How common are hermaphrodites? (half female/half male)?!


Question:

How common are hermaphrodites? (half female/half male)?

And is it usually corrected at birth these days?


Answers:

Extremely rare. Possible, but highly unlikely.
Also it can be corrected when the person is a baby, as in altering the external sex organs to make them look female.
And treat them as a female in the society. Bring them up as a girl, dress them in girl's clothes.
I'm sure this has been done in the past in the USA.
I doubt it would be well looked upon these days however.
Usually, an hermaphrodite would look like a female with a very small penis. There's some variation though, and not everyone is the same. As far as I recall, the internal sexual organs may be absent, or atrophied. And the person wouldn't be capable of reproducing.

There's a large variation in sexual expression within humans, rather than the simple male and female that we are taught.

With the advent of using hormones for sex changes, I'm sure, this area has advanced, and a person can choose to take hormones. Choose to have surgery. And could choose what sex, they want to be.
I'm certain that anyone veering from the supposedly 'normal' male and female is still treated badly by a large part of the human race though.
On top of that, pesticides, other chemicals in the environment, are affecting ALL of us, as far as sexuality and sexual expression, hormonal conditions, imbalances, whatever you care to call these conditions.
Pesticides may even be the cause of intersex for some.
Whereas for others it can be their genetic make up.
Or the exposure to or lack of exposure to hormones while in the mother's womb.



"Definition:

Intersex is a group of conditions where there is a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).

The older term for this condition, hermaphroditism, came from joining the names of a Greek god and goddess, Hermes and Aphrodite. Hermes was a god of male sexuality (among other things) and Aphrodite a goddess of female sexuality, love, and beauty.

Although the older terms are still included in this article for reference, they have been replaced by most experts (and patients and families) because they are misleading, confusing, and insensitive. Increasingly this group of conditions is being called disorders of sex development (DSDs).
Alternative Names:
Disorders of sex development; DSDs; Pseudohermaphroditism; Hermaphroditism; Hermaphrodite
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Intersex can be divided into four categories:

* 46, XX Intersex
* 46, XY Intersex
* True Gonadal Intersex
* Complex or Undetermined Intersex"


True hermaphrodites (True Gonadal Intersex) are born with tissue from both female gonads, and male gonads. ie: ovarian tissue and testicular tissue.

For more go here:
http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001669.h...

This article describes true hermaphroditism, and treatment. It says many have been treated as males. Which differs, from the information I was given when I was studying physiology in a psychology degree. (eg. most were treated as females)


http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1702.h...


"Family medical practitioner, research psychologist and popular author Leonard Sax describes intersexuality as
“ conditions in which chromosomal sex is inconsistent with phenotypic sex, or in which the phenotype is not classifiable as either male or female. Applying this ... precise definition, the true prevalence of intersex is seen to be about 0.018%. ”

Applying Sax's approximation to the population of the U.S. yields about 54,000 intersex people."




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories