Endosex

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An endosex person is someone whose innate sex characteristics fit normative medical ideas for female or male bodies. The word endosex is an antonym of intersex .

Contents

Etymology and meaning

The prefix endo- comes from the Ancient Greek ἔνδον (éndon), meaning 'inner, internal', while the term sex is derived from Latin sexus , meaning 'gender; gender traits; males or females; genitals'. The Latin term is derived from Proto-Indo-European *séksus, from *sek- , "to cut", thus meaning section or division into male and female. [1]

Surya Monro states that the term is used to "indicate a person born with sex characteristics that are seen as typically male or female at birth, therefore not medicalized as intersex". [2] Janik Bastien-Charlebois uses the term to identify "people whose sexual development is considered normal by medicine and society". [3]

Origin

An early English-language reference to the term endosex can be found in a symposium on intersex held at a European Federation of Sexology congress in Berlin, Germany, on June 30, 2000, where Heike Bödeker spoke on "Intersex as an ostension of the endosex group phantasy". [4] Bödeker has written that she coined the term in the spring of 1999, [5] stating in English translation:

Just as dialectically one could not be heterosexual if there were no homosexuals, just as one could not be cissexual if there were no transsexuals, so neither could one be endosex if there were not intersex people. Or more generally, one could not be "normal" at all if there were no abnormalities (mostly with the implication that there would be no "inside" if there were no "outside" – namely regarding one's position relative to the group). [5] [a]

Importance and disambiguation

Endosex has been used to identify the importance of storytelling by intersex youth in their own words, and without being recontextualized or rewritten by non-intersex people. [6] [7]

The term can be distinguished from cisgender , an antonym of transgender , which is used to describe someone whose gender identity matches their sex assigned or observed at birth. [8] In journal articles on non-binary gender by Monro and the reproductive rights of transgender people by Blas Radi, the authors use the term to help distinguish the different lived experiences of people who are both intersex and transgender from people who are transgender and not intersex. [2] [9]

Usage

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reported in 2020 that "some advocates and providers are increasingly using the term endosex to describe people whose reproductive or secondary sex characteristics align with medical binaries." [10]

The term has been used in intersex human rights advocacy, [11] [12] [13] and in publications providing peer support, including works intended for parents of intersex children and for intersex youth. [14] [6] [15] [7]

Academic writers and peer support workers have used the concept to identify how people with intersex bodies have been obliged to adapt to societies that only accept endosex bodies. Brömdal and others state that sexuality education curricula privilege endosex bodies and experiences, promoting feelings of shame and secrecy in intersex students. [16] In a media interview, a support group organizer states that intersex people undergo unnecessary medical examinations that would be prohibited on endosex women. [17]

Zelada and Quesada Nicoli state that States justify cosmetic adaptation surgeries because intersex bodies cannot be understood, and that it is intersex people who must adapt to a model of "endosex privilege". [18] Monro and others state that "entrenched and traditionalist medical and social norms impede attempts to change practices to support bodily diversity and to ensure intersex people have equal citizenship to endosex people", calling for the "co-production of knowledge" by intersex and endosex people in intersex studies. [19]

In September 2020, Dominic Perrottet, the Treasurer of New South Wales state in Australia stated that a directive from his Department encouraging use of inclusive language was "completely unacceptable", following an official message to Treasury staff by its Economic Strategy Deputy Secretary, Joann Wilkie. [20] Wilkie had suggested "not assuming when you're talking to a colleague that they are heterosexual/cisgendered/endosex". [21] [22] The Daily Telegraph reported that Perrottet wanted staff to feel included, and was unaware of the meaning of the word endosex. [20] [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

The word cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth, i.e., someone who is not transgender. The prefix cis- is Latin and means on this side of. The term cisgender was coined in 1994 as an antonym to transgender, and entered into dictionaries starting in 2015 as a result of changes in social discourse about gender. The term has been and continues to be controversial and subject to critique.

Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the individual's gender identity. Gender expression typically reflects a person's gender identity, but this is not always the case. While a person may express behaviors, attitudes, and appearances consistent with a particular gender role, such expression may not necessarily reflect their gender identity. The term gender identity was coined by psychiatry professor Robert J. Stoller in 1964 and popularized by psychologist John Money.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transgender topics.

Sex assignment is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the vast majority of cases (99.95%), sex is assigned unambiguously at birth. However, in about 1 in 2000 births, the baby's genitalia may not clearly indicate male or female, necessitating additional diagnostic steps, and deferring sex assignment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against transgender people</span> Violence or victimization against transgender people

Violence against transgender people includes emotional, physical, sexual, or verbal violence targeted towards transgender people. The term has also been applied to hate speech directed at transgender people and at depictions of transgender people in the media that reinforce negative stereotypes about them. Trans and non-binary gender adolescents can experience bashing in the form of bullying and harassment. When compared to their cisgender peers, trans and non-binary gender youth are at increased risk for victimisation and substance abuse.

