endosex

An endosex person is someone whose innate sex characteristics fit normative medical ideas for female or male bodies. The word endosex is an antonym of intersex.

Etymology and meaning

The prefix endo- comes from the Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|ἔνδον}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|éndon}}), meaning 'inner, internal', while the term sex is derived from Latin {{wikt-lang|la|sexus}}, meaning 'gender; gender traits; males or females; genitals'. The Latin term is derived from Proto-Indo-European {{PIE|*séksus}}, from {{PIE|*sek-}}, "to cut", thus meaning section or division into male and female.{{cite book |last=von Wartburg |first=Walther |author-link=Walther von Wartburg |chapter=“sexus” |title=Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch |language=de |volume=110 |url=https://apps.atilf.fr/lecteurFEW/lire/110/560 |page=560 |access-date=2021-03-30 |archive-date=2021-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512060330/https://apps.atilf.fr/lecteurFEW/lire/110/560 |url-status=live }}

Surya Monro states that the term is used to "indicate a person born with sex characteristics that are seen as typically male or female at birth, therefore not medicalized as intersex".{{Cite journal |doi=10.1080/15532739.2018.1538841 |issn=1553-2739 |pages=126–131 |last=Monro |first=Surya |title=Non-binary and genderqueer: An overview of the field |journal=International Journal of Transgenderism |date=2019 |volume=20 |issue=2–3 |pmid=32999600 |pmc=6830997}} Janik Bastien-Charlebois uses the term to identify "people whose sexual development is considered normal by medicine and society".{{Citation |publisher=Observatoire des transidentités |last=Bastien Charlebois |first=Janik |author-link=Janik Bastien-Charlebois |title=De la lourdeur d'écrire un article universitaire sur les enjeux intersexes lorsqu'on est soi-même intersexe |date=September 2, 2016 |language=fr |url=https://www.observatoire-des-transidentites.com/2016/09/02/2016-09-de-la-lourdeur-d-ecrire-un-article-universitaire-sur-les-enjeu/ |quote={{lang|fr|personnes dont le développement sexuel est considéré normal par la médecine et la société}} |access-date=March 27, 2021 |archive-date=April 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410111042/https://www.observatoire-des-transidentites.com/2016/09/02/2016-09-de-la-lourdeur-d-ecrire-un-article-universitaire-sur-les-enjeu/ |url-status=live }}

Origin

An early English-language reference to the term endosex can be found in a symposium on intersex held at a European Federation of Sexology congress in Berlin, Germany, on June 30, 2000, where Heike Bödeker spoke on "Intersex as an ostension of the endosex group phantasy".{{Cite conference| conference = European Federation of Sexology Congress| last = Bödeker| first = Heike| title = Symposium on Intersexuality| location = Berlin|url=http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/EFSC/CP.HTM | date = June 30, 2000 | access-date = March 27, 2021}} Bödeker has written that she coined the term in the spring of 1999,{{Cite book | first = Heike | last = Bödeker | editor1 = Michaela Katzer | editor2 = Heinz-Jürgen Voß | title = Geschlechtliche, sexuelle und reproduktive Selbstbestimmung | chapter = Intersexualität, Individualität, Selbstbestimmtheit und Psychoanalyse Ein Besinnungsaufsatz | doi = 10.30820/9783837967999-117 | publisher = Psychosozial-Verlag | place = Gießen | isbn = 978-3-8379-2546-3 | language = de | date = 2016| pages = 117–136 }} stating in English translation:

{{quotation|Just as dialectically one could not be heterosexual if there were no homosexuals, just as one could not be cissexual if there were no transsexuals, so neither could one be endosex if there were not intersex people. Or more generally, one could not be "normal" at all if there were no abnormalities (mostly with the implication that there would be no "inside" if there were no "outside" – namely regarding one's position relative to the group).{{efn|name="bod-orig"}}}}

