中間性性象譜：身體性別——性特徵程度差異的問題

就像第一講中始終討論的那樣，當審視一個人的身體以確認女性或男性特徵的時候，我們需要考慮下面的5個因素：

     1. 染色體性別；
     2. 性腺性別；
     3. 激素性別；
     4. 內部生殖器官的結構；
     5. 外部性器官。

歸納起來，這5個因素整合成一個人的生物學性別，或更精確地說整合成一個人的身體性別(physical sex)。在日常用語中，身體性別常常簡單地稱為性別(sex)。

在絕大多數的情況下，所有這些因素昭示著男性或女性的正常性發育，而且這個人的性別據此從不會有人提出質疑。但是，卻有著反常的例子出現，例如可能這些因素中的一個或數個或全部以某種方式都無規律可循，而且看起來莫淩兩可或性發育不鮮明或缺失。於是，要確定這個人的性別就變得困難了。無論如何，這樣的案例昭示著一個常常被人忽略的生物學事實：身體性別是性特徵程度差異的問題。
　

The Intersexual Spectrum: Sex - A Matter of Degree

As already discussed in Course 1, when examining a person’s body for its female or male characteristics, one needs to consider the following 5 factors:

     1. Chromosomal sex,
     2. gonadal sex,
     3. hormonal sex,
     4. internal reproductive structures,
     5. external sex organs.

Taken together, these five factors add up to a person’s biological or, more precisely, physical sex. In everyday language, it is often simply called sex.

In most cases, all of these factors show a typically female or male development, and the person’s sex is therefore never in doubt. However, there are some atypical exceptions. For example, one or several or all of these factors may be irregular in some way or appear ambiguous or be underdeveloped or missing. It may then become difficult to determine the person’s sex. In any event, such cases demonstrate a biological truth that is often forgotten:
Physical sex is a matter of degree.