The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in India</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in India face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people. There are no legal restrictions against gay sex within India. Same-sex couples have some limited cohabitation rights, colloquially known as live-in relationships. However, India does not currently provide for common-law marriage, same-sex marriage, civil union, guardianship, unregistered cohabitation or issue partnership certificates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Nepal</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) rights in Nepal have expanded in the 21st century, though much of Nepal's advancements on LGBT rights have come from the judiciary and not the legislature. Same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Nepal since 2007 after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Tamil Nadu</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Tamil Nadu are the most progressive among all states of India. Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to introduce a transgender welfare policy, wherein transgender individuals can access free gender affirmation surgery in government hospitals and various other benefits and rights. The state was also the first to ban forced sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants, and also the first state to include an amendment in its state police guidelines that expects officers to abstain from harassing the LGBTQIA+ community and its members. The state also became the first to ban conversion therapy as well as the first to introduce LGBTQIA+ issues in school curricula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex</span> Atypical congenital variations of sex characteristics

Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of LGBTQ topics</span>

The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cary Gabriel Costello</span> Professor and advocate

Cary Gabriel Costello is an intersex trans male professor and advocate for transgender and intersex rights. His areas of study include identity, sexuality, privilege, and marginalization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discrimination against intersex people</span>

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies". "Because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatized and subjected to multiple human rights violations".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender rights in New Zealand</span>

Transgender and non-binary people in New Zealand face discrimination in several aspects of their lives. The law is unclear on the legal status of discrimination based on gender identity, and also for intersex people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal recognition of non-binary gender</span>

Multiple countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender classifications. These classifications are typically based on a person's gender identity. In some countries, such classifications may only be available to intersex people, born with sex characteristics that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex and LGBT</span> Relationship between different sex and gender minorities

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) than endosex people. According to a study done in Australia of Australian citizens with intersex conditions, participants labeled 'heterosexual' as the most popular single label with the rest being scattered among various other labels. According to another study, an estimated 8.5% to 20% experiencing gender dysphoria. Although many intersex people are heterosexual and cisgender, and not all of them identify as LGBTQ+, this overlap and "shared experiences of harm arising from dominant societal sex and gender norms" has led to intersex people often being included under the LGBT umbrella, with the acronym sometimes expanded to LGBTI. Some intersex activists and organisations have criticised this inclusion as distracting from intersex-specific issues such as involuntary medical interventions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex rights in Germany</span> Overview of intersex peoples rights in Germany

Intersex people in Germany have legal recognition of their rights to physical integrity and bodily autonomy, with exceptions, but no specific protections from discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics. In response to an inquiry by the German Ethics Council in 2012, the government passed legislation in 2013 designed to classify some intersex infants as a de facto third category. The legislation has been criticized by civil society and human rights organizations as misguided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersex people in the United States military</span>

The regulations regarding the service of intersex people in the United States Armed Forces are vague and inconsistent due to the wide range of human intersex conditions. The United States Armed Forces as a whole does not officially ban intersex people from service but does exclude many based on the form of their status. Policies regarding all intersex people are not addressed formally although depending on the type of sex variation some intersex people are allowed to serve. The United States military and their requirements for service makes it so they are frequently in a unique predicament when it comes to intersex bodies. With their position of needing to discern between male and female bodies, they are exposed to a broad variety of people, such as those who are intersex whose bodies may not match either classification and are more difficult to make decisions on. This ambiguity leads to confusion regarding military medical, behavioral, and legal laws.

Homonormativity is the adoption of heteronormative ideals and constructs onto LGBT culture and identity. It is predicated on the assumption that the norms and values of heterosexuality should be replicated and performed among homosexual people. Those who assert this theory claim homonormativity selectively privileges cisgender homosexuality as worthy of social acceptance.

