Each person is a mosaic of sex-related and postpubertal biological traits that vary in their degree of femaleness and maleness.
Articles on Intersex
Displaying 1 - 20 of 37 articles
After backlash from the LGBTQIA+ community, the government agreed to include gender and sexual orientation questions in the new census. So why not intersex?
People born with variations of sex characteristics have bodies that are a little different to social and medical expectations.
By enforcing a ‘sex test’ for athletes, the International Olympic Committee has reignited the debate about what a ‘level playing field’ actually means in sport.
A gender studies expert explains why the Trump administration’s claim that everyone is male or female defies science and ignores the complexity of human sexuality.
Surgery was rare and risky in the medieval period. Though medical options were limited, trans people were able to take transitioning into their own hands.
Republicans are seeking to define ‘sex’ in federal law. But after centuries of debate, doctors, scientists and judges haven’t come to a clear consensus on what the definition of sex should be.
Sex, gender and sexual orientation shape every aspect of a person’s health and wellbeing. It’s hoped a new statement will balance how these factors are built into research design.
Cell-free DNA prenatal screening, sometimes called ‘the gender test,’ cannot determine gender because gender is more than just genes and genitals.
In her new book, Who’s Afraid of Gender?, feminist philosopher Judith Butler explains how gender and sex are socially constructed, while fighting critics who see gender as a threat to the social order.
Spanning evolutionary biology, genetics, development, neurobiology, endocrinology and psychology, as well as current events and sports, students explore the complexities of the biology of sex.
‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills claim to use science to justify a binary definition of sex based on certain traits. But the biology of sex and gender is not so simple.
The first transgender medical clinic opened in the US in the 1960s. But cisgender and intersex children began receiving similar treatments even earlier – often without their consent.
The thorny issue of testosterone testing has made news, not just the growing skills on the field.
Early surgeries can cause lifelong harm, including impaired sexual function and sensation, shame, and a need for ongoing interventions or treatment.
Millions of people do not fit neatly into male or female sex designations at birth, and wrong identification can set them up for a lifetime of physical and mental harm.
With no clear biomedical basis for most early surgery on intersex children, interventions should be postponed until a child is competent to decide for themselves.
Around two in every 100 people have sex characteristics between the male-female binary definitions. Training for doctors and other health workers needs to reflect this.
Few trans kids in the early 20th century had access to information about trans life. That they still faced down the judgment of parents and doctors is a testament to the truth of their dysphoria.
A new finding in mice rewrites the textbook explanation of the male sex-determining gene, Sry. It might also help us better understand how males and females come to be.
Top contributors
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Professor of Biological Sciences; Director of the Cellular and Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma
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Jenny Graves is a Friend of The Conversation.
Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University
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Associate Professor of History, Roanoke College
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Associate professor, Queen's University, Ontario
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Associate Professor, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney
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Emeritus Professor, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University
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PhD Candidate, International Human Rights Law, Adelaide University
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Professor of Kinesiology, Penn State
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Professor of Health Sciences, Adelaide University
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Associate Director, Yale-Hastings Program in Ethics and Health Policy, University of Oxford
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Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University
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Research Associate, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
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Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center
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Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics, National University of Singapore; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, The University of Melbourne
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Deputy Director of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Murdoch Children's Research Institute