The middle floor: who are intersex and how they live in modern society

Relatively recently, the world began to learn about gender diversity. Started talking about a lot of things that have never been made public, preferring to pretend that the problem does not exist. We learned about intersex the people born with the signs of male and female, and not always obvious.

Intersex is not necessarily the person with male and female sexual characteristics. More often it happens that a woman born without a uterus, and the male with extra Y chromosome. But guys don't look feminine — they have a high rise and a remarkable strength and diagnose intersex-variability is very difficult.

We can say that the definition of "intersex" is how the anatomy that does not fit into the stereotypes about male or female and differences noticeable only at the level of chromosomes. Once the medicine was used, the term "androgyny" is considered incorrect today. Science has proved that people, like any other mammal that can't be a hermaphrodite, as the two different reproductive system, but still functioning, do not occur in nature.

Intersex are not so rare. Scientists have found that under this definition fall to 1.7% of the population of our planet. For comparison, that is about the same in the world of the twins and people with red hair. So intersex people live among us and this must be considered.

But the most interesting feature of intersex people is that they look indistinguishable from other people. Of course, if they decide to emphasize their uniqueness. Intersex-variability can diagnose still in the hospital, outside sex, unless of course they allow to make a diagnosis.

But the main problem is that the feature is not always explicit and may be years before we find out that puberty is not very usual. Sometimes, what about intersex know when trying to get pregnant or even live with it your whole life, not realizing its essence.

The emergence of intersex variations can be caused by many reasons. Often scientists have noted violations of sex development in children born to closely related marriages, but it is not the determining factor. Yes, that "disorders of sex development" is the worldwide call this phenomenon. The term "intersex" is used more often, but science it is not recognized.

Intersex people get help from a team of specialists, including endocrinologists, gynecologists, urologists, surgeons, geneticists, and, of course, psychotherapists. Only such a serious company doctors will be able to make the correct diagnosis and to detect all the nuances of intersex variations.

But if the sense to turn to doctors in this case, because intersex-variability cannot be cured? Yes, the point is — even though "cure" such an innate feature of the body will not work, most often there is an opportunity to bring man to the floor, to which he classifies himself.

Once the "treatment" of intersex people was to surgical intervention at an early age. Most often, the operation was carried out in the case that has shown the ability genitals. Surgeons brought patients to the "ladies standard", as female genitalia to form the male is much easier. Because of this, the majority of intersex was the girls no matter what they actually felt.

Now to the treatment of intersex people fit very carefully and the key role played by the how determines the patient. In some countries found it necessary to prohibit surgical sex change until the child is six years. This is not the way out, but already the first serious step toward him.

But very often it happens that intersex is not apparent until puberty. In addition to the hormonal surge, these people are faced with a large number of complexes of atypical body. Secondary sexual characteristics such people can be formed not in the usual way, or not appear at all, which often becomes a real tragedy.

Many people, when hearing the term "intersex", make erroneous conclusions, associating it with the concept of sexual orientation. This person can be both hetero-and homosexual and this is regardless of what his set of chromosomes. The last 10-15 years against intersex has changed for the better. The world learned more about these people and they can live a fulfilling, to tell about themselves and even create a family.

Despite this, most intersex people continue to hide their characteristic, fear of being misunderstood or not accepted by the public. But people with "disorders of sex development" actively support each other, together in community in real life and online. They share the joys and challenges, advise medical professionals and just pour out each other's soul.