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    THE SCIENCES Publisied by the New York Academy of Sciences » March/April 1993 « $3.50 THE FIVE SEXES Why Male and Female Are Not Enough ‘THE SCIENCES + March/April 1993 THE FIVE SEXES Why Male and Female Are Not Enough ‘by ANNE FAUSTO-STERLING 843 Levi SUNDAM, a twenty-three-year-old resident of Salisbury, Connecticut, asked che Jann beard of selecemen to validate his fight 10 +yteus a Whig ina hotly enacested local election, The re quest raised. furry of objections fromthe opposition par £3, for reasons that must be rare in the annals of American sdemocracy it was sid char Suydam was rnote Female chan male and thus (some cighty years before suffrage wus eX fended to women) could not be allowed to cast a balla. ‘To settle the dispute a physician, ane William James Bare +, was brought in to examine Suydam. And, presumably tipon encountering a phallus, the good doctor declared the prospective voter male, With Suydam safely in their column the Whigs won the election by a majority of ane Barry's diagnosis, however, cured aut w be somewhat premature. Within a few days be discovered that, phallus hotwithseanding, Suydam menstruated regularly and had 4 vaginal opening, Both hier physique and iver ‘mental predispositions were more complex than was frst suspected, S/he had naerow shoulders and broad hips anc! ‘ele cocasional sexual yearnings for women. Suydam’s feminine propensities, such 2s a fondness far gay colors, for picees nf calico, comparing and placing thers tageth +, and an aversion for bodily labor, and an inability t-per form the same, were remarked by many,” Barry latec ‘wrote. It is nar clear whether Suydarn lost or vote, or whethes the election results were 1 Westem culture is deeply committed eo the idea chat there are only two sexes. Even language tefuses other possbilticy;chus ¢o write about Levi Suydam Ihave had to invent canventions—/he and disfler—to denote some- cone who iselearly neither male nor Female of who is per- hups both sexesat once. Legally, oo, every adult iseither man or woman, and the difference, of course, is not triv- ial For it meant the franchise; roday it means be- ingavailable Far, or exemps fram, deaferegistacion, as well 20 THE SCIENCES © Marciagest 1984 as being subject in variows ways of laws gov crming marriage the Family and harman intimacy. En many pure of che United States, for inseance, two people beg iy registered as men cannot have sexual relations without Violating anti-sodomy statutes. But ifthe state and the legal systems have an int maintaining a eworparty sexual system, they are in defi- ance of aagure. Far biologically speaking, there are many {gradations running from female to male; and depending ‘on how one calls the shots, one ean argue that along that spectrum lie at least five sexes—and perhaps even more. For some time medical investizators have rcensnized the concept of the intersexual body. But the standard medical literature uses the term invert asa catch-all for three major subgroups with some mixture of male and fe male characteristics: the so-called true hermaphradites, ‘whom [call hcrms, wha possess one testis an! ane ovary Athe sperm: and cig producing vessels, or ponatls): che male prcudahermaphradites (the “merms"), who have testes and some aspects of the female 2 ‘ovaries, and the female psewdoherm. ferme"), who have avaties and some aspects oft sgnitalia bu lack testes. Bach of those categories isin i self comples; the percentage of male and female chasac~ teristics, far instance, can vary enormously among mem bere of the same subgroup. Moreover, the inner lives of the people in each subgroup—cheir special needs and their problems, attractions and cepulsions—have gone unexplored by science, Bur on the basis of what is known about them I suggest that the three intersexes, herm, mesm and ferm, deserve tu be considered additional sex- ‘es eath in its own right, Indeed, | would argue further that sex if a vast, infinitely malleable continuum that defies the constraints of even five categories, DN eeerc ea evens cnet feet eu he Fue of etch ofthe thecal eer seen cin bmn one Senco on ob application, Te peyholge eka Morcr af fohe Sopkes Unset, © specu i toipol engeed emiaree ek aroesy be Sats aay emctnnc inant pester Ad ‘ena far 60 aay ce pls thoes