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中间性
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导言：一个复杂的问题
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涉及雌雄同体植物的的植物学符号。在此，雌性要素用红色显示，雄性要素用蓝色显示，而且它们共有的圆圈为紫色。现在，这个符号常常用来代表人类的中间性。
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在大多数的时候，大多数人承认人类分为两个性别——女性和男性。例如，当一个宝宝生下来的时候，急忙看看孩子的性器官通常会是每一个人脑海中想到的问题：是男孩还是女孩？
但是，就像我们已经在第一讲(人体性解剖学与性生理学基础)所了解到的那样，事情并不总是如此的简单。除了正常的男女解剖发育以外，有某些不正常的“中间状态的”孩子诞生，这使得我们难以决定新生儿的性别。现今，这样的新生儿通常用中间性的术语予以归类。通过全面的检查，某些这样的新生儿显示出女性或男性为主的生理特征，故此我们比较容易找到适当的解决办法。但是，偶尔，有证据显示问题是如此之复杂，以至于需要涉及到深远的伦理选择，需要长久的仔细思量和会诊才能够做出性别取舍。这些个选择不仅会摆在前来会诊和决策的医学和心理学专家的面前，而且也摆在了家长的面前，最终，也摆在了处于发育中的孩子、青少年和(所涉及到的)成人的面前。说实在的，近年来，许多成年的中间性者已经着手组织起来，而且向社会表达他们的挫折感；因为在他们的婴儿期，他们的性别选择只是被那些短视的医生善意地给做出了决定。这种对于传统医疗惯例的批评也日益波及到对于我们整个社会-文化传统的批评方面；因为，社会-文化传统坚持在两性之间作出清晰的划分，而且不屑于认可任何的“中间性别状态”。
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Intersexuality
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Introduction: A Complex Problem
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Botanical symbol referring to a double-sexed plant - a combination of the symbols for female and male.Here, the female element is shown in red, the male in blue, and their common circle in purple. The symbol is now often used for human intersexuality
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The division of human beings into two sexes - female and male - is taken for granted by most people most of the time. For example, when a baby is born, a quick look at its sex organs usually settles the question on everyone’s mind: It is either a girl or a boy.
However, as we have seen in Course 1 (Basic Human Sexual Anatomy and Physiology), the matter is not always that simple. In addition to the typical female and male anatomical developments, there are some atypical “intermediate” cases that can make it difficult to determine the sex of a newborn child. Today, such cases are usually summarized under the term
intersexuality. Some of them show, upon closer inspection, a clear preponderance of femaleness or maleness, and this makes it easier to find an appropriate solution. However, occasionally the problem proves to be so complicated that it requires long deliberations and consultations involving far-reaching ethical choices. These choices confront not only the medical and psychological specialists dealing with the case, but also the parents, and eventually the growing child, adolescent or adult as well. Indeed, in recent years, many intersexual adults have begun to organize and to vent their frustration with the choices that had been made for them in their infancy by well-meaning, but short-sighted doctors. This
critique of traditional medical practice increasingly also involves a
critique of our entire socio-cultural tradition which insists on a clear division between the sexes and has little patience with anything “in between”.
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