Intersex is a term used for a variety of situations in which a person is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the boxes of “female” or “male”. Sometimes, intersex traits can involve internal organs or hormone production and are not apparent until puberty or at all. When a baby is born intersex, doctors and the family decide on a sex, either male or female, and raise the baby as the gender expected of that sex. It’s pretty common for surgery to be done on the baby’s genitals and also for the child to be given hormones to make them fit into male/female categories as they go through puberty. However, being intersex isn’t a disorder, disease, or condition. Intersex variations include conditions like congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS).

Here are some key points to know about intersex babies:

• Genital Differences: Babies who are intersex may have noticeable differences in their genitalia, but they also may not. Sometimes, a baby can have genitalia with some male characteristics and some female characteristics. And even deeper than external appearance, some people are born with a mix of male and female biological features (such as a uterus and testicles) that can’t be seen on the outside.

• Sex Assignment: Most of the time when a baby is born intersex, doctors and the family decide on a sex, either male or female, and raise the baby as the gender expected of that sex. However, just like with non-intersex people, that doesn’t mean that’s the gender identity they’ll grow up to have.

• Surgery and Hormones: It’s pretty common for surgery to be done on the baby’s genitals and also for the child to be given hormones to make them fit into male/female categories as they go through puberty. However, more parents of intersex babies are rejecting operations.

• Support: If you have a child who’s intersex, the best thing you can do is support them and love them for who they are. It’s also a good idea to find an intersex support group.

It’s important to note that intersex isn’t new, and it isn’t political in and of itself. It’s just a more widely recognizable term now — though a lot of people still don’t understand it.