nay bes hay Pal ccetine ev pe surely caough to form a minority caucus of some kind, In veal though, few such siden woul make Has Sloping Hermapincsit, Reman, Second Cerlary be far as Brown in sexually diverse form. Reveat advances in physiology and surgical technology now cable physi- ‘ids to catch most intersexuals at the moment of birth. Almost at once such infants are entered into program af hormonal and surgical managerment so that they ean slip ‘quietly inca society as “normal” hetcrosexual males ot fe- rales. I eraphasize that the mot ho way conspire torial, ‘The aims ofthe policy are genuinely humanicarian, reflecting the wish that people be able co “fic in” both physically and psychologically. In the medical communi- ty, however, the assumptions behind that wish—that there be only cwa sexes, that heterosexuality alane is nar- imal, thac there is one auc model of psychological hhealth—have- gone virtually unexamined T: WORD Aermaphrodite comes from the Greck rmames Hermes, variously known as the mes- senger of the gods, the patron of music, the controller af dreams ar the protector of livestoek, and Aphrodite, the goddess of sexual lave and beauty. Accord ing w Greek mythology, those twa gods parented Hermaphrnditus, who at age fifteen became half male and half female when his body fused With the body of a nymph he fell in love with. In some true hermaph- todites the testis and the ‘ovary gow separately but bilacerays in others they grow together with- in the same organ, form= ing an avo-testis, Not in- frequently. at least oneof the gonads functions ‘quite well, producing, ther sperm cells or eees, as well as functional lev els of the sex hor mones—andmgeas ores: trogens, Although in theory it might be poss ble for a tue here maphrodite to become hath father and mother twa child, in praetice the appropriate ducts and tubes sre noc eanfigured so chat egg and sperma can meet. In contrast with the true hesmaphrodites, the pseudo~ hermaphendites possess two gonads of the same kind along With the usual male (XY) or female (XX) ehramoso- mal makeup. But their extemal genitalia and secondary sex characteristics do not march theirehromosomes. Thus merms have testes and X¥ chromosomes, yer they also have a vagina and a clitoris, and at puberty they often de- ‘velop breasts. They da no menstmuate, hawever. Ferms have ovaries. two X chromosomes and sometimes a “uterus, but they also have at least parily masculine exter- inal genitalia, Without medical intervention they can de- ‘velop beards, deep voices and adultsize penises. ‘No classification scheme could mare than suggest che ‘variety of sexual anatomy encountered in clinical practice, 122 THE SCIENCES « Marehstprif 1098 ‘Rimra Gerba amd Vakriy Gero, Romulus and Remus, 1889, Tn 1968, for example, twa French investgawrs, Paul ‘Guinet of the Endocrine Clinic in Lyons and Jacques De- court of the Endoerine Clinie in Paris, described ninety- ejght cases of cme hermaphroditism—again, signifying people with both ovarian and testicular cissue—solely ac- coming wo the appearance of the external genitalia and the accompanying duets. In same cases the people exhibited strongly feminine development. They had separate open- ings forthe vagina and the urethra, acleft vulva defined by both the large and the small labia a vaginal fips an! at pu berty they developed breasts and wsuilly began to men: seruate. It was the aversizeand sexually alert clitoris, which threatencd sometimes at puberty to grow intoa penis, that ‘usually impelled them ta seck medical attention, Mem- bers of another group also had breasts anda feminine body type, and they menstruated. But their labia were at least parly fused, forming an ineomplete scrotum. The phallus here an embryalogeal term fora structure that during us al development goes on to form ether a eltoris a penis) was between 1,5 and 28 inches long; nevertheless, they urinated through a ure= thm that opened into or eae the vagina. By far the most fre quent form of true her- maphrodite encountered ‘by Guinet and Decoun— 55 percent—appeared. to ‘have a more: masculine physique. In such people ‘the urethra rans either thmugh oc near the pha Jus, which looks nore lke 1 penisehan a clitoris Any menstrual blood exits pe uring rina spite of the relatively mule appear ance of the genitalia, breasts