Intersex and Identity - Essay Example

Running Head: INTERSEX AND IDENTITY INTERSEX AND IDENTITY Insert Name Title Date Intersex and Identity Introduction Intersex and identity explains how people in the modern world experience and cope with issues related to sexual differences in a cultural environment that is highly in demand of sexual conformity. Everyone wants to be described as either male or female and very few would want to be described as hermaphrodites since they believe that it is an abnormality but more research and studies are still being done on gender so as to come to a conclusion on the number of genders that are there in existence (Brian, 2008). The western culture has made most people believe that there are only two sexes in the world and these are the male and female sexes or two distinctive genders. Everyone believes that gender can either be classified as male or female but this ideology can be debated on because most of research that has been done claims that there can be more than one sexes or genders and these are such as male, female or Aphrodite. This is the possibilities that have been put across by research even though language does agree with such possibilities of having more than one sex in the world (Germon, 2005). This idea of having only two sexes in the world is not fair because there could be other sexes that have not yet been found and when found, no one wants to believe it at all. Love is believed to be in existence between a male and a female organism in order for sexual intercourse to take place and in this case that kind of a belief should be argued over because most people know about an Aphrodite and that this is an organism that has both the female and male sexual organs and other characteristics. Giving limitations in research should not be accepted because it is through research that people are able to learn new things in the world and more inventions are made through it and all this leads to development. There is so much to learn in life and that there should be room for more inventions and discoveries to be made and ideas on the number of sexes in existence in the world should not be discouraged because they could be part of solutions to problems that human beings in the modern world face. Why Male and Female Is Not Enough One of the contrasts that can be drawn between the Germon’s account and the five sexes is that in the article on the five sexes parents and physicians are advised not to assume or ignore the emotional pain of their children who are forced into a socially acceptable gender since they do not wish to do so. This is a huge contrast between the two articles since they both focus on intersex but one focuses deeper on the issues affecting people with mixed sex in the modern world. The article also talks of the responses of Fausto-Sterling to the claims that other researchers gave on her article on the topic of intersexuality. The article on intersex as objectivity mainly discusses the concepts of sex and gender and deeply explains what it is as compared to the article on the five sexes that focus on factors affecting intersexuality. According to Fausto-Sterling and other authors, the idea of having two genders only in existence should not be encouraged because it makes biological research lose its meaning in the modern world. It also makes those people are neither male nor female feel inferior in the society like the hermaphrodites. If the legal system and states decide to maintain a system that only has two parts of sexual system, then it will be considered to be defying nature because having such a system will mean that what is natural should be changed and this is not possible (Germon, 2009). People are supposed to be aware that besides having a two part sexual system, there is a possibility that there can also be other sexual parts in the world. According to studies that have been made in biology, there are more than just two sexual gradations that range from female to male depending on how they are classified and these arguments can be made to prove all existing facts about this. Biologically speaking, the gradations of sexual systems are around five of them in existence but this is the way it is only because of the limitations that research has been given in the modern world through different beliefs that human beings embrace in the world (Harley, 2006). The Five Sexes There are many contrasts that can be depicted in article on the Five Sexes and Intersex as objectivity. The contrasts that can be drawn between this account and the Germon’s account are such as a human beings can be created with a mixture of both male and female characteristics and they are referred to as hermaphrodites who are also referred to as herms. They posses one penis and an ovary, the sperm and egg-producing vessels or gonads and the male pseudohermaphrodites have ovaries with some aspects of male genitalia without a testes. The article on the five sexes focuses more on the formation of the hermaphrodites and how the sex chromosomes are formed and how they function in relation to the five sexes. Along the spectrum of male and female gradations, there lies more than five sexes that are recognized in the biological world but research on more sexual gradations is still required since it is part of nature. There are three a primary group under which intersex is classified by Fausto-Sterling and these are the commonly known true hermaphrodites also known as herms. The male intersex is described as the pseudo hermaphrodite also known as the merms and the female psuedohermaphrodite are known as the ferms. Other biological studies such as studies made by John Money agrees with claims made by Fausto-Sterling but adds more sexes to the five that have been put across by Sterling and he introduces seven more. After introducing more than three sexes in the world, biological discoveries are believed to be deceiving people and this means that such discoveries have to be approved by other scientific research in the modern world. More studies done in sexology, sexosophy and exigency theories are depended upon so as to come up with a conclusion on the number of sexes that are in existence and how they should be categorized. The claims of money have it that genders can be up to nine in number and this means that the gender of male and female dichotomy can be greatly challenged (Holmes, 2008). Material beings that are considered to be either male normative or female normative can also be further categorized into other classifications in the Money studies and this will be a totally different classification. Along with the groupings of Money, each parts of the herms, merms and the ferms can be given their own distinctive genetic codes but still the intersex will still remain trope especially with the use of the prefix inter that gives it a specific continuum or a series that is discontinuous. The efforts that have been made by scientific studies in normalizing different genders as either male or female, have been successful in many different ways because this means that it is possible to classify genders in the world (Brian, 2008). Another contrast that can be drawn between these two articles is that the article on the five sexes mainly talks of people of mixed sex and regulations associated with them while in the Germon’s account this is not mentioned. It also focuses on the origins of hermaphrodites as far as sexuality is concerned. The article also talks more of the knowledge on the complexity of sexual systems and it gives more information on how people perceive hermaphrodites in the modern world. Some of the challenges that these studies have had are such as the beliefs that many people have as far as gender is concerned because this means that they want gender to be classified strictly as female or male while there are claims that there could be more genders in the world as compared to what is believed to be there. Biological research has increased greatly and this is through the recognition of implications that can be made on normative genders whether male or female. The study on intersex extends beliefs on gender to be way beyond the common beliefs of only having two traditional genders. The genders are further viewed according to their