Born with diverse physical and biological charecteristics
S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037
Intersex means those who are born with physical and biological features which are more diverse than the usual definitions of male and female.
Gopi Shankar, anchor of the student movement Srishti Madurai says it is estimated that every year there are about 10,000 children who are born with intersex conditions.
Male have in them XY chromosome and XX chromosome is present in the female genetically. On the other hand intersex people are said to have over 30 different variations. There are lot of things that can happen.
Sexual development is an issue that involves lot of factors. Commonly it is thought that X and Y chromosomes do the work of gender assignment in individuals. Developments in science have now led to a change in this thought.
It is shown that not only X and Y chromosomes, but lot of other genes are also involved. Any change in them can bring a change on the gender aspect of the baby.
As a result of these mutations changes are said to take place in sex charecteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones or genitals that do not fit the typical definitions for male or female physiologies.
When these changes become visible in the babies, parents are put to enough concern. They are afraid that they may have to put up with issues like social stigma if it is known to all that baby born is not usually either a male or female.
Parents are most likely to subject their child to a surgery that is aimed at correcting the genitalia and this may cause turmoil, disturbances on the emotional and physical levels for the child.
Gopi praises the order of Tamilnadu Government which bans sex normalisation surgeries on intersex children. The parents of intersex children or infants can wait, the children can be given enough space to themselves and allow their identity to be fluid.
