. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines gender as “a subclass within a grammatical class (such as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of
7068-544: The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted its first resolution to protect the rights of intersex people . These developments have been accompanied by International Intersex Forums and increased cooperation among civil society organizations. However, the implementation, codification, and enforcement of intersex human rights in national legal systems remains slow. Stigmatization and discrimination from birth may include infanticide, abandonment, and
7192-452: The karyotype is often summarized by the total number of chromosomes followed by the sex chromosomes present in each cell): Notes: From early history, societies have been aware of intersex people. Some of the earliest evidence is found in mythology: the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote of the mythological Hermaphroditus in the first century BC, who was "born with a physical body which
7316-796: The 2011 case of Christiane Völling in Germany . A second case was adjudicated in Chile in 2012, involving a child and his parents. A further successful case in Germany, taken by Michaela Raab, was reported in 2015. In the United States, the Minor Child ( M.C. v Aaronson ) lawsuit was "a medical malpractice case related to the informed consent for a surgery performed on the Crawford's adopted child (known as M.C.) at [Medical University of South Carolina] in April 2006". The case
7440-405: The 2013 Malta declaration of the third International Intersex Forum . In 2011, Christiane Völling became the first intersex person known to have successfully sued for damages in a case brought for non-consensual surgical intervention. In April 2015, Malta became the first country to outlaw non-consensual medical interventions to modify sex anatomy, including that of intersex people. There
7564-496: The English Language , for instance, states By GENDER is meant a grammatical classification of nouns, pronouns, or other words in the noun phrase according to certain meaning-related distinctions, especially a distinction related to the sex of the referent. Thus German, for instance, has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Nouns referring to people and animals of known sex are generally referred to by nouns with
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#17330933023797688-400: The English Language , for instance, refers to the semantically based "covert" gender (e.g. male and female, not masculine and feminine) of English nouns, as opposed to the "overt" gender of some English pronouns; this yields nine gender classes: male, female, dual, common, collective, higher male animal, higher female animal, lower animal, and inanimate, and these semantic gender classes affect
7812-484: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) makes a distinction between sex and gender. In their Media Reference Guide for transgender issues, they describe sex as "the classification of people as male or female" at birth, based on bodily characteristics such as chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive organs, and genitalia, and gender identity as "a person's internal, deeply held sense of their gender". The term gender
7936-475: The Lawes of England on laws of succession stating, "Every heire is either a male, a female, or an hermaphrodite, that is both male and female. And an hermaphrodite (which is also called Androgynus ) shall be heire, either as male or female, according to that type of sexe which doth prevaile." During the Victorian era , medical authors attempted to ascertain whether or not humans could be hermaphrodites, adopting
8060-483: The UK government that make clear distinctions between the "biological aspects" of sex, "generally male or female", and "assigned at birth", while describing gender as a "social construction relating to behaviours and attributes based on labels of masculinity and femininity". Pilot plans for the 2021 Census for England and Wales would have allowed respondents to answer the sex question with reference to their gender identity, despite
8184-461: The addition of a separate new question on gender identity. Quantitative social scientists criticised the ONS's apparent confusion between the concepts of sex and gender identity. The matter was taken to Judicial Review by feminist group Fair Play for Women. The ONS argued that sex was an "umbrella concept", but this view was rejected by the presiding judge as unpersuasive. The guidance was changed so that sex
8308-456: The archaeologist Kamila Věšínová suggests that it was likely that this was an individual "with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transsexual", while media reports heralded the discovery of the world's first "gay caveman". Archaeologists and biological anthropologists criticised media coverage as sensationalist, as well as criticising Věšínová's original statement, in which she conflates sex, gender, and sexuality, arguing that, although
8432-464: The attributes of real-world entities – the relevant extralinguistic attributes being, for instance, male, female, non-personal, and indeterminate sex – and grammatical gender refers to a category, such as masculine, feminine, and neuter (frequently based on sex, but not exclusively so in all languages), that determines the agreement between nouns of different genders and associated words, such as articles and adjectives. A Comprehensive Grammar of
