Intersex or intersex is a term to describe the condition of a person who is born with two different sexes. It is estimated that about 1 in 1,000 babies worldwide are born with this condition. Previously, intersex conditions were known as hermaphrodites.
People born intersex can look like a normal male or female, but have both male and female reproductive organs. For example, a man born with this condition has not only a penis, but also a uterus inside his body.
And vice versa, a woman with an intersex condition can have both a uterus and a testicle on her body. This condition generally occurs due to genetic changes.
Intersex needs to be distinguished from transgender. A transgender person is born with only 1 gender, but he feels that the gender he has is not the real gender.
For example, a transgender person who is born male will feel that he should have a female gender. This causes such discomfort that he may have surgery to change his gender. After their gender changes, they are called transsexual.
Intersex Signs
Sometimes, intersex conditions do not show typical symptoms so that people who experience it do not realize that they are intersex. However, babies born with this condition can be recognized by the following signs:
- The size of the clitoris is bigger
- No vaginal opening
- Vaginal lips (labia) closed or resembling a testicle
- Small penis size (micropenis)
- No holes or openings at the tip of the penis
- The scrotum or scrotum is empty and resembles the labia
Intersex conditions are usually only realized when the baby is an adult and enters puberty. In this case, people who had more of the biologically male traits as children may appear more feminine after puberty.
Or conversely, a person who looked like a girl as a child may start to look like a boy as a teenager.
Causes of Intersex and Its Types
Women generally have a combination of XX chromosomes, while men have XY chromosomes. People who are born intersex are thought to have different X and Y chromosome arrangements while in the womb.
Genetically, intersex can be divided into several types, namely:
1. 46, XX intersex
People born with this type of intersex have female sex chromosomes and female reproductive organs, such as ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes. However, the external genitals look like male genitalia.
In addition, the lips of the vagina will be fused and the size of the clitoris will increase so that it looks like a penis. This type of intersex can be caused by several things, namely:
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Born to a mother who used testosterone therapy during pregnancy or had an ovarian tumor
- Lack of aromatase, an enzyme that plays a role in converting male sex hormones into female hormones
2.46,XY intersex
People born with this type of intersex have male chromosomes, but the external genitalia are not fully formed and resemble female genitalia. There are several causes of 46,XY intersex, including:
- Androgen insensitivity syndrome
- Disorders of the testicles, so they don't produce male sex hormones properly
- Disturbances in the hormone testosterone
3. 46, XX ovotesticular intersex (true gonadal intersex)
This type of intersex is the rarest type and the cause is not known with certainty. People born as true gonadal intersex have ovarian and testicular tissue.
They may also have an XX chromosome, an XY chromosome, or both with genitals that look like either a girl or a boy and can look different from the two.
4. Intersex sex chromosomes
Intersex can also occur if a person has a chromosome pattern other than XY or XX, such as having only one X chromosome (XO) or having an extra chromosome (XXY).
Babies born as this type of intersex can have internal and external reproductive organs such as male or female. However, they do not experience full physical development at puberty. For example, children born with female sex organs may not experience menstruation.
Intersex Handling
Intersex is not a disease, but a biological phenomenon or variation. Therefore, there is no treatment for the intersex condition.
Medical treatment is only needed if the person born intersex has health problems related to the condition, such as having a uterus but no opening of the uterus, difficulty passing urine, or experiencing menstrual cycles but blood does not come out of the body.
Medical procedures such as genital surgery can be performed to make the genitals appear male or female.
However, it is not recommended or necessary until people born intersex are old enough to make their own decisions and decide which gender they want to choose.
Intersex is a rare condition. If you or your baby have intersex characteristics, don't hesitate to consult a doctor to be sure and get complete information about this condition.