Throughout the course of this semester we have learned about intersexuality and transexuality. Intersexuality as explained through my readings is when a person has a mixture of male and female characteristics such as ambiguous gentalia. Under this category of intersexuality there are the sub-categories of hermaphrodites and male and female pseudo hermaphrodites. When referring to ambiguous gentalia this abnormality happens because the SRY gene which is the gene which is needed for a fetus to turn the gonads in the fetus into what will later on be the testes, scrotum, etc. If the SRY gene is not present in the fetus it will not create male gentalia but instead it turns into the ovaries and other female reproductive organs. From a medical standpoint, a true hermaphrodite is one who is born with both gentalia completely produced. A transsexual is quite different. By definition a transsexual is a person who feels that they have the wrong body. For example, a man who surely believes that God gave him the wrong body and he were supposed to be a woman all along. These individuals so strongly believe these thoughts that a great amount of them will have surgeries to alter theirselves. To a heterosexual person this might seem dumb or flat out outrageous but these situations are real and they are going on everyday around them. Intersexuals and transsexuals are so stigmatized in our society that most of them feel scared, ashamed, or even afraid because they are viewed wrongly in our society. Most of the intersexed community tried to keep these things a secret because they do not feel comfortable talking about it, and do not want to be rejected by their loved ones or their community. They most times feel as if this difference brings shame to their families and loved ones, that’s why the majority of this community chooses to remain single and never marry in order to prevent embarrassment to their family. I believe that our society needs to be more tolerant of others.
