Hermaphrodite is a human or a being that has both the testicular tissue and the ovarian tissue. A hermaphrodite can develop set sexual traits of either male or female. Due to the sexual traits the hermaphrodite possesses, the society can either pass the hermaphrodite as either female or male. The hermaphrodite who appears distinctly male would pass as a male and the hermaphrodite who has a feminine physique would pass as a female.
There are three types of hermaphrodites including true, female Pseudo-hermaphrodite, and male Pseudo-hermaphrodite. The differences in categories are due to the nature of the sexual organs. Some have dominant sexual organs others have both sexual organs, with no dominant organ.
A true hermaphrodite is one born with ovarian and testicular tissues. The external genital of a true hermaphrodite is ambiguous and not normal.
A female Pseudo-hermaphrodite is born with ovaries but has male or ambiguous characteristics externally. The excessive production of androgens (male sex hormones) is the main cause of female Pseudo-hermaphrodite. It takes place in a developing fetus because there is the insufficient production of other types of hormones; this is a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Maternal androgens or aromatase deficiencies also cause female Pseudo-hermaphrodite.
A male Pseudo-hermaphrodite is born with the testicular organ but has female ambiguous characteristics. The cause of male Pseudo-hermaphrodite is maternal ingestion of estrogens, errors in the production of testosterone, reduced tissue response to testosterone and defects in androgen-dependent tissues.
History
The actual name Hermaphrodite has a mythic tale. It is derived from a Greek mythic tale from 1-8CE by Ovid as Salmacis and Hermaphroditus. In the mythic story the adolescent son of Hermes and Aphrodite identifies a cascade that nymph Salmacis owns while he is bathing. The nymph falls in love with the boy upon seeing him and asks the boy to love her in secrecy or to marry her. The boy rejects her, and she pretends to leave him but she goes to hide in the bush. When the boy takes off his clothes to take a bath, the nymph cannot contain her feelings and flees back to him. She holds his body tightly with her entire body and requests the gods to make them one forever. The gods respond to the nymph’s prayer and the two grow in one body, one face, one pair of legs and arms. They were neither male nor female but of one body (Avise 8).
Alongside this myth, there are two contrasting theories that explain the issue of hermaphrodites; one theory originating from Hippocratic writers and another originating from the Aristotelians. The Hippocratic theory, also known as a gender spectrum model, conceived that sex exist along a continuum from extremely male to extremely female with the hermaphrodites in the middle of the two. The Hippocratic writers suggested that both the maternal and the paternal seeds determine the sex of the fetus. The infant could exhibit a sexual identity in the spectrum depending on the dominance of the seed and the position in the womb. The sexual identity could range from ultra-male to ultra-female that exist on different sides of the uterus. The female offspring was located on the left side while the male on the right. Every combination of the female and the male seed produced an offspring with the sexual identity within the spectrum. When the male and female components are unbalanced, a hermaphrodite was formed and was located in the middle of the uterus (Daston and Park 118).
In contrast, Aristotle did not consider a Hermaphrodite of being of intermediate sex but as a human with double genitalia. He declared that excess matter contributed by the mother during conception for one fetus but insufficient for two formed an additional sexual organ. He termed hermaphroditism as a deformity of the genitals. The Aristotelian model laid a foundation for later conceptions of Hermaphrodite as a dissembler or deceiver due to Aristotelian insistence of a singular and true gender. The conceptions founded were critical to the pre-modern era society and legal controversies.
The debate of Hermaphrodites has become increasingly sexual and morally charged shifting from determining the nature of hermaphrodites to considering them as beings worth of medical treatises discussion.
Current trends
Hermaphrodites currently face religious, political, and biological scrutiny as people engage in a quest for a singular scientific certainty of a hermaphrodite. Even though hermaphrodites face scrutiny in the society, they have been accepted. They hermaphrodites may be given a sexual identity during birth by doctors and parents by performing genital surgery on infants to make them look normal. The infant undergoes surgery because both the parents are distressed by the appearance of the atypical genitals and think afterward the child will lead a normal easier life. The surgery does not always work as planned, and they may cause lost sexual sensation, psychological, and physical pain. Further, the child may reject the gender given at birth. Emerging advocates for hermaphrodites are ensuring that doctors maintain high standards during genital surgery. That is doctors tell the parents and patients the medical truth about their condition and the treatment process. Advocates for Informed Choice ensure that patients obtain complete and detailed information and that hermaphrodite children receive protection when making medical decisions (Guterman 1).
Certain religious groups argue that sexuality is not a choice neglecting the biological explanation of hermaphrodites that grants a logical explanation. Broader cultural developments aim at creating a conducive environment for the manifestation of previously unorthodox sexualities and gender identities; the hermaphrodites persist more marginally.
Rights of intersex
Hermaphrodites experience stigma and ill-treatment due to their biological conditions. Some religions term hermaphrodites as products of sin. Hermaphrodites need to have rights. They also need a safe environment where they can seek advice, share experiences, learn, and access medical care. Hermaphrodites have a right to protect the integrity of their body and to protect themselves from unnecessary investigation and treatment. Doctors should defer from non-essential surgery until a person is of age so that the child may give his or her consent. They have a right to participate in social activities. Caster Semenya, an athlete from South Africa, participated in the Olympics and later on people scrutinized her sexuality. The results from tests show that the athlete is a hermaphrodite. The report shows that she has no womb or ovaries and has internal testes. These tests violated the rights of Semenya, a hermaphrodite because her sexual identity at birth was female. Genital surgery to alter the sex of an infant remains for life-threatening conditions that demand immediate intervention. Countries should include provision for intersex or hermaphrodites rights in their constitution because hermaphrodites are another variation of human possibility. Hermaphrodites face challenges in their lives, and their treatment varies across different cultures. Today, advancement in human civilization and medical enlightenment work to ease the day to day burdens hermaphrodites face through greater acceptance and experience in physical and psychological treatments (NOCRIC 1).
Work Cited
Avise, John C. Hermaphroditism: A primer on the biology, ecology and evolution of dual sexuality. New York: Columbia University Press (2011): Web. Available from: <http://www.amazon.com/Hermaphroditism-Biology-Ecology-Evolution- Sexuality/dp/0231153864 > [Accessed April 17, 2015].
Daston, Lorraine, and Katharine Park. “The Hermaphrodite and the Orders of Nature: Sexual Ambiguity in Early Modern France.” Premodern Sexualities. New York: Rutledge (1996): Print.
Guterman, Lydia. Why are doctors still performing genital surgery on infants? Open Society Foundations (January 30, 2012): Web. Available from: <http://www.opensocietyfoundation.org/voices/why-are-doctors-still-performing-genital- surgery-on-infants > [Accessed April 17, 2015].
National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers. “The rights of the intersex child.” (2015): Web. Available from: < http://www.nocirc.org/intersexed/ > [Accessed April 17, 2015].
