Jalu
Steve's Destiny
How Do You Know That You Are 'Normal"?
Were you born "normal", as either a boy or a girl with all the right sex organs in the right place and with the "normal" sex drives? Are you sure? Many people who think so are wrong, and may never know it. Most us have been taught to believe that everybody is either a boy or a girl, period. But that is simply not the case.
"Sex differences occur on a number of independent dimensions. Genetic sex, or the organization of the "sex chromosomes," is often thought to indicate the true sex, with males having one X and one Y, while females have two Xs. However, about one in 400 people are neither XX nor XY, but have less common combinations, such as XO (a single X), XXY, or even different combinations in different cells within the same individual, for instance some cells XX and some cells XY. During gestation (pregnancy), the sex chromosomes determine the differentiation of the gonads, usually into ovaries or testes, but sometimes into ovo-testes (combining ovarian and testicular cells), and occasionally the gonads are absent. For the first six weeks, all fetuses have essentially female genitals. Testosterone produced by fetal testes causes the clitoris to grow to form a penis, the inner labia to wrap around the penis to create the penile urethra, and the outer labia to fuse to create a scrotal sac. The process may not complete, resulting in genitals which may look nearly female, but with a large clitoris; nearly male, with a small penis and perhaps with the urethral meatus (urinary aperture) along the bottom rather than at the tip of the penis; or they may be truly "right in the middle" ambiguous genitals, with a structure that might be considered either a large clitoris or a small penis, surrounded with what might be a split, empty scrotum, or outer labia, and with a small vaginal pouch that opens into the urethra rather than into the perineum. Because different hormonal systems control the differentiation of the genitals and of the internal reproductive organs, some individuals are born with nearly male genitals outside, and a uterus, tubes, and ovaries inside. Some are born with female genitals outside and undescended testes inside.
Boy or girl? This is one of the first questions new parents are asked. But sometimes it's not so clear. About one in 45,000 children are born without a clearly identifiable sex. Doctors, patients and parents are faced with huge dilemmas when they have to make the choice - boy or girl. Rae Fry asks at what stage in the child's life should the choice be made? And does the choice have to be made at all? At the core of the debate is surgery on babies and very young children. For decades, this has been conventional medical practice for children born with sexual organs that are in between male and female. It sounds barbaric, and patient groups and some surgeons are calling for the practice to be stopped. They say surgery should be delayed until the child is old enough to consent. But surgery or no surgery is not the only issue. Intersex conditions include a wide variety of internal and external, genetic and hormonal characteristics. Many aren't visible at birth. And every individual affected is unique.
http://www.kindredspiritlakeside.homestead.com/Intersexuality.html
How many people would continue to deny that people are born homosexual if they had any idea how ambiguous the whole issue of sexuality really is and how tenuous their own sexuality is?
Were you born "normal", as either a boy or a girl with all the right sex organs in the right place and with the "normal" sex drives? Are you sure? Many people who think so are wrong, and may never know it. Most us have been taught to believe that everybody is either a boy or a girl, period. But that is simply not the case.
"Sex differences occur on a number of independent dimensions. Genetic sex, or the organization of the "sex chromosomes," is often thought to indicate the true sex, with males having one X and one Y, while females have two Xs. However, about one in 400 people are neither XX nor XY, but have less common combinations, such as XO (a single X), XXY, or even different combinations in different cells within the same individual, for instance some cells XX and some cells XY. During gestation (pregnancy), the sex chromosomes determine the differentiation of the gonads, usually into ovaries or testes, but sometimes into ovo-testes (combining ovarian and testicular cells), and occasionally the gonads are absent. For the first six weeks, all fetuses have essentially female genitals. Testosterone produced by fetal testes causes the clitoris to grow to form a penis, the inner labia to wrap around the penis to create the penile urethra, and the outer labia to fuse to create a scrotal sac. The process may not complete, resulting in genitals which may look nearly female, but with a large clitoris; nearly male, with a small penis and perhaps with the urethral meatus (urinary aperture) along the bottom rather than at the tip of the penis; or they may be truly "right in the middle" ambiguous genitals, with a structure that might be considered either a large clitoris or a small penis, surrounded with what might be a split, empty scrotum, or outer labia, and with a small vaginal pouch that opens into the urethra rather than into the perineum. Because different hormonal systems control the differentiation of the genitals and of the internal reproductive organs, some individuals are born with nearly male genitals outside, and a uterus, tubes, and ovaries inside. Some are born with female genitals outside and undescended testes inside.
Boy or girl? This is one of the first questions new parents are asked. But sometimes it's not so clear. About one in 45,000 children are born without a clearly identifiable sex. Doctors, patients and parents are faced with huge dilemmas when they have to make the choice - boy or girl. Rae Fry asks at what stage in the child's life should the choice be made? And does the choice have to be made at all? At the core of the debate is surgery on babies and very young children. For decades, this has been conventional medical practice for children born with sexual organs that are in between male and female. It sounds barbaric, and patient groups and some surgeons are calling for the practice to be stopped. They say surgery should be delayed until the child is old enough to consent. But surgery or no surgery is not the only issue. Intersex conditions include a wide variety of internal and external, genetic and hormonal characteristics. Many aren't visible at birth. And every individual affected is unique.
http://www.kindredspiritlakeside.homestead.com/Intersexuality.html
How many people would continue to deny that people are born homosexual if they had any idea how ambiguous the whole issue of sexuality really is and how tenuous their own sexuality is?