performative oppositions in the society and this means that there are more categories that can be played with (Dunn, 2008). The study on intersex is very important because it can help avoid issues associated with one normative gender being made to be lower than the other in order to avoid being violently forced to alter their bodies into fitting in one of the two normative genders being either male or female. Fitting a newly discovered gender into the nine existing genders in intersex is considered to be easier than fitting it in the two traditional genders due to the fact that there are expectations that should be met even though it can be done through violent means or enforcements (Germon, 2009). There are possibilities that more genders can be discovered in the future because more classifications can be given out of the existing merms, herms and ferms. Since the make-up of material bodies has continued to be mapped, the final classification of how many genders are in existence is yet to be given. The traditional genders that are still in existence can be expanded further into more biological classes in the future and this is what will make biological discoveries more effective. Other biological studies claim that it is not possible to know which gender a person is without making any reference on the traditional classification of genders in the modern world and the research also has it that it is also not possible to know the gender of one’s partner no matter how romantic they could be. It is believed that one can only get to know his or her gender after there has been a genetic testing since through this is when one can know where and how their gender can be classified. Genetic testing can also be inappropriate to some point because this means that when there are around nine classifications of intersex then coming to a conclusion on which gender a human being should be given can be an issue. On the other side it is also evident that knowing the gender of a given human being may not be that impossible because it was possible to discover that there is existence of a hermaphrodite in the society (Germon, 2005). With the rapid increase in the level of technology in the modern world, it is possible for the number of intersex in gender to be increased or another classification of gender to be found apart from the nine that have already been claimed by other scientists in history such as John Money among others. Human beings who have never been sure of their gender even when they are able to categorize themselves in the traditional gender classification, might end up realizing that they have their own classification as far as gender is concerned and this means that the existence of intersex can highly affect the number of gender in existence. After all these claims, it is possible to claim that male and female is not enough as far as gender classification is concerned. As far as intersex is concerned, there is a lot to be learned and this is because other living organisms apart from human beings such as whales among others also have other phenomenal differences. John Money explains that the five sexes are almost impossible due to the fact that surgical interventions have taken over the world of science (Preves, 2003). Intersex subjectivity can be described as a status that clearly defines the sex of an individual and this means that through Intersex subjectivity it is possible to know whether a human being is either male or female. Culture has contributed a lot to the classification of human beings as either male or female as the two traditional accepted classification of gender in the world. New technology has also contributed to how gender of human beings is classified in the society. In the previous years issues to do with infertility was perceived as a natural thing but after new inventions in the modern world, it has become easy to treat thus making it a medical problem. If issues associated with Intersex with ideas such as the existence of more than three sexes in the modern world being greatly focused on, then the interest on Intersex as subjectivity will be highly increased. Fausto-Sterling talks a lot about Intersex of babies and how they are related with their parents and it explains how they are of an indeterminate realm. The five sexes also ensures that the classification of human beings as either male or female should be given priority and should be given an appropriate classificatory schema. In this classification, man and woman are given the top position while hermaphrodite being given the third position in the chain. Through giving such classification, studies on gender are able to be advanced and more attention is bound to be given to it. Gender remains to be one of the greatest conceptual devices in both the twentieth and the twenty-first century. It has become more than just a conceptual device but also part of history in the modern world (Dina, 2009). In the 1950’s gender was not being viewed the way it is today simply because it was viewed as relations existing between words rather than between people. This was so because issues related to sex of the human beings was not a topic of discussion since it was observed as a taboo and people who could try to speak about these issues loudly were viewed as immoral in the society. It was not possible for more advanced biological research to be done on human beings and their sexes since the society viewed it as immoral behavior thus sticking to the idea that there are only two sexual systems in the world (Alexander, 2003). In the modern world things have changed as compared to the previous years simply because research done Intersex and human gender has taken a totally different direction with the improved level of technology. Another contrast that can be drawn between this account and the Germon’s account since it discusses a range of gender theories in the world and the approaches that medical and sexologist approaches give it in relation to the historical backgrounds of these people. Sexual variations are also discussed as far as gender and other factor affecting it is concerned in the modern world and more knowledge on how the body grows. The study on gender focuses on many things associated with human beings. Some of the most important things that Intersex focuses on in human beings are such as the knowledge of the person and other things. Much research has been done on how many genders are in existence but this has not been concluded since there are more theories that are being put across to justify that more genders could still be found (Gilbert, 2002). Conclusion In conclusion even though most people are just aware of the most common two traditional genders which can only categorized as either male or female. The third sexual classification of human beings is the hermaphrodite which had been recognized after a long period of time and this means that most people are just aware of the two most common genders and those who are more knowledgeable are aware of the third type which is hermaphrodite. After comparing both why male and female is not enough and Intersex as subjectivity, one is able to have an idea on what gender is and how many types of genders are in existence. References Brian, S (2008). Online intersex communities: virtual neighborhoods of support and activism. University Chao, Cambria Press Germon, J (2005). Dissertation abstracts international: The humanities and social sciences. Dissertations Academic, University Microfilms International Germon, J (2009). Gender: a genealogy of an idea. New York, Macmillan, Palgrave Holmes, M (2008). Intersex: a perilous difference. New York, Associated University Press Preves, S (2003). Intersex and identity: the contested self. New York, Rutgers University Press Dina, L (2009). Questions of gender: perspectives and paradoxes. McGraw-Hill, University of Virginia Alexander, J (2003). Bisexuality and transgenderism: interSEXions of the others. New York, Routledge Gilbert, R (2002). Early modern hermaphrodites: sex and other stories. New York, Palgrave Dunn, G (2008). Textbook of contemporary psychiatry. University of Michigan, Collamore Press Harley, J (2006). Locating Medical History: The Stories and Their Meanings. New York, JHU Press Read More