8556-828: The biological classification and gender as "a person's self representation as male or female, or how that person is responded to by social institutions based on the individual's gender presentation." Gender is also now commonly used even to refer to the physiology of non-human animals, without any implication of social gender roles. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) in their Guide for Working With Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Patients (TGNC Guide) has guidance for psychiatrists about gender, sex, and orientation. The TGNC defines gender as comprising two components, that of gender identity and gender expression . They define sex in biological terms, as "anatomical, hormonal, or genetic", and mentions birth assignment of sex based on external genital appearance. GLAAD (formerly
8680-527: The burial might well represent a transgender individual, it does not necessarily mean that they had a different sexual orientation, or that their culture would have considered them 'homosexual'. Jan Turek notes that there are several examples of Corded Ware graves containing older biological males with typically female grave goods and body orientation. He suggests that "aged men may have decided to 'retire' as women for symbolic and practical reasons." Used primarily in sociology and gender studies, " doing gender "
8804-402: The case of what we call androgynes". In medieval and early modern European societies, Roman law , post-classical canon law , and later common law , referred to a person's sex as male, female or hermaphrodite, with legal rights as male or female depending on the characteristics that appeared most dominant. The 12th century Decretum Gratiani states, "Whether an hermaphrodite may witness
8928-426: The census attempts to measure, is "the sex composition of the population". The Australian government provides guidelines on sex and gender to the public based on legislation passed in 2013. The guidelines recognize that "individuals may identify as a gender other than the sex they were assigned at birth, or may not identify as exclusively male or female". The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) gathers data about
9052-464: The characteristics that they had observed, the first attempt to create a taxonomic classification system of intersex conditions. Intersex people were categorized as either having " true hermaphroditism ", "female pseudohermaphroditism ", or "male pseudohermaphroditism". These terms are no longer used, and terms including the word "hermaphrodite" are considered to be misleading, stigmatizing, and scientifically specious in reference to humans. In biology,
9176-837: The child to mature enough to be a part of the decision-making—this allows for a decision to be made with total consent. In April 2015, Malta became the first country to outlaw surgical intervention without consent. In the same year, the Council of Europe became the first institution to state that intersex people have the right not to undergo sex affirmation interventions. People born with intersex bodies are seen as different. Intersex infants, children, adolescents and adults "are often stigmatized and subjected to multiple human rights violations", including discrimination in education, healthcare, employment, sport, and public services. Researchers have documented significant disparities in mental, physical, and sexual health when comparing intersex individuals to
9300-459: The committee's conclusions. The committee believes that a protocol covering 'normalising' surgery should be developed, and then adhered to in all cases of intersex children. Such a guideline should be consistent with Organisational Intersex International's recommendations In May 2019, IHRA published a multilingual joint statement signed by more than 50 intersex-led organizations condemning the introduction of "disorders of sex development" language into
9424-636: The consent of the intersex person's parents, when the person is legally too young to consent. Such interventions have been criticized by the WHO, other UN bodies such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and an increasing number of regional and national institutions due to their adverse consequences, including trauma, impact on sexual function and sensation, and violation of rights to physical and mental integrity. The UN organizations decided that infant intervention should not be allowed, in favor of waiting for
9548-553: The criminalization of deferrable intersex medical interventions on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support. In July 2013, the Commonwealth announced that it was removing sex or gender terms from item codes for Medicare procedures, following input from IHRA. IHRA noted that the changes do not ensure full access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). In late 2012,
9672-472: The cultures of this era recognised up to five genders. For example, certain production roles, spiritual leaders, and healers may have been recognised as distinct genders. Whether or not social roles, such as religious leadership, were based upon gender, rather than age or skills, continues to be debated. Some archaeological evidence suggests that gender, in the sense of social and behavioral distinctions, arose "at least by some 30,000 years ago". More evidence
