Hermaphrodite is a person who has both female and male sexual characteristics. Where did such an unusual name come from? In order to answer this question, we turn to ancient Greek mythology. According to legend, Hermaphrodite is the son of two Olympic gods, Hermes and Aphrodite. Accordingly, his name is an anagram of the names of the parents. God of the wicked and the Goddess of love and beauty for some reason did not engage in the education of his son. This role was assumed by non-venoms. The young man grew and developed. When he was fifteen years old, the nymph Salmakida, who lives in the source, was kindled with love. Their eyes met as Hermaphrodite leaned toward the water to get drunk. The nymph could not leave her source, but the young man’s passion was so strong that he appealed to the gods and asked to forever connect him with his beloved. So they became one being - half man, half woman.
Characteristic
So, the hermaphrodite is a bisexual creature. Features of its development depend on many factors and may be different. For example, a male child with a penis may be born, and later he will develop lush mammary glands. The opposite situation is also possible: a woman who has male testicles in place of the ovaries. Therefore, it is quite difficult to attribute a person suffering from hermaphroditism to a certain gender. By the way, the suffering of such a creature, its difficulties with self-identification are described in detail in the American novel with Greek roots Jeffrey Eugenidis "Middle Sex". If you are interested in what hermaphrodites look like, photos of people suffering from this disease can be found in the medical guide.
Clinical picture
This phenomenon, as a rule, is caused by congenital anomalies of the external genital organs. Its formation occurs until the eighteenth week of fetal development. According to doctors, hermaphroditism is observed in about six percent of cases, but official statistics do not exist at this time. The thing is that most patients are diagnosed with “testicular feminization”, “ovotestis”, “adrenogenital syndrome”, etc. There is a false opinion that hermaphrodite is a person who must be subjected to compulsory treatment.
Types of disease
To date, in medicine, it is customary to distinguish true and false hermaphroditism. The first is widespread in the animal and plant worlds. Worms, fish, shrimp, lizards, leeches - they all have signs of both sexes. True hermaphroditism in humans is characterized by the presence in the body of gonads of both male and female sexes. In the second case, gonads of one sex are observed, and the external genitalia of the other. For example, such female hermaphrodites are distinguished by a normal internal structure (uterus, tubes, ovaries), and their secondary sexual characteristics are something resembling a penis and a scrotum.
Diagnostics
As you know, the sex of the child is established at birth (or even earlier, by ultrasound) and is recorded in all documents. That is why it is very important to determine it correctly. With hermaphroditism, each specific case must be checked according to six criteria (in this regard, the genetic, gonadal, hormonal, phenotypic, psychological and legal sex are distinguished).
Treatment
Of course, any individual decides on the correction and transformation of the sex on their own. In principle, sex change is possible and widely practiced. Treatment begins with hormone therapy. If it is successful, you can resort to surgical intervention and, finally, fix all this legally.