The many sexes of humans

The most thorough existing research finds intersex people to constitute an estimated 1.7% of the population*, which makes being intersex about as common as having red hair (1%-2%). However, popularly misinterpretted, much referenced statistics would have you believe are numbers are much lower. Here’s why.

Some groups use an old prevalence statistic that says we make up 1 in 2000, or .05%, percent of the population, but that statistic refers to one specific intersex trait, ambiguous genitalia, which is but one of many variations which, combined (as they are in medical diagnostics and coding), constitute the 1.7% estimate by esteemed Professor of Biology and Gender Studies, Anne Fausto-Sterling, of Brown University*. A similar, slightly higher, statistic was also reported in, “How Sexually Dimorphic Are We?”, by Blackless, et al, in The American Journal of Human Biology.
“The belief that Homo sapiens is absolutely dimorphic with the respect to sex chromosome composition, gonadal structure, hormone levels, and the structure of the internal genital duct systems and external genitalia, derives from the platonic ideal that for each sex there is a single, universally correct developmental pathway and outcome. We surveyed the medical literature from 1955 to the present for studies of the frequency of deviation from the ideal male or female. We conclude that this frequency may be as high as 2% of live births. The frequency of individuals receiving “corrective” genital surgery, however, probably runs between 1 and 2 per 1,000 live births (0.1–0.2%).” Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:151–166, 2000. 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6300(200003/04)12:2%3C151::AID-AJHB1%3E3.0.CO;2-F/abstract These two findings are the most thorough scientific research which exists on the statistical prevalence of congenital intersex traits in humans.

The erroneous belief that we are an extremely tiny percentage of the population is often used to dismiss our need for legal rights and protections. Thus, we encourage everyone — particularly allies and/or members of the press educating others about intersex people — to please use the information and prevalence statistic provided here to accurately do so


WHAT IS INTERSEX?
By Hida | April 6, 2013


INTERSEX refers to individuals born with sex characteristics which are not typically male or female. Intersex people can look typically male, typically female, or androgynous, as there are an estimated 30 types of intersex traits comprised of variations in chromosomal patterns, reproductive organs, genitalia and/or hormones. In addition, intersex people identify our gender in a variety of ways, just like non-intersex people, including idenitfying as men, women, intersex men, intersex women, intersex persons, non-binary intersex persons, or herms.

We highly recommend the United Nation’s INTERSEX FACT SHEET, which our E.D. consulted on, if you are looking for a short resource to educate others about intersex people and our human rights issues.
https://unfe.org/system/unfe-65-Intersex_Factsheet_ENGLISH.pdf

HOW COMMON IS BEING INTERSEX?

The most thorough existing research finds intersex people to constitute an estimated 1.7% of the population*, which makes being intersex as common as having red hair (1%-2%). However, popularly misinterpretted, much referenced statistics would have you believe are numbers are much lower. Here’s why.

Some groups use an old prevalence statistic that says we make up 1 in 2000, or .05%, percent of the population, but that statistic refers to one specific intersex trait, ambiguous genitalia, which is but one of many variations which, combined (as they are in medical diagnostics and coding), constitute the 1.7% estimate by biology and gender studies professor Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, of Brown University*.

A similar, slightly higher, statistic was also reported in, “How Sexually Dimorphic Are We?”, by Blackless, et al, in The American Journal of Human Biology. “The belief that Homo sapiens is absolutely dimorphic with the respect to sex chromosome composition, gonadal structure, hormone levels, and the structure of the internal genital duct systems and external genitalia, derives from the platonic ideal that for each sex there is a single, universally correct developmental pathway and outcome. We surveyed the medical literature from 1955 to the present for studies of the frequency of deviation from the ideal male or female. We conclude that this frequency may be as high as 2% of live births. The frequency of individuals receiving “corrective” genital surgery, however, probably runs between 1 and 2 per 1,000 live births (0.1–0.2%).” Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:151–166, 2000. 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6300(200003/04)12:2%3C151::AID-AJHB1%3E3.0.CO;2-F/abstract These two findings are the most thorough scientific research which exists on the statistical prevalence of congenital intersex traits in humans.

The erroneous belief that we are an extremely tiny percentage of the population is often used to dismiss our need for legal rights and protections. We therefore encourage everyone — particularly allies and/or members of the press educating others about intersex people — to please use the information and prevalence statistic provided here to accurately do so. Thank you!

* Fausto-Sterling, Anne (2000). Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-07713-7.