Cisnormativity or cissexual assumption is the assumption that everyone is, or ought to be, cisgender. The term can further refer to a wider range of presumptions about gender assignment, such as the presumption of a gender binary, or expectations of conformity to gender roles even when transgender identities are otherwise acknowledged. Cisnormativity is a form of cisgenderism, an ideology which promotes various normative ideas about gender, to the invalidation of individuals' own gender identities, analogous to heterosexism or ableism.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Heike Bödeker quotation from 2000 in the original German:
    Genauso wie man dialektischerweise nicht heterosexuell sein könnte, gäbe es keine Homosexuellen, wie man nicht cissexuell sein könnte, gäbe es keine Transsexuellen, so könnte man auch nicht endosexuell sein, gäbe es keine Intersexuellen. Oder auch ganz allgemeinhin, man könnte gar nicht »normal« sein, gäbe es keine Anormalität (meist mit der Implikation, es gäbe kein »drinnen«, gäbe es kein »draußen« – nämlich bezogen auf die Positionierung relativ zur Gruppe). [b]
Citations
  1. ↑ von Wartburg, Walther. ""sexus"". Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German). Vol. 110. p. 560. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. 1 2 Monro, Surya (2019). "Non-binary and genderqueer: An overview of the field". International Journal of Transgenderism . 20 (2–3): 126–131. doi:10.1080/15532739.2018.1538841. ISSN   1553-2739. PMC   6830997 . PMID   32999600.
  3. ↑ Bastien Charlebois, Janik (September 2, 2016), De la lourdeur d'écrire un article universitaire sur les enjeux intersexes lorsqu'on est soi-même intersexe (in French), Observatoire des transidentités, archived from the original on April 10, 2021, retrieved March 27, 2021, personnes dont le développement sexuel est considéré normal par la médecine et la société
  4. ↑ Bödeker, Heike (June 30, 2000). Symposium on Intersexuality. European Federation of Sexology Congress. Berlin. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Bödeker, Heike (2016). "Intersexualität, Individualität, Selbstbestimmtheit und Psychoanalyse Ein Besinnungsaufsatz". In Michaela Katzer; Heinz-Jürgen Voß (eds.). Geschlechtliche, sexuelle und reproduktive Selbstbestimmung (in German). Gießen: Psychosozial-Verlag. pp. 117–136. doi:10.30820/9783837967999-117. ISBN   978-3-8379-2546-3.
  6. 1 2 YOUth&I Issue 1 (PDF). Steph Lum (ed.). Stephanie Lum. October 2019. ISBN   978-0-646-80877-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-03-27.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. 1 2 Rose, Maddie (October 21, 2020). "What Intersex People Want You to Know About Sex". Teen Vogue . Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "cisgender". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. n.d. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. ↑ Radi, Blas (October 15, 2020). "Reproductive injustice, trans rights, and eugenics". Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters . 28 (1). doi:10.1080/26410397.2020.1824318. PMC   7888063 . PMID   33054686. S2CID   222819647.
  10. ↑ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2020). Patterson, Charlotte J; Sepúlveda, Martín-José; White, Jordyn (eds.). Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/25877. ISBN   978-0-309-68081-3. PMID   33104312. S2CID   226586453.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Intersex Human Rights Australia (March 2, 2021). "Media and style guide". Intersex Human Rights Australia . Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  12. ↑ Australian Human Rights Commission. "Terminology". Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  13. ↑ Duck-Chong, Liz (November 30, 2020). "Mark Latham's bill seeks to ensure trans and queer children remain in the closet". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  14. ↑ Egale Canada (2020). "Supporting Your Intersex Child, A resource for parents and guardians". Egale Canada . Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  15. ↑ "LGBTIQ+: The Ultimate Dictionary, A list of important words you'll hear used in LGBTIQ+ communities". Kids Helpline . October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  16. ↑ Brömdal, Annette; Zavros-Orr, Agli; lisahunter; Hand, Kirstine; Hart, Bonnie (2020). "Towards a whole-school approach for sexuality education in supporting and upholding the rights and health of students with intersex variations". Sex Education . 21 (5): 568–583. doi:10.1080/14681811.2020.1864726. ISSN   1468-1811. S2CID   234387755. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  17. ↑ Maheshwari-Aplin, Prishita (October 29, 2019). "Intersex people on how they want to be treated and accepted". Dazed . Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  18. ↑ Zelada, Carlos J; Quesada Nicoli, Diego (2019). "Lxs otrxs invisibles: Hacia una narrativa jurídica para la prohibición de las cirugías de "normalización genital"". Revista Ius et Veritas (in Spanish) (59): 124–144. doi: 10.18800/iusetveritas.201902.009 . ISSN   2411-8834.
  19. ↑ Monro, Surya; Carpenter, Morgan; Crocetti, Daniela; Davis, Georgiann; Garland, Fae; Griffiths, David; Hegarty, Peter; Travis, Mitchell; Grinspan, Mauro Cabral; Aggleton, Peter (2021). "Intersex: cultural and social perspectives". Culture, Health & Sexuality . 23 (4): 431–440. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2021.1899529 . ISSN   1369-1058. PMID   33783329.
  20. 1 2 Clark, Georgia (September 8, 2020). "Honey, we need to have a word. (2020, Sep 08). The Daily Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph .
  21. ↑ "Dominic Perrottet to quash NSW Treasury lecture on 'pronoun preference'". Sky News Australia . September 7, 2020. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  22. ↑ Chung, Frank (September 7, 2020). "NSW Treasury asks bureaucrats to add 'pronoun preference' to emails in 'safe space' training". News.com.au . Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  23. ↑ Fordham, Ben (September 7, 2020). "PC brigade reaches NSW Treasury: Dominic Perrottet admits it's time 'to get real'". 2GB . Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
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