Homosexuality In 'How Many Sexes Are There?'

Societal rules have always been trying to confine us into categories and boxes. A prominent example of this is the binary sex system. From the moment you are known to the world, it’s already scrutinizing every part of you to determine if you are either male or female. Although most people easily slide into one of the two categories, a portion of the population are born intersex. Intersex individuals are not strictly male or female but instead exist on a spectrum between male and female. This variation to the sex binary system has been a topic of interest for medical institutions for a long time. In “How Many Sexes Are There?”, Anne Fausto-Sterling argues that because intersexuality occurs naturally and its only fault is challenging the traditional

Medical research has recognized that there are three main categories of intersexuality: true hermaphrodites, ferms, and merms. Apart from the three main categories, it is also recognized that intersexuality exists on a spectrum from male to female. Thus, “intersex” is used as an umbrella term to describe all individuals with a mixture of female and male characteristics. Not only is intersexuality is biologically-sound, it has been present throughout history. Intersexuality was documented in works such as Greek mythology, Biblical references, and Plato’s philosophy. In addition to ancient texts, it is known that intersexuals have existed in Western countries as far back as the Middle Ages2. Fausto-Sterling argues that because intersexuality has been a part of human culture and occurs naturally, medical and other societal institutions should not be suppressing it, as then they would be “defying

For example, Fausto-Sterling notes that since the end of the Middle Ages, “hermaphrodites were compelled to choose an established gender role and stick with it”2 or they would be punished with death. Historical legal systems and laws such as these marked the beginning of intersexuality suppression in our society. With the advancement of medicine, this determination to sustain a binary sex system continued. For example, medical researchers like Dr. Hugh H. Young, although backed intersexuality with scientific reasoning, were also contributing to its suppression by focusing on advancing medicine not to cater to the wellbeing of intersexuals, but to conform them to fit the male-female binary. By the late 1960s, “almost all intersex infants are subjected to surgical and hormonal treatments”2. This need to have always have a distinct separation between the sexes shows society’s oppressive nature of suppressing individuals who do not fit into its strictly-defined categories. Doctors have also argued that without medical care hermaphrodites are doomed to a life of misery”2. This idea has not been backed by solid scientific evidence, nor by intersex individuals themselves. For example, Emma, an intersex patient Dr. Young was studying, declined to have a surgery to change them into a male and was content with how their life was as an intersexual. Emma