.
The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA, 1993-2008), popularized the “1 in 2000” (.05%) statistic, but clarified on its website:
“Here’s what we do know: If you ask experts at medical centers how often 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 1500 to 1 in 2000 births. 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. Below we provide a summary of statistics drawn from an article by Brown University researcher Anne Fausto-Sterling….”
http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency

Additional Info

Intersex traits comprise chromosomes, genitals, hormones and/or gonads that do not fit typical definitions of male or female, and can result in additional variations in secondary sexual characteristics such as muscle mass, hair distribution, breast development, hip to waist ratio and stature.

Intersex is historically defined by biology, rather than gender identity, as intersex people experience the same range of gender identities as non-intersex people do. We note, however, that the terms “male” and “female”– once labels traditionally defined by biology– no longer are, as trans* people demonstrate. We also note that some intersex people have discussed that “intersex” describes their gender identity as well as the sex characteristics they were born with. Thus an exclusively biologically determinist view of “intersex” may not be viable, culturally speaking, nor would an increase in our population (due to, some claim, transgender use of the label “intersex”), necessarily be harmful to our efforts in attaining equal human rights.

http://www.intersexequality.com/intersex/

Hermaphroditism

In humans, conditions that involve discrepancies between external genitalia and internal reproductive organs are described by the term intersex. Intersex conditions are sometimes also referred to as disorders of sexual development (DSDs). Such conditions are extremely rare in humans. In true gonadal intersex (or true hermaphroditism), an individual has both ovarian and testicular tissue. The ovarian and testicular tissue may be separate, or the two may be combined in what is called an ovotestis. Affected individuals have sex chromosomes showing male-female mosaicism (where one individual possesses both the male XY and female XX chromosome pairs). Most often, but not always, the chromosome complement is 46,XX, and in every such individual there also exists evidence of Y chromosomal material on one of the autosomes (any of the 22 pairs of chromosomes other than the sex chromosomes). Individuals with a 46,XX chromosome complement usually have ambiguous external genitalia with a sizable phallus and are therefore often reared as males. However, they develop breasts during puberty and menstruate and in only rare cases actually produce sperm. In 46,XX intersex (female pseudohermaphroditism), individuals have male external genitalia but the chromosomal constitution and reproductive organs of a female. In 46,XY (male pseudohermaphroditism), individuals have ambiguous or female external genitalia but the chromosomal constitution and reproductive organs of a male, though the testes may be malformed or absent.

Treatment of intersex in humans depends upon the age at which the diagnosis is made. Historically, if diagnosed at birth, the choice of sex was made (typically by parents) based on the condition of the external genitalia (i.e., which sex organs predominate), after which so-called intersex surgery was performed to remove the gonads of the opposite sex. The remaining genitalia were then reconstructed to resemble those of the chosen sex. The reconstruction of female genitalia was more readily performed than the reconstruction of male genitalia, so ambiguous individuals often were made to be female. However, intersex surgery has long-term consequences for affected individuals. Later in life, for example, the person may not be satisfied with the results of surgery and may not identify with the assigned gender. Thus, patient consent has become an increasingly important part of decisions about intersex surgery, such that surgery may be delayed until adolescence or adulthood, after patients have had sufficient time to consider their gender and are able to make informed decisions about treatment. In older individuals the accepted gender may be reinforced by the appropriate surgical procedures and by hormonal therapy.

https://www.britannica.com/science/hermaphroditism

smelly-bandit wrote:

my name is smelly_bandit

today i identify as an attack helicopter, please refer to me as such

smelly-bandit wrote:

my name is smelly_bandit

today i identify as an attack helicopter, please refer to me as such

smelly-bandit wrote:why is this under general science section??

Jules wrote:

smelly-bandit wrote:why is this under general science section??

General science covers  > >  ''Biology, Medicine, .... etc. '' , so it says on the board.
In what other section could she have posted her thread?

smelly-bandit wrote:

Jules wrote:
General science covers  > >  ''Biology, Medicine, .... etc. '' , so it says on the board.
In what other section could she have posted her thread?

The make believe miscellany section

nicko wrote:You NEVER JOIN IN "ROBUST" debate Wolfie,  you just call posters childish names,   it's like a juniors playground when you join in !

smelly-bandit wrote:

my name is smelly_bandit

today i identify as an attack helicopter, please refer to me as such

smelly-bandit wrote:But I do identify as an attack helicopter

Why won't you respect my identity eddie.

Are you a heliophobe??

Or just a regular bigot?

Ps you still haven't answered my question