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So I need some writing help. I'm currently developing a story with a young person who when born was mistaken for male up until puberty. When puberty hit, they started to develop like a young woman and not a man. I'm wondering if there is a specific medical condition that can describe that. I don't really want to create one for this story because it just won't feel accurate to me. I want it to feel real and plausible. Any help would greatly be appreciated :).
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Ambiguous genitalia.
Ambiguous genitalia.
Lots of different variations.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Intersex conditions.
Hi EoF,
It seems that you are thinking about something that would be described along the intersex spectrum. In just the same way as gender can be described as a spectrum ie: being fully male to being fully female, there are conditions where the external genitalia are very ambiguous and an assessment made (superficially or investigatively) regarding the anatomical natal sex designation can be quite erroneous.
In just the same way that gender dysphoria takes some time to manifest, the apparent gender of an intersex individual may not be manifested until a difference between anatomy and gender becomes apparent.
Just like gender dysphoria has/had a social non-acceptance, intersex individuals can describe similar experiences. Often times an intersex individual may grow up believing the social gender into which they have been placed, and not until puberty exerts itself will difficulty arise.
The degree of ambiguity of genitalia can be quite varied and what can be interpreted from the outside can be quite different to what is on the inside. It is not until invasive and non-invasive investigations are carried out can advice be given as to how a child may develop up to and beyond puberty. Investigations such as pelvic ultrasound, CT and MRI scans, and/or laparoscopy where direct visualisation of the organs of the pelvis can be made, can help in determining what form of treatment may be best for any intersexed individual.
There is much out there on the subject of intersex so search away. I have not even touched on the variations attributed to chromosomal abnormalities.
I hope that this helps.
Regards,
Robyn B
Sydney
Might be of interest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XX_male_syndrome#cite_note-:02-3
Commentator
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PAIS
Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. XY individuals whose tissues do not respond normally to Androgen. Response in utero is enough that these people are born looking male but at puberty, their bodies do not respond to androgen. Since males also produce estrogen, and since the body is trying to produce enough androgen to get a signal through, there is enough estrogen from what is made and what is produced from metabolising androgens that the body begins to develop as female.
This is a spectrum of conditions including some XY individuals born with ambiguous genitals and some born looking completely female externally (CAIS). There are interviews online with some who have various forms of the syndrome.
There are other conditions that can result in similar outcomes. All are regarded as one form or another of intersex.
But note: it's possible for XX females to also have AIS of one form another with varying outcomes. Such people are invariably identified and develop as female but may have problems like infertility or incomplete development of secondary sexual characteristics because both androgens and estrogens are needed for normal development in both sexes.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Chromosomes
There isn't much that hasn't been said yet apart from the fact, that research has shown that combinations like XXXY and other even more complex and "exotic" combinations like XXXXXYYY can be found, that will - of course - cause all sorts of physical incongruities.
Then there is the problem of parents, who in the not too distant past in some cases took the decision to ask doctors to "correct" the sex of an intersexed child after birth surgically in the wrong direction due to their personal preferences as to the child's gender.
Monique S
Chromosomes 2
I know a lady that I tutored in math who has one X chromosome. she was born is 64 was an adult when they figured it out too late to affect bone structure most people on first impression think she is a man of small size no hips no breasts Have a good day and enjoy life.
Have a good day and enjoy life.
Intersex
Part of my work. And my own medical history.
There is a condition called five-alpha reductase deficiency, which in extreme cases (found particularly in closely-related communities in the Dominican Republic) results in 'girls' growing testicles etc at puberty, and is known in the DR as 'eggs at twelve' for that reason. It is the reverse of what you are asking.
The closest real-life case I can relate to your request is that of Lady Colin Campbell, the 'celebrity'. She was assigned male at birth but later underwent an operation to separate what was shown to be fused labia, rather than a scrotum. She was allowed to have her birth certificate amended on the grounds of inaccuracy.
As for parents choosing 'corrective' surgery on their infants, that has happened, and continues to do so, without the parents being informed. There are multiple cases of trans people going for gender confirmation surgery who are found, upon examination, to have had 'work' done that they never knew about. Malta was the first country in the world to ban this sort of infantile genital mutilation, which is now under review in several countries. The last figures I have for a Western country are from Germany, a couple of years ago, and show about 3,000 operations in one year. One local authority there had to pay out serious sums in damages for a woman who was repeatedly identified as male, and then had her entire female reproductive system removed without her fully-informed consent.
As a matter of personal interest, I have friends who are CAIS and PAIS, and one who is Swyer. In that one, despite being XY, the entire anatomy is female, with ovaries that are unformed, called streak gonads, which do need to be removed. Hormone therapy is essential, and the subject menstruates and, with IVF, can successfully give birth. The drivel shouted by TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists) about 'rea'l women being socialised as such, and Greer's comments about big smelly vaginas the bleed, is shown up as dishonest by the comment "If they've got a Y-chromosome they are men"
so similar a name ...
