intersex
What is behind the third gender?
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For a long time there was only one opinion when it came to gender: male or female. But what does it actually mean to be intersex?
Intersex: what is behind it?
- There is a lot of talk about the third gender in Germany. Advertisements for positions be with male (m), female (f) and diverse (d) given for the sexes. But what is behind it?
- In the first place they are inter people. These are characterized as living from birth with innate genitalia/gender characteristics that a do not allow clear allocation into male and female.
- Often these people refer to themselves as intersex but also negative terms such as hermaphrodite (often perceived as a swear word). used by some as a positive self-designation. Some interracial people only realize during puberty or the final stages of sexual development that you body and their sexual organs does not correspond to sexthat they actually live or feel. So there can still be physical transformations after birth that turn a supposedly “normal” child into an intersex person.
- In practice, intersex can be expressed in such a way that, for example both ovaries and testicles are present (rather rare). The genitals are mostly in one mixed form pronounced between male and female.
Transgender: Distinction from non-binary
- Transgender/ non-binary: Are terms that describe many gender identities, for example people who do not feel good about their assigned gender or who reject a clear classification. Some interpersonal people fall into this category.
- transident: Transidentical people are clearly described as male or female from birth, but feel they belong to the opposite gender.
Intersex: terms and syndromes
For the determination of intersex need Hormones and genes using blood tests be checked. It is mostly genetic defects that prevent a clear division of the chromosomes into XX (woman) or XY (man). Since these are not routinely detected after birth if they appear normal, it often happens that some people are only detected as intersex much later.
Overall there is very many forms and syndromes of intersex, so we will briefly present two well-known characteristics.
- AGS: That Adrenogenital Syndrome is the most common. The babies have female chromosomes, but at the same time there is an increased production of androgens such as testosterone. If left untreated, masculinization of external sexual characteristics will occur over time.
- AIS: That Androgen Resistance Syndrome is characterized by the fact that those affected are born with male chromosomes, but the body does not accept the released androgens, at least in part. As a result, the genitals can appear feminine, and since the testicles are inside, the “girls” are often not caught off guard until puberty, when menstruation stops.
Intersex people don’t want to be seen as sick with terms like “syndrome” or “defect” because they don’t always have to be treated. Rather, one can speak of a natural characteristic. Inter means between two or more characteristics and simply enables new information – not diseases.
frequency of intersex
Intersex is not a medical diagnosis, as there are many different manifestations and causes. It is therefore also hard to measure roughly how many inter people there are. According to estimates by the Saxony-Anhalt malformation monitoring system out of 1,000 children about half to one person affected. The Federal Constitutional Court, on the other hand, leads a Ratio of 500:1 on.
Intersex: handling and gender registration
- Dealing with an intersex child can be a challenge, especially for parents. For a long time, physicians have recommended that parents diagnose early in childhood operations and interventions and thus also to decide on a clear definition of a gender. Of course, this also had to do with the fact that, by law, a gender entry was made in the first week after the birth Classification as male or female was requested.
- Since 2019, the so-called Third gender accepted under civil status law and inter people can get under the designation “various” register. As a result, the pressure is no longer so high to carry out the much-criticized operations prematurely. That’s how they can Children later decide for themselveswhether they feel they belong to a gender or want to live their role as an interpersonal person in society and in everyday life.
Sexual orientation also takes many forms. Have you ever wondered: what is pansexual? Or what is sapiosexuality? Last but not least, we will also tell you the difference to demisexual.
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