“What is intersex?”
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that do not fit neatly into the typical binary definitions of female or male. Their sex chromosomes or sex characteristics are non-typical and / or do not align. Intersex people may have chromosomes, genitals, gonads, or other physical traits that are considered both male and female. Intersex is a well-documented phenomenon; real people are born with these variations every day.
At birth, doctors and parents usually assign a sex to a child based on their externally visible sex characteristics (i.e. whether they have a penis or a vagina). This may be different from their chromosomal sex.
What this tells us is that sex development is tremendously complex, involving a lot more than the X and Y chromosomes. Factors that may influence sex development include genes on many different chromosomes, hormones produced by the individual, and the hormones and other chemicals a fetus is exposed to in the womb.
Learn more about this with our series “Anatomy & Identity”
How we think about who we are and how that intersect with our bodies, brains and biology is the subject of discussion today. But has this always been the case? Are there blurred lines between anatomy & identity we should be exploring?
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Alice Dreger
Conjoined twins are among the rarest of human beings. Revered in some cultures and vilified in others. How should we think about individuality in conjoined twinning, & should the phenomenon often seen as a medical “problem” be solved?
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Alice Dreger
In 1911, French doctors thought LS, a fashion model, had herniated ovaries. No one expected them to be testes. What is intersex? And what can we learn about sex and gender development from it?
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Prof. Ann Phoenix
Conversation is a continuous act of curating, connecting and analysing the events in our lives. How do we decide how we want to be seen?
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Prof. Gina Rippon
Do the anatomical differences between men and women extend to the biology of the brain? Or does it all come down to environmental influence?
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B. Natterson-Horowitz, MD
The world of dating, sex and childbirth is a hazardous one, full of complex behaviours and even threats to our health. Well, mating in the animal kingdom is just as complex. What can we learn by looking at our animal cousins?
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B. Natterson-Horowitz, MD
Some of mankind's most enduring questions are about who we are as individuals, how we can live successfully alongside others, & the tension between the two. What can we learn about identity from our furry, feathered and scaly friends?
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Dr. Dorsa Amir
We often hear about nature vs nurture, but did you know that science can pinpoint specific personality traits that can be traced to the environment we grew up in? How much of our adult personality has its roots in not who we were born, but where?
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