Importance and disambiguation

Endosex has been used to identify the importance of storytelling by intersex youth in their own words, and without being recontextualized or rewritten by non-intersex people.{{Cite book| isbn = 978-0-646-80877-2| others = Steph Lum (ed.)| title = YOUth&I Issue 1| date = October 2019| publisher = Stephanie Lum| url = https://darlington.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/YOUthAndI-Layout-Final-Web.pdf| access-date = 2021-03-27| archive-date = 2021-03-06| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210306043205/https://darlington.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/YOUthAndI-Layout-Final-Web.pdf| url-status = live}}

The term can be distinguished from cisgender, an antonym of transgender, which is used to describe someone whose gender identity matches their sex assigned or observed at birth.{{cite web |title=cisgender |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cisgender |website=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |date=n.d. |access-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-date=March 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326162554/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cisgender |url-status=live }} In journal articles on non-binary gender by Monro and the reproductive rights of transgender people by Blas Radi, the authors use the term to help distinguish the different lived experiences of people who are both intersex and transgender from people who are transgender and not intersex.{{Cite journal | last = Radi | first = Blas | title = Reproductive injustice, trans rights, and eugenics | journal = Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | doi = 10.1080/26410397.2020.1824318 | date = October 15, 2020| pmid = 33054686 | pmc = 7888063 | s2cid = 222819647 }}

Usage

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reported in 2020 that "some advocates and providers are increasingly using the term endosex to describe people whose reproductive or secondary sex characteristics align with medical binaries."{{Cite book| publisher = The National Academies Press| last = National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine| editor1-first = Charlotte J| editor1-last = Patterson| editor2-first = Martín-José| editor2-last = Sepúlveda| editor3-first = Jordyn| editor3-last = White| title = Understanding the Well-Being of LGBTQI+ Populations| location = Washington, DC| date = 2020 | work = National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine | isbn = 978-0-309-68081-3 | doi = 10.17226/25877| pmid = 33104312| s2cid = 226586453}}

The term has been used in intersex human rights advocacy,{{Cite web| last = Intersex Human Rights Australia| title = Media and style guide| work = Intersex Human Rights Australia| access-date = March 27, 2021| date = March 2, 2021| url = https://ihra.org.au/style/| archive-date = March 25, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210325021738/http://ihra.org.au/style/| url-status = live}}{{Cite web | url = https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/lgbti/terminology | title = Terminology | last = Australian Human Rights Commission | author-link = Australian Human Rights Commission | access-date = March 27, 2021 | archive-date = March 19, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210319004048/https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/lgbti/terminology | url-status = live }}{{Cite news| issn = 0261-3077| last = Duck-Chong| first = Liz| title = Mark Latham's bill seeks to ensure trans and queer children remain in the closet| work = The Guardian| access-date = March 28, 2021| date = November 30, 2020| url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/30/mark-lathams-bill-seeks-to-ensure-trans-and-queer-children-remain-in-the-closet| archive-date = April 23, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210423114001/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/30/mark-lathams-bill-seeks-to-ensure-trans-and-queer-children-remain-in-the-closet| url-status = live}} and in publications providing peer support, including works intended for parents of intersex children and for intersex youth.{{Cite web| last = Egale Canada| title = Supporting Your Intersex Child, A resource for parents and guardians| work = Egale Canada| date = 2020| url = https://egale.ca/awareness/supporting-your-intersex-child/| access-date = March 27, 2021| archive-date = April 15, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210415012809/https://egale.ca/awareness/supporting-your-intersex-child/| url-status = live}}{{Cite web | url = https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/lgbtiq-ultimate-dictionary | title = LGBTIQ+: The Ultimate Dictionary, A list of important words you'll hear used in LGBTIQ+ communities | work = Kids Helpline | date = October 8, 2019 | access-date = March 27, 2021 | archive-date = April 14, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210414051514/https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/lgbtiq-ultimate-dictionary | url-status = live }}{{Cite web| last = Rose| first = Maddie| title = What Intersex People Want You to Know About Sex| work = Teen Vogue| access-date = March 28, 2021| date = October 21, 2020| url = https://www.teenvogue.com/story/intersex-people-sex| archive-date = March 5, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210305145028/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/intersex-people-sex| url-status = live}}