appear at pubery. Ie is possible that a sam pple larger than ninety sight so-called true her ‘maphrodites would yield even more contrases and subtleties. Suffine itt say that the varieties areso di verse that itis possible ro know which partsare present and what is tached to whaconly after exploratory surgery Phe embryological origins of human hermaphrodites ‘clearly fit what is known about male and female sexual de- velopment, The embryonic gonad generally chooses early in development to fallow eithera male or female sexial pathway: forthe ovo-testis, however, thatchoice is fudged. Similarly, the embryonic phallus mast often ends wp as a clitoris ora penis, but the existence of intermediate states ‘comes 2s na surprise w the emabryologise There are also turo-genital swellings inthe emaryo that usually either sry ‘open and ccome the vaginal lbia of fuse and become a scrotum, In some hermaphyodites, though, the chaice of ‘opening or closing is ambivalent. Finally, all mammalian ‘embryos have seuetces that ean hecome the female uterus and the fallopian tubes, as well as structures that can become part of the male sperm-transport syacer. Typ- ically either the male orthe female set af thase primordial eenital organs degenerates, and the remaining structures hieve their sex-appeopriate fucure, In hecmaphrodlites both sect of organs develop to varying degrees. I ENUALITY ITSELE is old news. Hermaph- rodites, for inscance, are often featured in stoties abou human origins. Early biblical scholars be- lieved Adam began life as a hermaphrodite and later ¢hi- ‘vided into two people—a male and a female—atter Falling from grace. According co Plato there ance were three sex~ esate, female and hermaphrodite—but the third sex ‘vas last wich time. Hoth the Talmud and the Tosefta, the Jewish hooks of list extensive regulations for people of mixed ‘The Tosefta expressly forbids hermaphrodites to inherit their fathers’ estates (ike daughters}, ta seelude them selves with women (like sons} of to shave tike mem. ‘When hermaphrodites menstruate they must be isolated from men (like women; they ate disqualified from serv~ ing.us witnesses.or as priests (like women}, but the laws of pederasty apply to them. In Europe a pattern emerged by the end of the Middle ‘Ages thar, ina sense, has lasted to the present day: hermaphrodites were compelled to choose an established ender tole and stick with it, The penaley for transeres- sion was oftea death. ‘Thus in che 1600s a. Stostish hermaphrodite living as 2 woman was busied alive after Jmpregnating hissher master’s daughter. For questions of inheritance, legitimacy, paternity, su cession 10 ticle and eligibility for cercain professions to be determined, modem Anglo-Saxon legal systerns requite that newhoms be registered as either male ar female. In the US. today sex determination is governed by state laws, Hlinois permite adults to change the sex recorded on their birth certificates shoukd 4 physician attest wo having perfarmed the appropriate surgery. ‘The New York Aca my af Medicine, on the other hand, bas taken an oppe- ire view, In spite of surgical alterations of the external ppenitalia, che academay argued in 1966, che chromosomal sex remains the same. By that measuve, a person's wish to conceal his or her original sex cannot outweigh the public interest in protection against fraud. During this century the medical communicy has com pleted whar the legal world began—the complete erasure ‘ofany form of embodied sex that does not conform to a ‘male-female, heterosexual pattern. Ironically, 1 more s- phisticated knowledge of the complexity of sexual 343+ tems has fed to the repression of such intricacy. In 1937 the urologist Hugh H, Young, of Johns Hapkins ‘University published a volume titled Genta! Abuormai ties, Hermaphradisiom and Related Adrenal Diseases, The book is remarkable for its erudition, scientific insight and ‘open-mindedness, Init Young drew together a wealth of carefully documented case histories to demonstrate and study the medical treatment of such “aecidents of birth.” ‘Young did noc pass judgment on the people: he studied, nor did he attempt to eseree into tieatment those inter sexuuls who rejected that option. And he showed unusw al evenshundedness in referring to those people who had had sexual experieneesas both men and