The Five Sexes

by Ann Fausto-Sterling - a Biologist and Historian at Brown University  In her article, ‘The Five Sexes,’ Fausto-Sterling challenges the conventional way of categorizing people as exclusively ‘male’ or ‘female’  The article provided a glimpse of the intellectual debate on Nature vs. Nurture. Western culture is deeply committed to the idea that there are only two sexes “Biologically speaking, there are many gradations running from female to male.” One can argue that spectrum lie at least five sexes – and perhaps even more Medical literature uses the term intersex as a catch-all for 3 major subgroups with some mixture of male and female characteristics. 3 major subgroups of intersex: 1. HERMS- the so-called true hermaphrodites who possess one testis and one ovary; 2. MERMSthe so-called male pseudohermaphrodites who have testes and some aspects of the female genitalia but no ovaries. 3. FERMSthe so-called female pseudohermaphrodites who have ovaries and some aspects of the male genitalia but lack testes. Sex is a vast, infinitely malleable continuum that defies the constraints of even five categories Intersexed person  Infants with ambiguous sex organs are entered into a program of hormonal and surgical management.  The main reason is that for them to have a “normal” life as heterosexual males or females. Hermaphrodite  Comes from the Greek names ‘Hermes’ and ‘Aphrodite.’ HERMES –the messenger of the gods, patron of music, controller of dreams or the protector of livestock. APHRODITE- the goddess of sexual love and beauty According to Greek mythology, those two Gods parented Hermaphroditus, who at age 15 became half male and half female when his body fused with the body of a nymph named Salmacis, who fell in love with him. INTERSEXUALITY ITSELF IS OLD NEWS According to Plato, there once were 3 sexes- male, female and hermaphrodite- but the third sex was lost with time The Jewish books of laws (TALMUD and TOSEFTA) provided regulations for people of ‘mixed sex’. At the end of the Middle ages in Europe, hermaphrodites were compelled to choose their sex/gender and ‘stick with it’ The Mysterious case of Levi Suydam  In a period, when women were not allowed to vote, being a true hermaphrodite challenged the rule.  is a 23 year old resident of Salisbury, Connecticut .  S/he was more female than male and thus could not be allowed to cast a ballot  To settle the dispute on whether Suydam is a female or male, was tasked to examine Suydam.  Based on Dr. Barry’s diagnosis, Suydam was allowed to vote. However, after the premature diagnosis, it was discovered that Suydam menstruated regularly and had a vaginal opening JOHN MONEY  Psychologist of Johns Hopkins University; specialist in the study of congenital sexualorgan defects.  psychologist/sexologist who believed that a person could be raised different from his/her biological sex.  He suggested that intersexuals may constitute as many as four percent of births. His most celebrated case, John/Joan, challenges his research on sex reassignment.  In 1967 John was turned into a girl by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  John/Joan suffered in an accident (loss his penis) during a circumcision when he was only 8 months.  John’s penis was burned during the circumcision, when the electro-cautery needle (a device used to seal blood vessels as it cuts) malfunctioned. Though it is uncertain if it was really a mechanical malfunction or doctor’s error.  In December,1966, the parents of John saw Dr. John Money on a TV program, promoting the Johns Hopkins Hospital as the world’s first Gender Identity Clinic. “He was saying that it could be that babies are born neutral and you can change their gender. Something told me that I should get in touch with this Dr. Money.” -John’s Mother    John/Joan experienced the journey from boy to girl and back again. He undergone 2 phalloplasty to reconstruct his penis. He got married and had three adopted children. Dr. John Money was one of the experts who advised the sex reassignment of John. Thus, the surgery was done plus a 12-year program of social, mental and hormonal conditioning. According to Money, the primary factor that determined an intersexual child’s gender identity was not biological traits but the way that the child was raised. Hugh H. Young (1937)  Urologist, Johns Hopkins University  He published a book on intersexuality entitled, “Genital Abnormalities, Hermaphroditism and Related Adrenal Diseases.”  One of his more interesting cases was a hermaphrodite named Emma who had grown up as a female; Emma had both a penis-size clitoris and a vagina. DEWHURST AND GORDON (1969)  In their book, “The Intersexual Disorders,” they provided medical and surgical approaches to intersexuality. The scientific dogma on intersexuality “Without medical care, hermaphrodites are doomed to a life of misery.” (Fausto-Sterling, 1993) Where does the Misery Comes from?  Science able to discipline the ‘unruly bodies’ of the hermaphrodites through sex reassignment.  On whether the misery is brought by medical complications or a societal pressure ‘to belong’ (in either male or female category) is still a contested terrain. Why a need for sex reassignment? “The answers seem to lie in a cultural need to maintain clear distinctions between the sexes.” (Fausto-Sterling) The central mission of medical treatment would be to preserve life. Modern Anglo- Saxon legal systems require that newborns be registered as either male or female Thus, hermaphrodites would be concerned primarily not about whether they can conform to society but about whether they might develop potentially life-threatening conditions. STATE LAWS Control Sex determination Illinois- the state requires a certification from the performing physician that a sex reassignment was made, before any changes in the birth certificate. The treatment of intersexuality provides a clear example of what the French historian Michel Foucault has called biopower New York Academy of Medicine has taken an opposite view  Even if the external genitalia was altered, the chromosomal sex remains the same Foucault explained how knowledge (such as in biochemistry, embryology, etc.) has able to control our body. The irony of freeing the intersex from ‘misery,’ by imposing a certain kind of discipline in the body. The scientific community has avoided contemplating the alternative route of unimpeded intersexuality. Fausto-Sterling questioned the intention of science in reassigning an intersex into either male or female. Intersexuality confronts scientists/ scholars on the debate between essentialism and constructivism Essentialist View  Sexuality is a biological drive or instinct; female and male nature are fundamentally different.  The mode of thinking that assumes that all manifestations of gender difference are innate and transcultural and historical.  Donald Simons (1979) attempted to demonstrate that there is a female human nature and a male human nature that are distinctly different.  Freud’s theory of sexuality is essentialist in that it describes sexual libido as an innate biological drive. Social Constructionist View  Sexuality, sexual meanings, sexual identities and gender relations are socially defined and controlled.  Sexual behaviour and sexual meanings are subject to the forces of culture.