According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, intersex people are born with "any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that... do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies."
People born with physical sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary male or female classifications. Intersex individuals often face stigma and discrimination and require medical treatment and support.
Intersex anatomy: Understanding the physical differences and variations that occur in intersex individuals and the medical terminology used to describe them.
Hormones and their effects: Understanding how hormones influence the development and presentation of intersex traits and how hormonal treatments are used to manage intersex conditions.
Intersex identities: Exploring the various identities that intersex individuals may adopt, such as intersex, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming.
Intersex activism: Examining the ways in which intersex individuals and their allies organize and advocate for recognition, protection, and human rights.
Intersex medicalization: Analyzing the ways in which the medical system has historically pathologized and intervened in intersex bodies, including surgical interventions and forced gender assignments.
Intersex communities: Understanding the experiences and needs of intersex individuals in different cultural and social contexts, as well as the support networks and resources available to them.
Intersex legislation and policy: Examining the legal and policy frameworks that affect intersex individuals, including issues such as medical ethics, discrimination, and access to healthcare and legal documents.
Intersectionality: Understanding how intersex identities intersect with other aspects of identity, such as race, class, disability, and sexual orientation, and how multiple forms of oppression can compound to create unique experiences of marginalization.
Intersex language and terminology: Familiarizing oneself with the terminology used to describe intersex traits, identities, experiences, and communities, as well as the debates and controversies surrounding language use.
Ethics and research: Examining the implications of conducting research on intersex individuals, including issues related to informed consent, privacy, and the potential propensity for further stigmatization or harm.
"The number of births with ambiguous genitals is in the range of 1:4500–1:2000 (0.02%–0.05%)."
Yes, there are other conditions that involve atypical chromosomes, gonads, or hormones, but not all clinicians recognize them as intersex. The prevalence of "nondimorphic sexual development" might be as high as 1.7%, according to Anne Fausto-Sterling and co-authors.
"Some persons may be assigned and raised as a girl or boy but then identify with another gender later in life, while most continue to identify with their assigned sex."
"In the 19th and 20th centuries, some medical experts devised new nomenclature in an attempt to classify the characteristics that they had observed." Terms such as "hermaphrodites" or "congenital eunuchs" were previously used but are considered misleading and stigmatizing now.
In clinical settings, the term "disorders of sex development" (DSD) has been used since 2006.
"Intersex people face stigmatization and discrimination from birth, or following the discovery of intersex traits at stages of development such as puberty."
"Some intersex infants and children, such as those with ambiguous outer genitalia, are surgically or hormonally altered to create more socially acceptable sex characteristics."
This is considered controversial, with "no firm evidence of favorable outcomes."
"Such treatments may involve sterilization." Additionally, elite female athletes have been subjects of such treatment.
Increasingly, these issues are considered human rights abuses, as stated by international and national human rights and ethics institutions.
"In April 2015, Malta became the first country to outlaw non-consensual medical interventions to modify sex anatomy, including that of intersex people." These quotes should help provide answers to the study questions.