Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit into the typical definitions of female or male. Intersex traits might be apparent when a person is born, but they might not appear until later in life, like during puberty or even adulthood. Some people may live and die with intersex anatomy without ever knowing. Intersex is a naturally occurring variation in humans, and it isn’t a medical problem. Being intersex is more common than most people realize, with estimates suggesting that about 1-2 in 100 people born in the U.S. are intersex.

Intersex people have genitals, chromosomes, or reproductive organs that don’t fit into the typical male or female category or may possess characteristics of both male and female sexes. For example, a person may be born with external genitals that fall into the typical male/female categories, but their internal organs or hormones don’t. Another example is someone born with an in-between presentation of male and female genitals, such as someone born with a larger-than-usual clitoris and without a vaginal opening or someone who has been born with a scrotum that is divided into a labia-like form. In some cases, a person may have mosaic genetics, so that some of their cells have XX chromosomes and some have XY.

Doctors always assign intersex babies a legal sex (male or female, in most states), but, just like with non-intersex people, that doesn’t mean that’s the gender identity they’ll grow up to have. In the past, children who were intersex have been given surgery to make their genitals match the sex they were assigned at birth or to remove reproductive anatomy that doesn’t match their assigned sex. These intersex surgeries often take place before a child is 2 years old. However, being intersex isn’t a disorder, disease, or condition, and medical interventions (like surgeries or hormone therapy) on children usually aren’t medically necessary.

In conclusion, being intersex means having anatomy that doesnt fit into a male/female sex binary. It is a naturally occurring variation in humans and isn’t a medical problem. Intersex people have reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit into an exclusively male or female (binary) sex classification[[2]](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articl...