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) is the most commonly known genetic risk factor for emphysema2. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin related COPD is caused by a deficiency of the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin protein in the bloodstream. Without the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin protein, white blood cells begin to harm the lungs and lung deterioration occurs. The World Health Organization and the American Thoracic Society recommends that every individual diagnosed with COPD be tested for Alpha-1. For more information about AATD and how to get tested, visit the Alpha-1 Foundation Website or call 1-877-2 CURE-A1. Because not all individuals with COPD have AATD, and because some individuals with COPD have never smoked, it is believed that there are other genetic predispositions to developing COPD. Read about the COPDGene™ Study to learn about research to find other genetic causes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
no, this is not the cause of my own copd. :/
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
I don't know if this helps
EOF, I'm not an expert on the subject, rather a stubborn internet researcher. A lot of XXY, and XXXY children have surgical "fixes" done at birth. One of the most well known is ......., well she is known for her screeching in movies when younger.
Karen
PAIS
Partial Androgen Insensitively Syndrome.
I have it along with a few other things that haven't been completely diagnosed yet.
In my case surgery was involved as a baby but was downplayed. Chest budded in 4th grade. Testosterone treatments were started but I was told they were allergy shots. I don't have a natural supply of testosterone and my body does react to it but not fully. Like I did get a deep voice, very sparse facial hair but no muscles, body hair, skin texture or scent.
If you have questions about it I can tell you my experiences dealing with it.
There Is Another
Common intersex condition called Congenital adrenal hyperplasia in females that often leads to excess androgens in the womb and a clitorus that resembles a penis. The infant is often assigned male but has a full female reproductive system. There are a number of mutations that cause this syndrome and in each there can be more or less androgen distortion of the genitals.
I didn't find examples of what happens in puberty, but didn't look very hard. Many stories have a male assigned character that feminizes in puberty and is then found to be female, who was probably CAS, but I don't have real life stories.
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
CAH
Yes indeed, one I have come across a few times. It's one of the conditions caused by the uterine environment rather than genetic in origin. The cause (I am simplifying to the extreme here) is testosterone produced in the adrenal glands. That produces what is called 'in utero virilisation'.
Some famous intersex folk:
Caroline Cossey, model. 'Extreme Klinefelter', with XXXY chromosomes.
Stella Walsh, female Olympian. XY gonadal disgenesis combined with XY/X0 Mosaicism. Different cells, different chromosomes.
Dee Palmer, formerly with the popular beat combo Jethro Tull. Condition not disclosed to the public, now transitioned from 'David'.
Hanne Gaby (how apt!) Odiele, Belgian model. AIS.
Caster Semenya, athlete; condition not divulged.
The thing about people shouting transphobically about 'either XX or XY' is that the incidence of intersex children in the UK is put as high as 1.5 to 2% of live births here, which is far higher than the number of people who identify as trans.
Disorders of sex development
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disorders_of_sex_development has a discussion of some of the conditions. Some are very rare and some are not so rare.
Disorders
Not a term approved of by most Intersex people. Other words avoided are 'normally' and similar. "Typically" is one preferred option, and for DSD the words 'differences in sexual development. are often used, or 'variations'.
Disorders 2
Thank you cyclist. It wasn't until 2013 when the DSM V was published that the head shrinks removed the term "disorder" from Gender Identity, and came into the 21 century with dysphoria.
Rach
quis custodiet ipsos custodes
It is now. Some vocal trans
It is now. Some vocal trans have recoined intersex to include brain issues. DSD is the new umbrella as it more refers to physical sexual development disorders and not just born with the wrong brain sex.
chimiriaism
Typically when a person has two different sets of dna. Caused when fraternal twins fuse into one embryo. Very rare but also underdiagnosed. Now what if one of those twins was male and the other female?
chimiriaism 2
It does happen cousin of mine is one luckily happens to be bi in sexuality and fully functional both ways and is both a father and a mother. They had assumed that the male parts shot blanks was involved with two different people at the time got her girlfriend pregnant and got pregnant her self all in about a week the father of her child bailed her and the girl friend are still together the kids are fine both girls. and yes dna testing was done on both children so paternity is know but testing was done to check for abnormalities for obvious reasons. Have a good day and enjoy life.
Have a good day and enjoy life.
(might be off-topic)
Castration and castrato people. This might not be what you want, but it was my fantasy when I was young. It was a common practice among the Ottoman Empire. Boys castrated very young keep their childish voice and sometimes their breasts can grow, resulting in something that looks more like a woman then like a man. Today, this can be seen among the Hijra people in India, which genetically are men, but look like women. If castration is done during puberty, the result is something between a man and a woman. If castration is done after puberty, the result is clearly a man.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church used castrato singers (boys castrated at a young age, to preserve their juvenile voices). Also, there are 'modern castrato' singers, which suffer from hormonal anomalies, such as Klinefelter's syndrome and Kallmann's syndrome.
It is possible that, because of a serious disease (for example testicular cancer or a testicular infection), doctors can remove the testicles of a person, which in result decreases the natural production of testosterone to zero. This might also happen after something violent (for example a car accident).
May you be happy