Hermaphrodite – causes, types, treatment, legal issues [EXPLAINED]

Proven content

Sometimes a child is born who has genitals with some male and female characteristics. Deeper than the outward appearance, some people are born with a mix of male and female biological characteristics (such as the uterus and testicles) that cannot be seen externally. When a person doesn’t match the male or female gender, we call them a hermaphrodite. Who is a hermaphrodite (intersex person)? What are its characteristics? Can hermaphroditism be treated?

What is hermaphroditism?

Hermaphroditism is otherwise known as intersexuality or androgynism in humans. Hermaphroditism is a malformation of the external and internal genitalia. According to research, intersexuality can be hormonal or hereditary. There are two types of androgynous: female and male.

Read: Chromosomal roulette – what exactly does it mean?

Hermaphrodite – definition

The name hermaphrodite refers to an organism that combines both male and female sexual organs. Another name for such a person is zwitterion. Antibiotic is relatively rare in humans as it occurs once in 1000 cases (some sources say that it occurs once in 500 births), while in the natural world (in plants and animals) it occurs quite often.

Also check: Children without gender

Hermaphrodite – name etymology

The term “hermaphroditus” comes from Latin and is translated as bisexual, that is, intersex. The Hermaphrodites owe their name to the Greek myth about the nymph Salmakis, who unfortunately fell in love with the son of Hermes and Aphrodite and asked the deities to join the bodies of the young into one creation. This is how the Hermaphrodite was created with the simultaneous features of the male and female reproductive organs.

Hermaphroditism – factors influencing its formation

There are two main factors in the medical literature that can influence the development of hermaphrodoticism. The first is serious accidental chromosomal abnormalities which are not inherited. The second is fetal endocrine disorders. Such an individual has the correct genes, compatible with the gonadal sex, but (for various reasons) his body was shaped by the wrong hormones.

Both in the case of chromosomal and endocrine disorders, they concern not only the external appearance of a person, but also the psychological and social sphere. Abnormal development in the prenatal period also causes changes in the structure of the brain and human personality.

It is suspected that human zwitterion may also be caused by hormonal imbalances in the womb. There is also a chance that this situation will arise if a pregnant woman takes certain medications, e.g. androgenic preparations, especially in the first stage of pregnancy. Another reason may be fetal adrenal hyperplasia, as well as the occurrence of tumors that produce androgens.

Also read: Androgens in women in men

Hermaphroditism – types

There are three types of hermatophroditism: female pseudohermaphroditism, male pseudohermaphroditism and true hermaphroditism.

Female pseudohermaphroditism – a person with this hermaphrododism has female chromosomes, but the external genitalia seems to be male. This is most often the result of the female fetus being exposed to excess male hormones before birth. The labia (“lips” or skin folds of the external female genitals) fuse together and the clitoris enlarges to look like a penis. In most cases, the person has a normal uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes.

This condition is also called 46 XX with virilization (development of physical characteristics typical of adult males in females or young boys. Most virilization lesions are caused by androgens. The term “virilization” is used in three contexts: prenatal sexual differentiation, postnatal changes during puberty men and the excessive influence of androgens in women). The literature lists the following possible reasons for the development of this phenomenon:

1. congenital adrenal hyperplasia – one of the most common causes
2. a woman taking male sex hormones (e.g. testosterone) before and during pregnancy,
3. aromatase deficiency – This is an enzyme that normally converts male hormones into female hormones. Too much aromatase activity can lead to excess estrogen (female hormone).

Male pseudohermaphroditism – such a person has male chromosomes, but the external genitalia is incompletely formed, ambiguous or clearly female. Internally, the testicles may be normal, distorted, or absent. This condition is also called 46 XY with insufficient ventilation.

The formation of the external male genitalia depends on an appropriate balance between the male and female hormones. Therefore, it requires proper production and function of male hormones. The following possible causes of male pseudohermaphroditism are identified:

1. problem with the formation of testicles – the testes produce male sex hormones. If the testicles do not form properly, it will lead to malformation. Probably the cause of this process is gonadal dysgenesis,
2. problems with testosterone production,
3. problems with testosterone use – some people have normal testicles and produce adequate amounts of testosterone, but are still a male hermaphrodite due to a 5-alpha reductase deficiency or androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS).