9796-818: The discovery of intersex traits at stages of development such as puberty . Intersex people may face infanticide , abandonment, and stigmatization from their families. Globally, some intersex infants and children, such as those with ambiguous outer genitalia, are surgically or hormonally altered to create more socially acceptable sex characteristics. This is considered controversial, with no firm evidence of favorable outcomes. Such treatments may involve sterilization . Adults, including elite female athletes, have also been subjects of such treatment. Increasingly, these issues are considered human rights abuses , with statements from international and national human rights and ethics institutions. Intersex organizations have also issued statements about human rights violations, including
9920-421: The early 1970s when the work of John Money , particularly the popular college textbook Man & Woman, Boy & Girl , was embraced by feminist theory . This meaning of gender is now prevalent in the social sciences, although in many other contexts, gender includes sex or replaces it. As formulated by Money, gender is seen as an additional variable of sex. The later work of Robert Stoller , who innovated
10044-450: The equivalent gender. Thus Mann (meaning man) is masculine and is associated with a masculine definite article to give der Mann , while Frau (meaning woman) is feminine and is associated with a feminine definite article to give die Frau . However the words for inanimate objects are commonly masculine (e.g. der Tisch , the table) or feminine ( die Armbanduhr , the watch), and grammatical gender can diverge from biological sex; for instance
10168-622: The estimates of all known causes of nondimorphic sexual development suggests that approximately 1.7% of all live births do not conform to a Platonic ideal of absolute sex chromosome, gonadal, genital, and hormonal dimorphism"; these publications have been widely quoted by intersex activists. Of the 1.7%, 1.5% points (88% of those considered "nondimorphic sexual development" in this figure) consist of individuals with late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia (LOCAH) which may be asymptomatic but can present after puberty and cause infertility. Leonard Sax , in response to Fausto-Sterling, estimated that
10292-469: The feminine noun [die] Person refers to a person of either sex, and the neuter noun [das] Mädchen means "the girl". In modern English, there is no true grammatical gender in this sense, though the differentiation, for instance, between the pronouns "he" and "she", which in English refers to a difference in sex (or social gender), is sometimes referred to as a gender distinction. A Comprehensive Grammar of
10416-472: The first intersex civil society organizations to have been open to people regardless of diagnosis; it was active from 1993 to 2008. Intersex Awareness Day is an internationally observed civil awareness day designed to highlight the challenges faced by intersex people, occurring annually on 26 October. It marks the first public demonstration by intersex people, which took place in Boston on 26 October 1996, outside
10540-424: The first intersex person known to have successfully sued for damages in a case brought for non-consensual surgical intervention. In April 2015, Malta became the first country to outlaw non-consensual medical interventions to modify sex anatomy, including that of intersex people. Many civil society organizations and human rights institutions now call for an end to unnecessary "normalizing" interventions, including in
10664-427: The general population, including higher rates of bullying, stigmatization, harassment, violence, and suicidal intention, as well as substantial barriers in the workplace. Several countries have so far explicitly protected intersex people from discrimination, with landmarks including South Africa , Australia , and, most comprehensively, Malta. Claims for compensation and remedies for human rights abuses include
10788-445: The human rights of intersex people have been studied, medical interventions to modify the sex characteristics of intersex people have still taken place without the consent of the intersex person. Interventions have been described by human rights defenders as a violation of many rights, including (but not limited to) bodily integrity, non-discrimination, privacy, and experimentation. These interventions have frequently been performed with
10912-454: The immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps this construct called "sex" is as culturally constructed as gender; indeed, perhaps it was always already gender, with the consequence that the distinction between sex and gender turns out to be no distinction at all. Sara Heinämaa believes that the received Anglo-American reading of Beauvoir is mistaken: In Beauvoir’s phenomenological perspective, “sex” (female/male) cannot be conceived as
11036-399: The interactional process of doing gender , combined with socially agreed upon gender expectations, holds individuals accountable for their gender performances. They also believe that while "doing gender" appropriately strengthens and promotes social structures based on the gender dichotomy , it inappropriately does not call into question these same social structures; only the individual actor
11160-696: The intersex movement. According to InterACT , a major organization for intersex rights in the US , states that 1.7% of people have some variation of sexual development , 0.5% have atypical genitalia, and 0.05% have mixed/ambiguous genitalia. A study relying on a nationally representative survey conducted in Mexico between 2021 and 2022 obtained similar estimates: around 1.6% of individuals aged 15 to 64 reported being born with sex variations. The following summarizes prevalences of traits that medical experts consider to be intersex (where sex chromosome anomalies are involved,
