Do Intersex Women Have Penises?

Do intersex women have penises? I’m seeing this thrown around a lot, so let’s address it. Firstly, as ever, let’s all remember that intersex is not the same as trans, and the conflation is harmful and ignorant. Now let’s get on with some science…  

I’m not even really sure what people mean when they talk about intersex women having penises, as no one will ever explain it, so I’m going to rundown the conditions that I think may be causing this confusion.  

They may be talking about virilised women. Virilised women do not have penises. What happens is these women are born with an enlarged clitoris, resembling a penis, and their vagina may be closed. Doctors refer to this condition as 46,XX DSD. The most common cause of this is congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). People with CAH lack a particular enzyme their body needs to make hormones called cortisol and aldosterone. Without these, the body produces more androgens (male sex hormones). If the child is female (excess androgens in a male are not usually considered to be a problem), the raised androgen levels before birth cause the genitals to become more male in appearance. More male in appearance does not mean it is a penis, just to be clear.  

CAH can also lead to serious health issues, such as life-threatening kidney problems that need to be treated as soon as possible. It is a physiological and often traumatic condition, and not something that props up gender identities.  

Maybe they mean people who have XY (male) chromosomes, but their external genitals may appear entirely female or atypical. The womb may be present or absent and the testicles may remain in the body or not form properly. Doctors refer to this condition as 46,XY DSD. There are several different causes of this condition. One possible cause is androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), where the body ignores androgens or is insensitive to them, so external development is female. See how it says external development is female, ergo not a penis? AIS is also a complex and often traumatic physiological condition, not a prop that proves that someone’s gender identity or validates their inner feelings.  

Moving on, some people have neither XY nor XX chromosomes – for example, they may only have one X chromosome (X0), or they may have an extra chromosome (XXY). Their sex organs are normally either male or female, but they may not go through normal sexual development at puberty. For example, a child with female sex organs may not start having periods. Examples of this would be males with Klinefelters (XXY) or females with Turner syndrome (X0). And, guess what? Those males have penises and those females have vaginas. Again, complex and often traumatic conditions, not props in your debate.  

Finally, we come to people with a very rare type of DSD who have both ovarian and testicular tissue – for example, one ovary and one testis – and whose genitals may appear female, male or a mix of both. Most people with this type of DSD have XX (female) chromosomes. The cause isn’t usually clear, but some cases have been linked to genetic material normally found on the Y chromosome being found on the X chromosome. Doctors refer to this condition as 46,XX ovotesticular DSD. If the person presents with functional testis and marked virilization, they are assigned male. If they have a functional ovary and internal female development, they are assigned female.  

So, in summary, TL/DR, intersex women do not have penises either. You can stop pretending to be offended on our behalf and using us as props in your debate. Thanks. 

Join the conversation

12 Comments

  1. Pingback: Homepage
  2. “The cause isn’t usually clear, but some cases have been linked to genetic material normally found on the Y chromosome being found on the X chromosome.”

    Just to clarify, is this always and only the SRY gene?

    Thank you SO MUCH for your clear and concise science journalism.

  3. Do have any comments of analysis of Jessica Yaniv’s statements of being intersex. All the comments made together don’t make sense based on what I’ve learned from you (and then researched more). Acknowledges male genitalia (assume penis and testicles), appears masculinized — voice, body shape, etc — yet claims period (implies uterus) and vulva (vulva in Human Rights Tribunal).

  4. I used to follow you on Twitter a while ago, but I got banned for “hateful conduct and inciting violence” because I tweeted that people with intersex conditions were either male or female just like everyone else (this is something that I had read in at least one of your tweets).

    I never got to thank you for teaching me so much. So before I go on, thank you! I can’t express how much I appreciate everything you do!

    I read you mentioning at least twice, that intersex conditions actually confirm (or prove) binarism. Could You please tell me, how that’s so?

    I’ll keep following You and learning from you through your blog!

    Again, thank you very much!

    1. Hi! Thanks for the lovely comment. I’m sorry you got the Twitter boot too. Do you have a copy of the tweet you were banned for? I’d be really interested to see it.

      To answer your question, intersex conditions confirm the binary precisely because we recognise them. Take my condition, MRKH, it’s noticed because I don’t mesntruate, due to not having a uterus and a cervix. This is only a problem because I am female. Had I been born male, a lack of those body parts and menstruation would have been expected. A flip side to this would be a man with Persistent Mullerian Duct Syndrome (PMDS). This is when a male does develop a uterus in utero. This happens because the hormone AMH, which prevents the development of these structures, does not activate, as it would for typical males. So, this is recognised as a difference and diagnosed as a medical condition. The same can be said for other variations. All of them are diagnosed when something we don’t expect for the sex someone is happens during their reproductive development. If we weren’t male or female, none of them would be diagnosable nor considered worth investigating.

      Hope this makes sense! Thanks again for the lovely comment. It’s always good to know that what I do helps other people to understand the reality of people with DSDs. 💜

      1. Hi, Claire! Thank you so much for replying!

        I did get the Twitter boot too 😂 It was in late 2017, but it never occured to me to take a SS!! I should have because you had to work very hard on mental gymnastics to determine that it was “hate speech or incited violence”.

        Your answer couldn’t possibly be more clear and to the point! That’s critical thinking and common sense.

        Being ignorant on the subject as I am, I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out….ever!

        I need to learn a lot more. I’m so glad that I found your blog!!

        I’ll stay in touch! Take care, Claire!!

        Love,
        Celina

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply to Claire Graham Cancel reply

%d bloggers like this: