Hermaphroditism in human biology and development

Hermaphrodite-Humans

Human hermaphrodite is a variation of human gender/sex that occurs rarely and has been defined in various ways over the centuries. The technical term refers to any individual who is born with both testicular and ovarian tissues, not dependant upon functionality. The genetic or chromosomal reality of the individual as either a male or female can be masked by the evidence of a larger than normal clitoris, or the presence of both a phallus and a vagina that varies in both size and appearance and can be different than ones chromosomal sex assignment.

Although it is true that a very small percentage of the people not easily sorted into male or female have been shown to have chromosomal patterns that differ from the common XX and XY varieties, the majority do appear, upon examination of their chromosomes, to have the standard male or female "sex chromosome" pattern. (Dreger, 1998, p. 4)

In true hermaphrodites the visual representation of both variations of gender clues, which are arguable secondary sexual characteristics, the penis and vagina is again secondary to the presence of both testes (undescended or descended) and ovaries, in some form or another. The individual may have one of each or some variation of a conglomerate organ(s). (Gilbert, 2006) The development of abnormalities in sexual assignment is often a complicated set of hormonal and very occasionally chromosomal differences from the "discrete" assignment of gender that occurs during gestation, among this variation is a wide arch of individuals who can be classed not as either male or female but intersexual.

In the modern era medical/surgical assignment often takes place, though the medical surgical complications of the varied problems of the individual rarely have to do with sex but with concerns associated with such things as tumors associated with chriptorchidism or un-descended testes or underlying medical concerns related to a disease, disorder or simple variation that may have caused the physical ambiguity in the first place. (Gilber, 2006)

Surgical and medical progress through the last one hundred or so years has leaned toward the assignment of gender based upon gonads.

Starting in the 1960s, babies born with ambiguous genitalia were "assigned" a sex that seemed appropriate based on the genitalia that they had. Those with large phalluses had their labia closed and became males, while those with smaller but still larger than normal phalluses had them surgically shortened and became females. In the 1990s, some of the individuals who were surgically assigned their sex founded the Intersex Society of America (ISNA) and lobbied to speak to physicians to have them change their usual practice of surgically amending nature. Their arguments convinced many physicians that having a baby of ambiguous sex was not a medical emergency, that interventions should be reversible, and that time should be taken to discuss these issues with parents and patients with such conditions. (Gilbert 2006)

This surgical intervention has proven controversial in modern times as many physicians and surgeons have begun to stress that gender assignment by surgical means is not warranted as an emergent condition and should therefore be delayed until such time that the individual involved can participate in the decision, or until such time as gender assignment takes place naturally, i.e. By individual socialization, and self-determination of gender assignment. In other words there are simply to many variations of the condition to warrant permanent decision making based on outward appearance, regardless of parental or medical opinions and emotions on the subject.

More frequently found in the many variations of hermaphrodites there is a condition known as pseudohermaphrodite, where the individual may present as one or the other gender/sex but have an enlarged or true to size version of the other gender's gonads. Yet, as clear cut as this might seem the variations are many and surgical assignment may not be warranted or desired in later life.

Our current classification scheme of male and female pseudohermaphrodites reflects this gonadal (and later, chromosomal) assignment of sex. A male pseudohermaphrodite (usually caused by androgen receptor mutations) has a female phenotype but male gonads, while a female pseudohermaphrodite (usually caused by congenital adrenal hyperplasia where the adrenal gland secretes testosterone) has a male phenotype but has ovaries. (Gilbert, 2006)