11284-448: The most fundamental sex difference in humans is the respective cost of reproduction, which is higher for females than males because of pregnancy and higher postnatal parental expenditure, resulting in different mating choice preferences for males and females. Robert Stoller , whose work was the first to treat sex and gender as "two different orders of data", in his book Sex and Gender: The Development of Masculinity and Femininity , uses
11408-452: The number of births with ambiguous genitals is in the range of 0.02% to 0.05%. Intersex Human Rights Australia says it maintains 1.7% as its preferred upper limit "despite its flaws", stating both that the estimate "encapsulates the entire population of people who are stigmatized—or risk stigmatization—due to innate sex characteristics", and that Sax's definitions exclude individuals who experience such stigma and who have helped to establish
11532-530: The other. During most interactions, others situate a person's sex by identifying their sex category; however, they believe that a person's sex need not align with their sex category. West and Zimmerman maintain that the sex category is "established and sustained by the socially required identificatory displays that proclaim one's membership in one or the other category". Gender is the performance of attitudes and actions that are considered socially acceptable for one's sex category. West and Zimmerman suggested that
11656-431: The population broken down in various ways, including by sex and gender. They require precise formulations of these terms, and go into some detail about sex recorded at birth , possible changes in sex assignment later in life, the meaning of gender and how it differs from sex . ABS recognizes the popular confusion among the two terms, and provide descriptions of how to phrase surveys so as to elicit accurate responses for
11780-402: The possible choices of pronoun for coreference to the real-life entity, e.g. who and he for brother but which and it or she for cow . Simone de Beauvoir 's The Second Sex is generally cited as responsible for bringing the sex/gender distinction into feminism , which has since become a standard. Consequently, many feminists consider sex to only be a matter of biology and not
11904-566: The potential impact on sex assignment processes for infants. The organisation cautiously acknowledged an Australian Capital Territory Bill to modify the Territory's birth registrations process to create a third sex category for infants and children, stating, "neither of the two national intersex organisations had been engaged in talks before the bill was presented in the Assembly." In 2017, the organisation reported that no children had been assigned to such
12028-495: The prevalence of intersex was about 0.018% of the world's population, discounting several conditions included in Fausto-Sterling's estimate that included LOCAH, Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY), Turner syndrome (45,X), the chromosomal variants of 47,XYY and 47,XXX, and vaginal agenesis. Sax reasons that in these conditions chromosomal sex is consistent with phenotypic sex and phenotype is classifiable as either male or female. In
12152-446: The purposes of the data they collect. The government of the state of Western Australia recognizes a clear distinction between sex and gender providing a nuanced definition of each, including complications involved in sex beyond just sex assigned at birth, and the socially constructed nature of gender, including possible non-binary aspects. The United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS) describes definitions provided by
12276-462: The right of an intersex boy, "Baby A", to a birth certificate. Like all individuals, some intersex individuals may be raised as a certain sex (male or female) but then identify with another later in life, while most do not. Recognition of third sex or gender classifications occurs in several countries, however, it is controversial when it becomes assumed or coercive, as is the case with some German infants . Sociological research in Australia,
12400-432: The rights of people who fall outside of expected binary sex and gender norms." Julius Kaggwa of SIPD Uganda has written that, while the gay community "offers us a place of relative safety, it is also oblivious to our specific needs". Mauro Cabral has written that transgender people and organizations "need to stop approaching intersex issues as if they were trans issues", including use of intersex conditions and people as
12524-496: The sex of a person ( gender role ) or personal identification of one's own gender based on their own personal sense of it ( gender identity ). Most contemporary social scientists, behavioral scientists and biologists, many legal systems and government bodies and intergovernmental agencies such as the WHO make a distinction between gender and sex. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and sex
12648-520: The stigmatization of families. The birth of an intersex child was often viewed as a curse or a sign of a witch mother, especially in parts of Africa. Abandonments and infanticides have been reported in Uganda , Kenya , South Asia , and China . Infants, children and adolescents also experience "normalising" interventions on intersex persons that are medically unnecessary and the pathologisation of variations in sex characteristics. In countries where
