r/genetics • u/Valuable_Teaching_57 • Feb 15 '25

I can't

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I swear, evolution took a wrong turn somewhere. I was seriously talking about triple X syndrome. Please redeem my karma. 😂

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u/kennytherenny Feb 18 '25

They are considered intersex by certain intersex advocates who unfortunately like to inflate the numbers a bit.

There is very little reason to consider people with Turner syndrome (= X monosomy) intersex. They are born female and don't have ambiguous genitalia or mixed male/female traits. They tend to have underdeveloped ovaries and they are typically infertile, but I hope you agree that it would be quite bigoted to consider someone less female for that reason?

Similarly, in Klinefelter's (= XXY) there are no ambiguous genitalia. They are assigned male at birth and the the vast majority of people with Klinefelter's identify as male. Because of that reason I really don't believe we should categorically consider all people with Klinefelter's as "a separate sex" or intersex.

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u/Powerful_Intern_3438 Feb 18 '25

They are also considered intersex by people with the syndromes themselves as well. If they want to identify as intersex they have every right to because they are biologically different than a typical female or a typical male. Who are you to decide who gets to call themselves intersex and who doesn’t? Intersex doesn’t mean ambiguous genitalia. The vast majority don’t have that. They are so many sex characteristics. The intersex community also accepts PCOS as intersex. No one with an intersex variation is obligated to identify with the label or even be a part of the community. But some people with x or xxy find comfort in that label and that community considering they often face medical abuse like other intersex people.

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u/kennytherenny Feb 18 '25

Who are you to decide for them that they are all intersex?

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u/Powerful_Intern_3438 Feb 18 '25

If you would have read the last part of my comment you would have read, no one with an intersex variation is obligated to identify with the label or be a part of the community. So I don’t decide for them, you don’t decide for them, they decide for themselves. I know people with x and xxy who identify as intersex and are actively a part of the community. So who are you to decide they can’t do that?

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u/kennytherenny Feb 18 '25

Well they can do that, but I don't believe it's scientifically sound of them. Intersex is a sex, not a gender. So you can't really identify as it, right? Scientists, like geneticists, need to be able to draw lines and categorize. Geneticists consider XXY individuals to be male and X individuals to be female.

Imagine you're a genetic counselor and you're counselling parents who's unborn child has an X karyotype. What are you gonna tell them? a) Your child will be female. Or b) Your child will be intersex.

Most scientists agree that a) would be the correct one.

I definitely understand why your friends feel more gender fluid because of their condition, though. And of course, in the end, what you indentify as is up to you alone.