Enforcement of binary gender norms has led to unwanted medical interventions on intersex and cisgender children.
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The first transgender medical clinic opened in the US in the 1960s. But cisgender and intersex children began receiving similar treatments even earlier – often without their consent.
Nigerian star forward Asisat Oshoala has suffered injuries in Morocco.
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Early surgeries can cause lifelong harm, including impaired sexual function and sensation, shame, and a need for ongoing interventions or treatment.
Although the medical establishment is now recognizing that sex is not binary, society as a whole has been slow to embrace the concept.
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Millions of people do not fit neatly into male or female sex designations at birth, and wrong identification can set them up for a lifetime of physical and mental harm.
Around two in every 100 people have sex characteristics between the male-female binary definitions. Training for doctors and other health workers needs to reflect this.
‘Boy Wearing a Wig,’ Wilhelm von Gloeden (1900).
Wikimedia Commons
Few trans kids in the early 20th century had access to information about trans life. That they still faced down the judgment of parents and doctors is a testament to the truth of their dysphoria.
A new finding in mice rewrites the textbook explanation of the male sex-determining gene, Sry. It might also help us better understand how males and females come to be.
People buy food at the Githurai market in Kiambu, Kenya. The country is doing a census that is breaking new ground in Africa.
EPA/Daniel Irungu
Athlete Caster Semenya will need to take hormone-lowering agents, or have surgery, if she wishes to continue her career in her chosen events. But the decision to ban her is flawed on many grounds.
Caster Semenya leads the women’s 800 metres at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
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Arbitration case between athlete Caster Semenya and the IAAF centres on eligibility to compete based on testosterone – but there are other factors in play.
A copy of an engraving of Count Casimir Pulaski published in 1871.
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New evidence suggests the 18th-century cavalry officer Casimir Pulaski was a woman or intersex. While we know little of intersex soldiers, there is a fascinating history of women dressing as men to fight.
A sign denouncing transphobia is held up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court at a protest in June 2016.
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Donald Trump is seeking to amend laws that prevent discrimination against Americans based on their sex. It’s all just another attempt to fire up the Republican base for the mid-term elections.
Allowing for more gender options in the public sphere isn’t political correctness gone awry. It’s just a small shift in the evolution of how we understand, categorise and define gender.
There are now many gender categorizations, from the traditional ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ to ‘gender fluid’ and ‘undifferentiatied.’ Health researchers can work with these to gain a more accurate understanding of disease susceptibilities.
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There are some striking physical and symbolic similarities.
Does it make sense to target female athletes with high testosterone levels? Caster Semenya competes in the women’s 800-meter semifinal during the London Olympics.
Gary Hershorn/Reuters
Some women naturally produce high levels of testosterone. Why is this innate condition treated differently from other conditions that potentially enhance athletic performance?
The silence at the end of Rio 2016 will only last until we switch on our televisions for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Reuters/Issei Kato
The Olympic Games are a theatre — sometimes farce, sometimes tragedy, reality TV, morality play or soap opera — where geopolitical, social and technological dramas are played out.
The strongest resistance to the United Nations resolution to promote LGBTI rights came from Muslim and African states. Many of these countries still criminalise same-sex relationships.
Many babies are born with a genetic variant that leads to ambiguous sexual development.
.gsr./Flickr
Many babies are born with a genetic variant that can result in the child being neither a typical boy or girl. There has been considerable debate about whether the child should be treated.
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford