Human sexuality has been a mystery since the dawn of mankind. Its indecipherable nature calls for progressive dissection to get the hang of its platonic, objective and psychical understanding. In recent times, self-definition of our own sexuality has gained eminence and acceptance. Proclamations such as ‘we are who we are’ and ‘accepting our sexuality constitute our basic rights, freedoms and avenues of happiness’, have been graced.

Needless to say, this modernistic approach has led to the disclosure of certain aspects of sexuality that are mind-boggling. Below is a series of bizarre defects of the human sexual organs.

Hermaphrodite

 

This is basically a person who has both female and male sexual traits. Customarily, this occurs when the person has exterior organs for one sex while internally the person has the reproductive organs of both sexes i.e. the ovarian and testicular tissues. Occasionally, pseudohermaphroditism occurs where the person has both male and female sexual organs externally. This situation is confusing even for doctors. As a result, a DNA test can be performed to ascertain the sex of the person. Some parents decide when their child is still an infant to perform surgery to resolve their sex. On other occasions, the individuals grow with the ‘confusing’ genitalia until they can decide on their own which the dominant sex is. A famous example is the Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya. Despite competing as a girl, her body and hormonal variance were more male than female which led to a famous case of gender-testing.

Due to the possibility of ridicule and stigma from the society, many intersex people seek medical help to correct this condition. Nonetheless, surgery can result in undesired consequences such as not fitting in the chosen sex; loss of sexual sensitivity and/or incontinence. We should instead embrace nature and treat these individuals just like normal human beings while trying to satisfy our curiosity.

To be Continued>>

Guest post by Ian Njogu

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