Intersex and Transgender

Apparently the condition historically known as hermaphroditism is now called intersex. Defined here, there are four categories of intersex.

* 46, XX Intersex - Chromosomes of a woman, the ovaries of a woman, but external (outside) genitals that appear male.

* 46, XY Intersex - Chromosomes of a man, but the external genitals are incompletely formed, ambiguous, or clearly female.

* True Gonadal Intersex - Person must have both ovarian and testicular tissue.

* Complex or Undetermined Intersex - Many chromosome configurations other than simple 46, XX or 46, XY can result in disorders of sex development. These include 45, XO (only one X chromosome), and 47, XXY, 47, XXX -- both cases have an extra sex chromosome, either an X or a Y.

To determine which applies for an individual may require a complex biological evaluation.

To determine how an intersex individual will be classified in American society and within the U.S. legal and political framework is an entirely different matter which seemingly depends exclusively on what that person desires.

A person with both male and female genitalia can decide to be either a man or a woman and have a birth certificate and driver's license issued to reflect the choice. Although it's presumably not necessary, the person can also employ surgery and hormonal treatment to more definitively sculpt his/her persona as a man or a woman.

Given all that, it's endlessly confusing to me how intersex people correlate with transgender individuals in society. The definition of intersex people would seem to fit nicely within the scope of transgender folks which, I contend, are not very well defined. The intersex determination is biologically-based, the transgender determination is not.

A man, let's call him John, may wake up one morning and decide that he wants to be treated as a woman named Jane. Consequently, John adopts female characteristics and attire, presents himself as a woman in public and demands his birth certificate and driver's license be revised to reflect a name and gender change.

At the same time, the now-transgendered individual is entitled to the special equality written into law under the campaign for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, & Transgender) rights. To my knowledge, the man's biological make-up never entered into the process. He woke up in the morning with male genitalia and went to sleep at night with the same pieces-parts, except he had morphed into a transgendered woman.

Logically, the transgender category probably shouldn't be included with the behavior-based classifications of lesbians, gays and bi-sexuals since transgender implies some sort of biological transformation when, in fact, none is required. It's not necessary to undergo any type of lop-ectomy or be injected with any hormones to be automatically classified as transgender. And, under the law, one can immediately demand to be treated, and will be protected by law, as the man/woman desired to be. There are also no time limits associated with being a transgender.

Since transgender people are categorized as they desire and at a particular point in time, it seems that a change of mind is possible. Take the example of John waking up one morning and wanting to be treated as a woman. What if, five years' hence, Jane, who formerly was John, decide that "she" was tired of being treated as a woman and wanted to be treated as a transgendered man named Walter. Jane, living in a new town with new friends, starts dressing as a man, adopts male characteristics and demands that she be called Walter. Walter then obtains a new birth certificate and driver's license. So, John became Jane who became Walter and the paperwork is all legal. And, all the while, not one scalpel was touched in the whole process.

Possible? Seems so.