women as “prac icing hetaphondites.” ‘One of Young's more interesting cases wis a heermaph- rodite named Emma whe had grown up as a female: Es- imi had both a penis-size clitoris and vagina, which made it possible for hirwher w have “normal” heterosexual sex with boch men and women. Asa teenager Emma had had sex with « number of girls to whom sfhe was deeply at- tracted; bur atthe age of nineteen whe had married a man. Unfortunately, be had given Emma litee sexual pleasure (chough de had had no complains}, and so throughoue that ‘murriage and subsequent ones Emima had kept gilficnd’s fn the side. With some frequency she had pleasuratle sex with chem. Young describes his subject as appearing “wo be «quite conteatand even happy.” Inconversanion Emmaoc- casionally told him of his/her wish to bea man, a ciscum- stance Young. said would be relatively easy to bring about. Buc Emma's reply strikes 2 heroic blow for self-interest. Would yo have to remove that vayina? I don't ow about that bheeause thats my mes! cker. f yaad tha. wold have © quit rmy-husband snd veo work, think Ul Keep it and stay s Lan. iy husband suppers me wel, and even though I don't have any sexual pleasure with hin, Helo ave Bas with my selves ET EVEN a8 YOUNG was illuminating intersex. tality with the light of seientficeason, he was beginning its suppression. For his book is also an extended treatise on the mast modern surgieal and hor- ronal methods of ehanging intersexuals into eicher males crfemales. Young may have differed from his successors in being fess judgmental and contig of the patients and their families, but he nonetheless supplied the foundation (on which current intervention practices were built. Ry 1969, when the English physicians Christopher J Dewhurst and Ronald RC Gordon wroce Tie Fmerseeucal Dir- arders, medical and surgical approaches to intersexuality had neared a state of rigid uniformity, [tis hardly surpris- ing thac such a hardening of opinion took place in the era of the feminine mystique—of the post-Second World War flight ca the suburbs and the seriet division of family roles according to sex. ‘That the medical eonsensiis was not (quite universal (or peshaps that it seemed poised to break apart again) can be gleaned from the nearshyscerical tone if Dewhurst and Gordon's book, which eontrasts marked- fy with the calm reason of Young's founding wack. Con sider their opening description of an intersexual newborn One can only aticmpe 10 imaxioe the anguish ofthe parents That newborn should have 2 deformiy.[affecting! a0 fune damental an iss the very sex of the child...isa tugic event which immediately conjures up visions ofa hopeless paycholon- ical mini doomed eo live always asa sexual feak in Foneliness tnd frustration. Dewhurst and Gordon wamed that such a miserable fate \wauld, indeed, be a baiby’s oe should the case be improp- erly managed: “burforrunately." they wrote. “with carrect ‘management the outlook is infinitely better than the poor parcats—emotionally stunned by the event—or indeed anyone without special knowledge cauld ever imagine.” Scientific dagma has held fast ro the assumption that without medical care hermaphmdites are dosed eo a life of misery, Yet there are few empiticl studies t-back up that assumption, and some ofthe same research gathered tw build accase far medical treatment contradicts it. Fran cies Benton, another of Young's practicing heemaph- rodites, “had not worried over his condition, did nox wish Mars8iApeif 99) «THE SCIENCES 23, tobe changed, and was enjoying life." The same could be said of Emma, the opportunistic hausfrau. Even Dew burst and Gordon, adamant about the psychological im- portance of treating, intersexuals at che infant stage, a» nowledged great suecess in “changing the sex” of older patients. They reported on twenty cases of children re- classified into a different sex after the supposedly critical age of eighteen months, ‘They avscrted thit all che reclas sificatinns were “successful,” and they wondered then whether reregistration could be “recommended more than [had] been suggested so Fa.” ‘clear examph caule his called biopower, ‘The knowledge developed in biochemistry, embryology. endacrinology. psychology and surgery has enabled physicians to conuol the very sex of the human bady. The multiple eentradicoons in that