12772-399: The structural, functional, and sometimes behavioral characteristics of organisms that distinguish males and females". They also note that "[d]octors can alter the physical characteristics of sex, but bodily sex does not determine gender." Anisogamy , or the size differences of gametes (sex cells), is the defining feature of the two sexes. According to biologist Michael Majerus there
12896-400: The term sex : as "We ask one question about a person's sex to better understand demographic characteristics." The U.S. Census has had a question about sex on the census since the 1790 census . The U.S. Census recognizes the difference between the terms sex and gender , the fact they are often confused or used interchangeably, and may differ across cultures and time, and explains that what
13020-402: The term "gender identity", separated gender from sex as specifically cultural and biological categories, respectively, and treated them as "two different orders of data". There is little general agreement among archaeologists about what can be accurately stated about gender identities, roles, and processes in the earliest human societies between 40,000 and 4,000 years before the present. There
13144-456: The term "hermaphrodite" is used to describe an organism that can produce both male and female gametes . Some people with intersex traits use the term "intersex", and some prefer other language. In clinical settings, the term " disorders of sex development " (DSD) has been used since 2006, a shift in language considered controversial since its introduction. Intersex people face stigmatization and discrimination from birth, or following
13268-573: The term 'sex' to refer to the "male or the female sex and the component biological parts that determine whether one is a male or a female". He further states that, in order to determine sex, chromosomes, external genitalia, internal genitalia, gonads, hormonal states, secondary sex characteristics, and possibly also brain systems, must be analysed. He states that a person's sex is determined by "an algebraic sum of all these qualities", resulting in most people being classified as either 'male' or 'female'. The American Psychiatric Association states that "Sex
13392-458: The term was good. Historically, the term "hermaphrodite" was used in law to refer to people whose sex was in doubt. The 12th century Decretum Gratiani states that "Whether an hermaphrodite may witness a testament, depends on which sex prevails" ("Hermafroditus an ad testamentum adhiberi possit, qualitas sexus incalescentis ostendit"). Similarly, the 17th century English jurist and judge Edward Coke (Lord Coke), wrote in his Institutes of
13516-493: The terms sex and gender are not, and should not be used as, interchangeable terms. They state that "[s]ex is dichotomous, with sex determination in the fertilized zygote stemming from unequal expression of sex chromosomal genes." In contrast, gender is seen as including "perception of the individual as male, female, or other, both by the individual and by society". The authors differentiate between sex differences , caused by biological factors, and gender differences , which "reflect
13640-467: The two categories of male/man and female/woman. Some of these cultures, for instance the South-Asian Hijra communities, may include intersex people in a third gender category. Although—according to Morgan Holmes —early Western anthropologists categorized such cultures as "primitive", Holmes has argued that analyses of these cultures have been simplistic or romanticized and fail to take account of
13764-460: The two, designating sex and gender as biological and cultural categories, respectively. Before the work of Bentley, Money and Stoller, the word gender was only regularly used to refer to grammatical categories . The Oxford English Dictionary defines sex as "Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and many other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions". A further annotation exists on
13888-517: The way they are raised and perceived, and their internal gender identity. A 2012 clinical review paper found that between 8.5% and 20% of people with intersex variations experienced gender dysphoria. In an analysis of the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis to eliminate intersex traits, Behrmann and Ravitsky state: "Parental choice against intersex may ... conceal biases against same-sex attractedness and gender nonconformity." The relationship of intersex people and communities to LGBTQ communities
14012-601: The ways that subjects of all categories are treated. During the Victorian era , medical authors introduced the terms " true hermaphrodite " for an individual who has both ovarian and testicular tissue, "male pseudo-hermaphrodite" for a person with testicular tissue, but either female or ambiguous sexual anatomy, and "female pseudo-hermaphrodite" for a person with ovarian tissue, but either male or ambiguous sexual anatomy. Some later shifts in terminology have reflected advances in genetics, while other shifts are suggested to be due to pejorative associations. The term "intersexuality"
14136-512: The word sex should be reserved for reference to the biological aspects of being male or female or to sexual activity, and that the word gender should be used only to refer to sociocultural roles. ... In some situations this distinction avoids ambiguity, as in gender research , which is clear in a way that sex research is not. The distinction can be problematic, however. Linguistically, there isn't any real difference between gender bias and sex bias , and it may seem contrived to insist that sex
