中間性

怎樣對待中間性：真實的範圍(A Range of Realities)

正如在本教程反復所見到的那樣，人類的性在所有的層面是一個程度差異的問題：

對於上述每一舉例，我們不會做出明晰的二元之一的選擇，而是把每一舉例看作一個可能發生的各種性現象的譜系，甚至於看作性的真象的性像譜。在自然界處處都可以找到這種性像譜，當然，這樣的性像譜長久以來就被生物學家所熟知。但是，作為整體的西方文明已經傾向於對這種顯而易見的性像譜視而不見，並且把自然界曲解為有明確界限和一成不變的存在。人們寧願迷信自然界的絕對事物，把所觀察到的現象安放得井然有序，把它們規整為一成不變的等級系統。因而，人們也想當然地把各個性別看作可清晰定義的相反的對應體(“相反的性別”，opposite sex；以往被翻譯成“異性”——譯者注)。 他們頑固地拒絕接受中間的過渡層階，不承認所有的生理和心理變異現象，把這些變異看作偏離亙古不變準則的異端。

現代科學只有逐漸而艱難的進步才能化解人們刻板的頭腦，才能讓人們看清在客觀實際裏的層階範圍，才能讓他們注意到自然現象從一種向另一種轉變的過渡形式。尤其自從查理斯•達爾文(1809 -1882)出現以後，生物學家才開始明白和重視自然界產生變異的巨大潛能。確實，只有達爾文的理論才讓他們終於認識到：自然界的這種潛能是我們這個星球上所有生物的真正的源泉。這種見識及其隱喻仍舊未被每一個人所領悟。不過，至少在中間性的病例裏，從醫學專業中，從普遍的社會方面，我們現在正在逐漸熟悉一些古典生物學原理。通過中間性權益宣導與援助社團的宣傳和不懈的努力，這種熟悉的進程已經有了極大的進展。

Intersexuality

Dealing with Intersexuality: A Range of Realities

As we have repeatedly seen in this course, human sexuality is, in all of its aspects, a matter of degree:

In each of these instances, we are not dealing with clear-cut alternatives, but with a spectrum of possibilities and, indeed, realities. Such spectra are found everywhere in nature, and, of course, they have long been well known to biologists. However, Western civilization as a whole has tended to turn a blind eye to the obvious and to misread nature as a sum of definite, immutable entities. People preferred to believe in natural absolutes, fitting all observed phenomena in into a neat, hierarchical system of invariables.Thus, they also thought of the sexes as clearly definable opposites (“opposite sex”). They refused to accept intermediate stages as valid in themselves and dismissed all physical and psychological variations as deviations from some eternal norm.

It was only the slow, painful progress of modern science that enabled people to develop a less rigid view, to discover ranges within categories and to notice transitions from one natural phenomenon to another. Especially since Charles Darwin (1809 -1882), biologists began to understand and appreciate the enormous capacity of nature to produce variations. Indeed, they came to realize that this capacity is the very source of all life on our planet. This insight and its implications have not yet been absorbed by everyone. However, at least in the case of intersexuality, the medical profession and society at large are now becoming familiar with some old biological truths. This process has been greatly helped by the formation and tireless work of intersexual advocacy and support groups.