According to Fausto-Sterling and other authors, the idea of having two genders only in existence should not be encouraged because it makes biological research lose its meaning in the modern world. It also makes those people are neither male nor female feel inferior in the society like the hermaphrodites. If the legal system and states decide to maintain a system that only has two parts of sexual system, then it will be considered to be defying nature because having such a system will mean that what is natural should be changed and this is not possible (Germon, 2009).

People are supposed to be aware that besides having a two part sexual system, there is a possibility that there can also be other sexual parts in the world. According to studies that have been made in biology, there are more than just two sexual gradations that range from female to male depending on how they are classified and these arguments can be made to prove all existing facts about this. Biologically speaking, the gradations of sexual systems are around five of them in existence but this is the way it is only because of the limitations that research has been given in the modern world through different beliefs that human beings embrace in the world (Harley, 2006).

The Five Sexes There are many contrasts that can be depicted in article on the Five Sexes and Intersex as objectivity. The contrasts that can be drawn between this account and the Germon’s account are such as a human beings can be created with a mixture of both male and female characteristics and they are referred to as hermaphrodites who are also referred to as herms. They posses one penis and an ovary, the sperm and egg-producing vessels or gonads and the male pseudohermaphrodites have ovaries with some aspects of male genitalia without a testes.

The article on the five sexes focuses more on the formation of the hermaphrodites and how the sex chromosomes are formed and how they function in relation to the five sexes. Along the spectrum of male and female gradations, there lies more than five sexes that are recognized in the biological world but research on more sexual gradations is still required since it is part of nature. There are three a primary group under which intersex is classified by Fausto-Sterling and these are the commonly known true hermaphrodites also known as herms.

The male intersex is described as the pseudo hermaphrodite also known as the merms and the female psuedohermaphrodite are known as the ferms. Other biological studies such as studies made by John Money agrees with claims made by Fausto-Sterling but adds more sexes to the five that have been put across by Sterling and he introduces seven more. After introducing more than three sexes in the world, biological discoveries are believed to be deceiving people and this means that such discoveries have to be approved by other scientific research in the modern world.

More studies done in sexology, sexosophy and exigency theories are depended upon so as to come up with a conclusion on the number of sexes that are in existence and how they should be categorized. The claims of money have it that genders can be up to nine in number and this means that the gender of male and female dichotomy can be greatly challenged (Holmes, 2008). Material beings that are considered to be either male normative or female normative can also be further categorized into other classifications in the Money studies and this will be a totally different classification.

Along with the groupings of Money, each parts of the herms, merms and the ferms can be given their own distinctive genetic codes but still the intersex will still remain trope especially with the use of the prefix inter that gives it a specific continuum or a series that is discontinuous. The efforts that have been made by scientific studies in normalizing different genders as either male or female, have been successful in many different ways because this means that it is possible to classify genders in the world (Brian, 2008).

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