There are many ways to have an intersex body, but it is not possible for one person to have both a fully developed penis and vagina. It might suggest that intersex people are monsters, or not of this world. Many intersex people still see this slur used in their medical records.
Many natural human differences have been framed as medical problems, until communities fought for acceptance. How many intersex people are born each year? What are the statistics? Even in countries where most births happen in hospitals, these are hard questions to answer. This is largely because no one is required to track this information. But we do know that being intersex is very common.
About 1. These estimates are based on work by Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling , who reviewed medical literature from Most intersex traits are random, although some do run in families. To be technically specific, some reasons why intersex traits might develop include:. Science is always looking for something to explain natural variation: a gay gene, transgender brain difference, cause of autism, etc. When differences can be seen or measured on bodies, they can be changed. Intersex surgeries are non-lifesaving procedures to change natural variations in genital appearance or reproductive anatomy.
Infant intersex surgeries often come with serious lifelong emotional and physical consequences, high complication rates, and reduced sexual function. Most intersex surgeries are done when a child is under 2 years old.
Surgeries to change intersex traits are often offered to parents, and considered acceptable by some doctors, when a child is very young. This means that people are being denied important choices about their own bodies—choices that can affect fertility, sexual function, and emotional well-being forever. Some kids may grow up and want to change their bodies, or be glad that their bodies were changed.
Many other kids and adults live with incredible pain and trauma because these choices were made for them. When we act early, we never know who will feel which way. Waiting is the best way to avoid irreversible harm.
All parents love their children, and only want what is best for them. Surgeries to change genital appearance may also be wrongly framed by a doctor as an emergency or necessity. Many parents are never told about the high risks of these surgeries, never connected to other families or affected adults, and never told that simply waiting is an option. As of , no U. Statistics are difficult to track, because U. Infant intersex surgeries violate principles of informed consent, bodily autonomy, and self-determination.
They may also be prohibited by female genital cutting laws and regulations against forced sterilization.
Some countries are taking steps to end infant intersex surgery. In , the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on all member states to end surgeries. Portugal , France , and Uruguay have each passed laws to protect intersex people, but which may still stop short of pausing non-consensual surgeries.
In the United States, at least 5 states have seen bills to prohibit infant intersex surgery. None have passed yet. In California passed a non-binding resolution, SCR, which was the first successful piece of U. Most legislation that interACT sponsors would delay unnecessary medical intervention, including surgeries, to give people choices about their own bodies.
Every person is different. There are over 40 medical terms for the different ways sex anatomy might develop. Here are a few examples, and their common traits:. Like all human body parts, genitals come in all shapes and sizes. All genital tissues are homologous , meaning that two things share the same origin. F or example, a great number of snails and slugs are hermaphrodites. The birth was judged heretical by the Spanish Inquisition and she was burned with her child at the stake.
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