Introduction

Pretty in pink.  Cool in blue.  The images of girls in pink and boys in blue immediately appear in our minds upon hearing such statements.

Biology and genetics teach us that the sex chromosomal combination of XX and XY form females and males respectively.

However, what happens when sex and gender do not “match” as we expect them to?

It is a rare phenomenon known as intersex that  affects 1 out of 2000 births, according to the Intersex Society of North America.

Intersex, also known by the modern terminology “disorders of sex development” (DSD) or the archaic term “hermaphrodites” is a condition “at birth where the external genitalia are atypical in relation to the chromosomes or gonads” (Hughes IA. Disorders of sex development: a new definition and classification. Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2008. 22(1):119-34).

Intersex: Born This Way hopes to educate you – the fateful reader who chanced upon this blog whether intentionally or not – about this condition and raise awareness about an issue that still remains largely unknown.  Please feel free to browse around and share what you learn!