Intersexuality

Both female and male children, adolescents, and adults can have serious physical problems affecting their sex organs and their sexual responses. Leaving aside infertility and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), one finds that such problems may also be caused by a great variety of non-sexual diseases and injuries too numerous to be discussed in this course. The relevant information is provided by special web sites, for example by that of the Harvard Medical School. Information on chronic physical disabilities must also be sought elsewhere, for example in our list of links on Sex, Illness, and Disability. However, the following section will, in a general way, discuss at least one problem which is receiving increased attention today. It is the problem of intersexuality which has not only physical and psychological, but also ethical, legal, and indeed sociopolitical dimensions.The persons affected have, in recent years, become ever more vocal and have raised the discussion to a new level. An excellent source of information about this is the Intersex Society of North America.