My friend/relative is intersexed

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This page is currently a work in progress, and we would appreciate any help or input into expanding it.

A brief overview

Intersexuality or intersex is very complex. It should be pointed out that it isn’t a basket of fruit, and that a person who is intersex may not need know that they are so. The fact that they are may never be known, and in some cases it has only been known to come to light because of observations made by Doctors in wholly unrelated medical treatment.

It is also important to note that unlike make people who identify as transsexual it is not always the case that an intersex person may be unhappy with their gender identity and indeed in many cases will not feel a need to transition. It is perhaps more important to intersex people to understand their condition, and to know that it does not detract from themselves in any way as a person.

Is my friend/relative going to change gender?

That is a complicated question that really can only be answered by your friend or relative. In short, it is not necessarily the case that they will, and the fact that they are intersex does not change who they are. It may be the case that they are perfectly happy with their gender identity in which case the answer would be “no”. In other cases the person may feel that their gender was incorrectly assigned at birth, in which case they may choose to transition The choice depends entirely on that person and how they feel about themselves.

At the end of the day, it is their choice, and whilst it is more than likely that they come across as a perfectly adjusted individual within their current gender role, it is important to respect the fact that they may not feel the same way about themselves. Their choice on whether to transition, if that is the route that they choose to take, is something that should be their choice and it would be wrong to pressure any individual either way.

See Also

In the meantime you may find the following pages of interest:

• Gender identity
• Intersexuality
• sex assignment
• List of transgender-related topics