People with 5-alpha reductase deficiency lack the enzyme needed to convert testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). There are at least 5 different types of 5-alpha reductase deficiency. Some children have normal male sex organs, some have normal female genitals, and many have something in between. Most turn into male external genitalia during adolescence.

AIS is the most common cause of 46 XY. This has also been called testicular feminization. Here the hormones are normal, but the male hormone receptors are not working properly. To date, more than 150 different defects have been identified, each causing a different type of AIS.

Real Pseuhermaphroditism is the least frequently diagnosed form of hermaphroditium, in such cases a person has both testicular and ovarian tissues at the same time. In true hermaphrodite, the problem begins at the prenatal stage, as the gynecologist may have trouble determining the sex of the baby due to the fact that the testicle appears on one side and the ovary on the other.

True hermaphroditism is characterized by a mosaic genetic gender. True hermaphroditism therefore means that a person identifies himself with both genders at the same time. In most cases, whatever steps are taken as the conscientious determination of gender affiliation is made. The last stage is a surgical operation, which results in the reconstruction of the genital organs. The operation is necessary because it guarantees that the physical characteristics are compatible with the selected sexual orientation.

1. Can I plan my baby’s gender?

Hermaphrodite – is treatment possible?

In the case of the so-called hermaphrodite surgery of the genital organs has been practiced since the 70s (the first operation in America), and in Poland only for a dozen or so years. It should be mentioned that in Poland there are organizations associating hermaphrodites. Many of these people believe that having them operated on causes more harm than good, and people who were born with organs of both sexes should be treated as a third separate gender.

Such a classification was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Austria in 2003, issuing a passport to a local citizen who fought for a document for a person of both sexes for several months, without categorizing it to male or female, because according to her it would be a falsehood of reality.

Hermaphrodite – legal issues

Treatment of hermaphroditism is a moot point. Two-and-one is referred to as a sexual disorder, while hermaphrodites often desire to be viewed as a separate gender and to be accepted as they are. Some legislations allow for this possibility. Most countries, however, only regulate two genders: female and male.

Haemaphroditism itself is often operated on in humans right after birth, as mentioned earlier. Then the doctor, in consultation with the child’s guardians, decide which gender is dominant for him and leave it to him. In true hermaphroditism, this is often visible to the naked eye. However, in the other two situations, the choice of gender is not easy.

The gender identity of both pseudo-male hermaphrodites and pseudo-female hermaphrodites is not developed until during sexual maturation. The result is that many people want to postpone the operation until then, or even later, when the awareness of one’s gender is already evident.

Hermaphrodite – interesting facts

Organisms of the zwitterionic system are applicable as examples for the thesis to explain the existence of dioeciousness in both the plant festival and the animal world, and it is assumed that this process may have occurred through one or more intermediate steps. In the case of plants, the stages considered include:

1. gynodioetia (presence within the species of both hermaphroditic and female individuals),
2. androdioetia (hermaphrodites and male specimens),
3. andromonoecja,
4. monoetia,
5. distill,
6. subdioetia (hermaphrodites together with male and female individuals).

In the development of dioecious sex in animals, the intermediate stages are mentioned sequential hermaphroditism, or dichogamy, which is now found in some species of fish. Initially, the periodic separation of female and male functions was to ultimately contribute to the selective development of organs of one sex type in individual individuals.

The physiological remnant of the hermaphroditic developmental path is shown by a bipotent, undifferentiated embryonic gonad. It occurs in both invertebrates and vertebrates and can develop as several variants of the sexual system. In the case of vertebrates, an additional bisexual feature is the presence of primary gonadal tracts, both male and female (the so-called Wolff and Müller lines), in each embryo, regardless of the variant of the sex chromosomes.

In addition, the homology of the sexual organs of male and female individuals (e.g. clitoris (or clitoris or clitoris) and penis) is presented as a morphological evidence of their evolutionary transformation from one organism of the zwitterion. As a result, according to some researchers, plant and animal organisms, including humans, can be perceived as to some extent bisexual (intersex).

While cases of various stages of hermaphroditism found today among dioecious vertebratesare considered atavism. It is considered impossible for them to develop full androgynous nature because of the current combination of genes.

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