中间性 - 导言

流行程度：中间性发生率如何？

很难说究竟有多少孩子天生就是中间性。就像已经解释过的那样，中间性是一个现代的概念，它涵盖宽泛的异常性发育的性象谱。某些中间性出生的当口就一目了然，其他的则隐含着、甚或在严密的医学体格检查下也不能察觉。有时，是否应该对特定的病例给予中间性的称谓，确乎是看法不同的问题。换一句话说：中间性非常象人类其他的性现象一样，是一个程度差异的问题，并且依各国的各种各样的社会习俗与医学惯例而定，因为各国划定的精确诊断标准各有差异。不过，有人不断地尝试欲估量出受到中间性影响的人数，但是这些个估值差别非常大。最适当的估数似乎是：在每1500-2000个活产中有一个孩子需要专家来帮助确定其性别。此外，还有不确切数量的中间性在出生时未引人注意，直到生命的晚期才被人发现。从更广泛的视野来观察，人们发现每100个新生儿中有1例在生理外观上与正常的男性或女性不一样，而且每1000名新生儿中有1例接受性器官“标准化”的矫治手术(1)。简而言之，中间性相对罕见，却仍然是一个足以值得普遍关注的问题。如果人人都就此问题达到了充分的认识，这不仅对于所涉及到的个人非常有帮助，而且对于社会其他人也是莫无裨益的。

男女之间的性象谱  　　                  Spectrum between female and male                在男性与女性之间可能存在着宽泛的异常性发育的性象谱。中间性的不同定义是基于性象谱的(A) 狭义的含义或(B) 广义含义来界定的。 There is a wide spectrum of possible atypical developments between female and male. Different definitions of intersexuality are based on (A) narrower or (B) wider sections of this spectrum.

1. Blackless, M., Charuvastra, A., Derryck, A., Fausto-Sterling, A., Lauzanne, K. and Lee, E. 2000. How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis. American Journal of Human Biology 12:151-166

Intersexuality - Introduction

Prevalence: How common is intersexuality?

It is very difficult to say how many children are born as intersexes. As already explained, intersexuality is a modern concept covering a wide spectrum of atypical developments. Some are immediately obvious, others are hidden or hardly noticeable even under close medical scrutiny. Sometimes, it is a matter of opinion whether the term “intersex” should be applied to a particular case. In other words: Like so much else in human sexuality, intersexuality is a matter of degree, and it depends on various social and medical conventions where exactly one draws the diagnostic line. Nevertheless, there have been repeated attempts to estimate the number of persons affected, and these estimates vary widely. The best estimate today seems to be this: In one of every 1500 - 2000 live births, a specialist is called to help determine the sex of the baby. An additional, but unknown number of intersex conditions are not noticed at birth, but are discovered later in life. Taking a broader view of the issue, it has been found that one in 100 newborns differ in their physical appearance from the expected typical male or female, and that one in 1000 receive surgery to “normalize” the appearance of their sex organs (1). In short, intersexuality is relatively rare, but still common enough to deserve our attention. It would be very helpful not only for the persons concerned, but also for the rest of society if everyone were better informed about the subject.

1. Blackless, M., Charuvastra, A., Derryck, A., Fausto-Sterling, A., Lauzanne, K. and Lee, E. 2000. How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis. American Journal of Human Biology 12:151-166