kind af power call forsomie serutiny. On the one hand, the med- ial “management” of intersexuality certainly developed 2s part of an attempt ro free people from pereeived pay chological pain (though whether the pin was the pa- tient’ the parents” of the physician's is unclear). And if tne actepts the assumption that in a sex-divided culture people can realize their greatest potential for happiness ind productivity only if they are sure they belong to wae af nly eo acknowledged vexes, der medicine has ‘On the othes hand, the same medical aocamplishrments ean be read not as progess but as a mode of discipline. Hermaphrodites have unruly badies, ‘They do not fall na turally into a binary classification; only a surgical shoehorn ean put them there. Bur why should weave ifa "woraan.” defined as ane who has breasts, a vagina, a uterus and ‘evafies and who menstnuates, alse has 4 clitoris large enough to penetrate the vagina af another woman? Why should we care ifthereare people whose biological equip- ‘ment enables them ro have sex “naturally” with both men and Women? The answers seem to lc ina cultural need to ‘maintain clear distinctions between the sexes. Society ‘mandates the cantrol of intersexual bodies because they blur and bridge the great divide. Inasmuch as hermaph- ‘edites literally embody both sexes, they challenge tradi- ‘ional beliefs about sexual difference: they possess che i= ritating abilicy to live sometimesas ane scx and sometics the acher, and they raise the specter af hamosexusliry. WHar tethings were alingether different? Imagine a world in which the same knowl edge that has enabled medicine to intervene in the management of intersexual patients has been placed acthe service of multiple sexualities. Imagine chat the sexes have multiplied heyond eurreatty imaginable limics. Ic would have to be a world of shared powers. P tient and physician, parent and child, male and female, heterosexual and homosextial—all chase oppesitions and ‘others would have to be dissolved as sources of division Anew ethic of medical treatment would arise, ane that would permit ambiguity in a culture that had overcome sexual division, The central missina of medical treatment would be w preserve life. Thus hermaphrodices would be ‘concemed primarily not about whether they ean canfoen tw society but about wherher they might devetop poten- tially life-threatening conditions—hernias, gonadal ue 24 THE SCIENCES Waretitprif (98H mors, saltimbalance caused by adrenal malfunction—that sometimes accompany. hermaphreditic development. In my ideal world medical intervention for intersexuals would rake place only rarely before the age of reason; sub- sequent treatment Would be a cooperative venture be- foeen physician, patientand other advisers erained in is- sues of gender rmultplicicy do nc pretend that the transition to my utopia would be smooth. Sex, even the supposedly “norma” hetero sexual kind, continues co cause untold anxieties in West- em society. And certainly aculure that has yet wseome to rips—religiously and, in some states, legally —with the anient and relatively uncomplicated reality of homosex: tual love will noc readily embrace intersexuality. Nodoube the most troublesome arena by far waukl be che rearing of children. Parents, at least since the Vietorian era, have fretted, sometimes to the poine of outight denial, over the face that thes children ane sexual beings. All cht ana! more amply explains why incersexual chil- dren are generally squeezed into ane of the twa prevail- ing sexual categories, But what would be the psychatosi- coil consequences of taking the alternative raad—raising children a8 unabashed intersexuals? On che surface that tack seems fraught with peril, What, for example, would happen te the intersexval child amid the unrelentingeru- ety af the school yard? When the time came to shower in gym class, wha horrors and humiliations would awaic the ingcrsexual as his/her anatomy was displayed in all its non traditional glory? In whose gym class would she register to begin with? What bathroom would sfhe use? And how tn earth would Mom and Dad help shepherd himyher through the mine field of puberty? ‘N-THE PAST THIRTY YEARS thase questions have been ignored, as che scientific community has, with remarkable unanimity. avoided contem- plating the alternative