GC: What are the definitions of male and female? How would intersex people fit into binary sex? And is calling the intersex condition a disorder (of sexual development) discriminatory towards intersex people?

submitted by Tea_Or_Coffee from self.GCdebatesQT

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[–]Tea_Or_Coffee[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

“If sex is defined as reproduction,”

It’s not

Then what is it defined as? If gametes, then gametes are for reproduction, so it would mean sex is defined as reproduction or the capability to reproduce?

“Is anyone that does not go doing things with the opposite sex disordered for going against their purpose and what they are meant for which is doing it with the opposite sex and reproduction?”

What the eff are you talking about?

Gametes, gonads, and genitals are meant for reproduction, their purpose is to reproduce, and if someone does not reproduce, or use those organs and gametes for reproduction, then they are going against the purpose of these organs and gametes, or what they are meant for. Would they be considered a disorder then? That's what I mean.

I can’t speak for intersex people but I don’t know many gc people who call them disordered. I’d consider them medical anomalies.

Aren't anormalies disorders? I thought GCs called intersex a disorder because something goes wrong with the sexual development ...

Not if they actually have a disorder. Using their disorder against them or to exclude them would be.

Then there is no issue with calling intersex a disorder?

[–]MarkTwainiac 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

No, not all anomalies are disorders! David Bowie's eyeballs were anomalous in color, but his particular condition is not a disorder.

Then there is no issue with calling intersex a disorder?

There is a problem with referring to DSDs as "a disorder." Coz DSDs are actually a constellation of 40 (or thereabouts) very different conditions, each one of which is entirely unique.

These conditions have been variously called disorders of sex development and differences of sex development, or DSDs for short. Some people prefer calling them VSCs, which is short for such terms as variations in sex characteristics or variable sex conditions.

Many people avoid the term "intersex" because it misleadingly suggests that people with DSDs/VSCs are in between the two sexes, or a combination of the two. This is not true. They are all either male or female.

Not all DSDs are disorders. Many people with DSDs are very healthy people whose DSDs do not require any medical treatment. Olympians Caster Semenya, Margaret Wambui and Francine Niyonsaba, for example, are extremely healthy human beings - they just have male-specific DSDs that caused their male genitals not to develop typically in utero and thus to look atypical for males when they were born.

Similarly, there are many different kinds of medical conditions and diseases that impair function in some way and require medical treatment and therefore are considered disorders, but they're not disabilities - medically, legally or colloquially.

[–]Tea_Or_Coffee[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Doesn't the word disorder of sexual development mean intersex conditions are disorders? Just specifically, of sexual development?

What do you think of cases where someone has an underdeveloped uterus, and a penis, or complete female genitalia and underdeveloped testes, or penis? Would those be disorders?

[–]MarkTwainiac 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Not gonna engage with those descriptions, the last two of which don't exist. If you want to discuss a DSD, you need to name the specific condition.