14260-814: Was a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Community Individual Award in 2013, following her retirement, for her work on discrimination protections. Intersex Human Rights Australia is a national affiliate of Organisation Intersex International , a member of the National LGBTI Health Alliance and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association . Intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics , including chromosome patterns, gonads , or genitals that, according to
14384-605: Was added as an additional term of reference. The Committee published a joint, cross-party report on 25 October 2013, making 15 recommendations. The conclusions of the inquiry supported much of the case and recommendations made by IHRA: 3.109 ... As OII commented, normalisation surgery is more than physical reconstruction. The surgery is intended to deconstruct an intersex physiology and, in turn, construct an identity that conforms with stereotypical male and female gender categories... 3.129 ... The proposals put forward by Organisation Intersex International have merit, and are consistent with
14508-489: Was also adopted, in the belief that this was necessary to ensure normal physical and psychosocial development. The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions states that legal recognition is firstly "about intersex people who have been issued a male or a female birth certificate being able to enjoy the same legal rights as other men and women". In some regions, obtaining any form of birth certification may be an issue. A Kenyan court case in 2014 established
14632-454: Was clearly indicated as legal sex rather than identity. The World Health Organization 's defines gender as "socially constructed", and sex as characteristics that are "biologically determined", drawing a distinction between the sex categories of male and female, and the genders "girls and boys who grow into men and women". Fenway Health define gender as "The characteristics and roles of women and men according to social norms. While sex
14756-1114: Was coined by Richard Goldschmidt in 1917. The first suggestion to replace the term "hermaphrodite" with "intersex" was made by Cawadias in the 1940s. Since the rise of modern medical science, some intersex people with ambiguous external genitalia have had their genitalia surgically modified to resemble either female or male genitals. Surgeons pinpointed intersex babies as a "social emergency" when born. An 'optimal gender policy', initially developed by John Money , stated that early intervention helped avoid gender identity confusion, but this lacks evidence. Early interventions have adverse consequences for psychological and physical health. Since advances in surgery have made it possible for intersex conditions to be concealed, many people are not aware of how frequently intersex conditions arise in human beings or that they occur at all. Dialogue between what were once antagonistic groups of activists and clinicians has led to only slight changes in medical policies and how intersex patients and their families are treated in some locations. In 2011, Christiane Völling became
14880-702: Was found as of "26,000 years ago", at least at the archeological site Dolní Věstonice I and others, in what is now the Czech Republic. This is during the Upper Paleolithic time period. From the Mesolithic , various evidence suggests gender-differentiated tool use and diet in some cultures. By this time, it is likely that gender had become an important element of the organizational structure of these societies. Similar grave goods found in male and female high-status burials of this period, however, indicate that status
15004-461: Was not common by the late 1900s. Sexologist John Money pioneered the concept of a distinction between biological sex and gender identity in 1955. However, Issac Madison Bentley had already defined gender as the "socialized obverse of sex" a decade earlier, in 1945. As originally conceived by Money, gender and sex are analysed together as a single category including both biological and social elements, but later work by Robert Stoller separated
15128-490: Was not simply based on gender. There is also much more evidence for the recognition of third and fourth genders from this period. In 2011, it was reported that an untypical Corded Ware burial, dated to between 2900 and 2500 B.C., had been discovered in Prague . The remains, believed to be anatomically male, were orientated in the same way as women's burials and were not accompanied by any gender-specific grave goods. Based on this
15252-538: Was one of School Library Journal 's 2017 Top Ten Adult Books for Teens, and was a 2018 Lambda Literary Award nominee. Television works about intersex and films about intersex are scarce. The Spanish-language film XXY won the Critics' Week grand prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and the ACID/CCAS Support Award. Faking It is notable for providing both the first intersex main character in
15376-525: Was one of the first lawsuit of its type to challenge "legal, ethical, and medical issues regarding genital-normalizing surgery" in minors, and was eventually settled out of court by the Medical University of South Carolina for $ 440,000 in 2017. Access to information , medical records, peer and other counselling and support. With the rise of modern medical science in Western societies, a secrecy-based model
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