Intersexuality

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.