Is Sex Really Binary? Deconstructing Binary Sex Myths

It is inevitable that most boomers and gen X truly think that sex is a binary, dichotomous part of our identity. This practice has been embedded in our life, from education to entertainment, reinforced along with other ancient societal norms and media consumption. Whenever we want to enroll ourselves into something, the form always asks us to fill out the sex section with either male and female, leaving us flabbergasted, is sex really binary?

Image source: CNN

Learning the concept of sex

While sex constitutes different meanings in different contexts, our talk about sex in this article encapsulates the concept of sex, which is a very distinct concept from gender, although Indonesian society truly uses both terms interchangeably.

Sex refers to the biological distinction given biological traits according to reproductive systems. It encompasses biological features of hormones, gonads, sexual organs, and chromosomes that make up the human body. Since those features (in most cases) come along within individuals during their birth, sometimes sex is referred as sex assigned at birth, to identify the differences between sex, gender, and also sex transition. Although we say that sex is assigned at birth in most cases, exceptions sometimes happen where sex could not be assigned at birth and this is what we call as intersex (now is described as DSD–differences of sex development).

Defining Intersex

Remember that sex is defined using a set of biological features such as hormones, gonads, sexual organs, and chromosomes? While it’s 100% correct to identify sex, there are cases in which 1.7% of our population couldn’t be identified in such ways due to atypical biological features. This is what we usually call as intersex. While intersex occurs as the third category in sex, however, intersex involves a complex condition with various diagnostics.

Think about it this way, Men are described with a set of:

1. Reproductive organs such as testes, penis, epididymis, etc
2. Hormone called testosterone
3. A set of sex chromosome (46, XY)

And such things are very distinct from women whose reproductive organs are called as vagina, uterus, and ovaries (and others), a set of main hormones called estrogen and progesterone with a set of sex chromosome (46, XX).

However, such cases are pretty different with intersex people. As mentioned before, intersex are an umbrella term and therefore, it encompasses multiple conditions, such as:

1. 46 XX DSD (also called 46 XX with virilization), a case in which the chromosome states female chromosome, with the person has ovaries, however the external genital mimics male genital
2. 46 XY DSD (also called 46 XY with virilization), a case in which the chromosome states male chromosome, however the external genitalia is ambiguous, while the testes (internal genitalia) are either malformed, absent, or even present as testes.
3. Other complex conditions, these include those with only one sex chromosome (not a pair) such as XO; or the condition in which there are three sex chromosomes (i.e: XXY or XXX); or even ovotesticular DSD in which a person has both ovaries and testes.

Image source: here

Intersex in Indonesia

While intersex in Indonesia definitely exists, it is an iceberg phenomenon where only a few cases are found out, while the rest never stays hidden underneath the tip of the iceberg. A genetic expert claimed that they had already consulted about 700 persons who fit the condition of intersex. While such a number is really subjective and therefore no accuracy could be claimed, it probably the best estimates as of this moment about intersex in Indonesia.

Why Binary Sex Construction Only Does Harm

The construction of binary sex where people dichotomize sex into two categories only: male or female, only does more harm in the future. This leaves intersex people to be left out according to such categorization and in the long term, this may lead to further discrimination. Currently all over the world, on-going discrimination towards intersex people is now in the spotlight.

In such nuances, most intersex people receive medical procedures overly, even at such an early stage in their lives. While it is notably known that medical trauma (both physiologically and psychologically exists), such circumstances only allow intersex people to be vulnerable towards such trauma with high potential to harm their mental health. Such procedures are also glorified by the myths of what healthy individuals should be and discriminating sex variations. While some procedures might be necessary, some unnecessary, non consensual medical procedures are also performed which may lead to mental health deterioration and infertility. A study in 2018 revealed that 48% intersex individuals (a notably significant proportion) stated that their physical health as either poor or fair whereas a relatively higher proportion of 53% intersex individuals reported similarly in regards to their mental health.

In addition to medically invasive procedures, often intersex individuals receive physical violation and bullying on their daily basis. This is due to how they look; how they don’t really conform to normal, typical, and stereotypes of binary sex. This might be stemmed from the internalized stigma. In some cases, this discriminative behavior might also come from the parents themselves. In 2015, a Chinese site reported that a baby which was likely to be intersex as they were born with both ovaries and testes was neglected and abandoned alone in the building. In regards once they grow up, intersex, among all LGBTQIA++ groups, was seen as the most vulnerable people according to the 2019 survey when it comes to housing and poverty escapism. Again, this is due to the rejection from society who can’t accept someone who doesn’t conform binary sex appearances as their employee. Such circumstances, of course, are not aligned with principles of international human rights principles where every human regardless of their background stands on the same ground together.

Future Recommendations

While efforts have been made in some countries, equality for all individuals seem to be utopia at this moment. South Africa was the first pioneer to include intersex people under the category of sex through 2005-issued legal documents. Pakistan in 2018 legalized an act to legally prohibit intersex individuals. Iceland was among the first to ban sex discriminatory for employment regarding intersex individuals. However, only a few countries currently have legal law that regulate and prohibit such discrimination and unfortunately, to our knowledge, Indonesia has not issued anything regarding this.

While advocating takes a very long process, we need to stand up for intersex individuals who are currently fighting to be equal. Embracing an open-minded mindset in every circumstance might help, disseminating such issues on every possible platform might also help, and dismantling such discriminatory binary sex requirements in job requirements if you have power could also help.

“While the journey toward equality may be long and challenging, every effort to support and uplift intersex individuals brings us closer to a more just and inclusive society.”