route nf unimpeded intersenuality [But modern investigators tend to overlook a substantial body of case histories, mast of them compiled between 19530) and £960, before surgical intervention became ram- pant. Almost without exception, those reports deseribe Chilteen who grew up knowing they were intersexual (though they did nor advertise it)and adjusted to their un- usual status. Some of the studies are richly detailed—de- scribed at the level of gym-slass showering (which most incersexuals avoided withou incident); in any event, there isnoca psychotic ora suicide in the loc Suill, the nuances of socialization among intersentals cry out for more sophisticated analysis, Cleuty, before my vision of sexual multiplicity can be realized, the first ‘openty intervexual children and their parens will have t be brave pioncers who will bear the brunt of society's vowing pains. But in the long view—thouh it could take generations to achieve—the prize might be a soeiery which sexuality is something to be celebrated for its sube tleties and not something. 0 be Feared or ridiculed. & Awe Fausvo-Srenuina isa development geneticist and profes ‘ar of medical sence at Brocon Unibersity in Providence. The sec- ‘nu ido of her Book MTHS oF GENDER: BIOLOGICAL THEDILES ‘ABOUT WOMEN AND MEN, publish asic Books, appearet fast fall. She is working ow a book titled Tho: Sex Wea PREVAILS. Bt- (oto AND THESoezaL /SCHENTIRIC CONSTRUCTION OF SEXUALITY, Robert Gaber, Unite, 1950 MercAiNpeit 19088 THE SCIENCES. 2 INTERSEXUAL RIGHTS AAs an intersexual I found Anne Fausto- Sterling's article “The Five Sexes" [March/April] of intense personal incer- est. Het dogma on intersexuality i unique and re- freshing, | understand that she has not had the chance to meet with any “cor rected” intersexuals Ihink I an provide some perspective on the experience. Surgical and hormoral treatment al- lows parents and physicians to imagine that they have eliminated the chiles in- tersexuality Unfortunately, the surgery is immensely destructive of sexual sensi tion as well as one’s sense of bodily in- tegricy. Because the cosmetic result may be good, parents and physicians complar cently ignore the child's emotional pain in being forced into’ secally accepeable gender. The chile’s body, once violated by the surgery is again and again subject- ed to frequent genital examinations, Many “graduates” of medical intersex body pars. Suicides are not uncommon. Some former intersexuals become trans ‘sexual, rejecting their imposed sex. Fol- low-up studies of aduls t ascertain the long-term outcome of intervention are conspicuously absent am forced towonder whether our cul- ture’s concept of sexual normalcy, which defines the sexorgans ofas many as 4 per ‘cent of newbo sniping and wim genitals ro ft the procrustean bed that is ‘our cultural defisition of gender. But Ms, Fausco‘Sterling has been ‘wrongly in- formed thae few intersexuals escape med- ical intervention. The ones [have located have told me they fee! lucky to have c3- caped with their bodies intact. How did their parents shepherd them ehrough the mine Beld of puberty? Generally, in the culturally sanctioned way: with embar- ‘assed silence. Medical dogma on sex assignment of Intersexuals centers on the “adequacy” of the penis. Recause a lrge penis eannotbe constructed from a small ene, female as- Signment is preferred. Because large eli- toris is considered “diafguring,” exten- sive surgery is employed to remove, tim or relocate it. Whereas a male with an “in- adequate” penis (small, but with normal erotic sensation) is considered tragic, the same person transformed into 4 female swith reduced of absent genital scasation and an artificial vagina is considered nor- smal. The capacity to inflict such mon- strous “teatmenc” on children, who can PEER REVIEW Letters from Readers not consent, is ultimately a clear expres sion of the hatred and fear of sexuality that predominete in our culture. 1 must take issue, though, with the terms trae hermapirodit, female pteudo- Aermaphredte and male pseudetermaph- rede, They ae a heritage of Viewrian medicine—and without prognosticative value. They reflect the Vietorian belief that human sexual nacure resis entirely in the gonads, « concept of gonadal deter. rminism belied by the relative success of intersex medicine in sex reassignment. T encourage intersexvals and people close to them write tous atthe Intersex Society of North America, Post Office Box 31791, San Francisco, California 94131, where we ae assembling a support group and documenting our ives. ‘CHERYL CHASE ‘Sen Francisco, Califersia The logic of Me. Fausto-Seerling's argu: ‘ments is specious, even deranged. She = ports that some people suffering from ‘congenital genital abnormalities have led hhappy lives. Buc co assume chat such eases justify withholding corrective surgery be- ‘cause they are exemplars of rome imag. ined exera sexes is uly bizarre. By che same argument. we should withhold cor- reetive surgery from people who suffer Congenital spinal deformities, heart con- ditions or even hatelips: their claims to special satus (and thus preservation) are juseas solidare as che ones of people with genital deformities. RP. Bip Wichita, Kensas wat cnestar cre te reo Wace sit Taree from perceived psychological pain,” yet unpublished) from adults whore tersexusl states were corrected in child- hhood suggests they are noc as grateful co theit physicians of as satisied with the genital reconstruction 42 the physicians would have us believe. It appears, then, thatthe curcent management of intersex uclity is bad not only for reconstructing, igender in theory but aso for anyone who has a more practical interest inthe isue, In Ms, Fausto-Steling’s utopia the aci- entitle communicy would refrain fom sur- ically correcting intersexuality, thereby se to + world in which gender op- 5 Would “be dissolved 2s sources "I share her desire to see gen- Ive, and Tam sympathetic wo her argument that one answer ies in halting unnecessary genital surgeries and in vale dating alternative genital and thus ake native sexes. I think, however, that her roporal sil gives “natural” genital (a- bitin more chan ewo forms) a primary stax tus and ignores the fact that in the every- day-world gender atvibutions are made withouc access co genital inspection. Instead, what has primacy in everyday is the gender thats performed, regard Jes ofthe configuration ofthe flesh under the clothes. One cannot expect that sut= eons will lay down theit knives in the Service of the gender revolution. But there are people who might Function a+ transformers of gender categories. The “cansgendec” community, described by the anthropologist Anne Bolin, is made Lup of people who are challenging the obligatory two-gender system by blend- ing public features of maleness and fe- imaleness, or by accepting bits and pieces ofthe surgical options without “going all the way.” oF by doing both, People who are transgender disrupt gender in wo ways: They refuse to provide the cues that would permit them co be regarded at cither male ot female. And they treat logical signs of gender (including geni tals) as bodily omaments—aeither more ‘or lass elective than «face. Ms. FaustoSterling suggests gender disruption can begin with the genital and work outward wo the social categorie en the need for revolutionary disruptions tobe public events, the transgendermove- ment suggests a more powerful altemative. SUZANNE J. KESSLER ‘State Universi of New York Purchase, New York Is. Fausto Sterling’sarticle left me ‘oo questions about true hermaphrodites: ‘What isthe chromosomal make up of their calls) And if a ete hermaphrodice could donate both the sperm and the ezg foran JelsLintast 1993+ THE SCIENCES. 3 embryo. would che offspring be a tue clone, which in turn would be able core- generate in the same fashion? ‘JOSEPH L, LARSHMANASS Waskingoa, DC. TTothe best of my knowledge there inna publication atribueable to me in which T suggest, as Ms, Fausto-Stering puta in, rersexuals may constitute a8 many 2844 percent of births.” Moreover, itis ep ddemiologically reckless ea conjecoure chat fn the campus of Brown University there. are 240 studenta with abirch defect of the Sex ocpans thar would justify their being. diagnosed 8 intersexuals, that la, her maphrodices. Jokes Hepler MONEY tomer rgond Anne Fanato-Stering replies: The let- tery tesponding #6 ay sree Ince ‘ome smal fel cocci or shih 1 will check my sources further); one ‘exon sbout chromimorey tance {ie hermaphoden ate fen chem foal satis wich book 2X and XY irwe—Hdoa't nk cones re poner, some

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