Academic writers and peer support workers have used the concept to identify how people with intersex bodies have been obliged to adapt to societies that only accept endosex bodies. Brömdal and others state that sexuality education curricula privilege endosex bodies and experiences, promoting feelings of shame and secrecy in intersex students.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/14681811.2020.1864726| issn = 1468-1811| pages = 568–583| last1 = Brömdal| first1 = Annette| last2 = Zavros-Orr| first2 = Agli| last3 = lisahunter| last4 = Hand| first4 = Kirstine| last5 = Hart| first5 = Bonnie| author5-link = Bonnie Hart| title = Towards a whole-school approach for sexuality education in supporting and upholding the rights and health of students with intersex variations| journal = Sex Education| date = 2020| volume = 21| issue = 5| s2cid = 234387755| url = https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2020.1864726| access-date = 2021-03-27| archive-date = 2023-07-10| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230710022400/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2020.1864726| url-status = live| url-access = subscription}} In a media interview, a support group organizer states that intersex people undergo unnecessary medical examinations that would be prohibited on endosex women.{{Cite news| last = Maheshwari-Aplin| first = Prishita| title = Intersex people on how they want to be treated and accepted| work = Dazed| access-date = March 27, 2021| date = October 29, 2019| url = https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/46610/1/intersex-people-intersex-awareness-day-how-they-want-to-be-treated| archive-date = May 10, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210510192906/https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/46610/1/intersex-people-intersex-awareness-day-how-they-want-to-be-treated| url-status = live}}

Zelada and Quesada Nicoli state that States justify cosmetic adaptation surgeries because intersex bodies cannot be understood, and that it is intersex people who must adapt to a model of "endosex privilege".{{Cite journal| doi = 10.18800/iusetveritas.201902.009| issn = 2411-8834| issue = 59| pages = 124–144| last1 = Zelada| first1 = Carlos J| last2 = Quesada Nicoli| first2 = Diego| title = Lxs otrxs invisibles: Hacia una narrativa jurídica para la prohibición de las cirugías de "normalización genital"| journal = Revista Ius et Veritas| language = es |date = 2019| doi-access = free}} Monro and others state that "entrenched and traditionalist medical and social norms impede attempts to change practices to support bodily diversity and to ensure intersex people have equal citizenship to endosex people", calling for the "co-production of knowledge" by intersex and endosex people in intersex studies.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/13691058.2021.1899529| issn = 1369-1058| pages = 431–440| last1 = Monro| first1 = Surya| last2 = Carpenter| first2 = Morgan| last3 = Crocetti| first3 = Daniela| last4 = Davis| first4 = Georgiann| last5 = Garland| first5 = Fae| last6 = Griffiths| first6 = David| last7 = Hegarty| first7 = Peter| last8 = Travis| first8 = Mitchell| last9 = Grinspan| first9 = Mauro Cabral| last10 = Aggleton| first10 = Peter| author2-link = Morgan Carpenter | author4-link = Georgiann Davis | author9-link = Mauro Cabral Grinspan | title = Intersex: cultural and social perspectives| journal = Culture, Health & Sexuality| date = 2021| volume = 23| issue = 4| pmid = 33783329| doi-access = free}}

In September 2020, Dominic Perrottet, the Treasurer of New South Wales state in Australia stated that a directive from his Department encouraging use of inclusive language was "completely unacceptable", following an official message to Treasury staff by its Economic Strategy Deputy Secretary, Joann Wilkie. Wilkie had suggested "not assuming when you're talking to a colleague that they are heterosexual/cisgendered/endosex".{{Cite web | title = Dominic Perrottet to quash NSW Treasury lecture on 'pronoun preference' | url = https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6188312753001 | work = Sky News Australia | date = September 7, 2020 | access-date = March 27, 2021 | archive-date = May 12, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210512084741/https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6188312753001 | url-status = live }}{{Cite news | last = Chung | first = Frank | title = NSW Treasury asks bureaucrats to add 'pronoun preference' to emails in 'safe space' training | url = https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/nsw-treasury-asks-bureaucrats-to-add-pronoun-preference-to-emails-in-safe-space-training/news-story/f5412b8985428176c1c4fec70bfeacb7 | date = September 7, 2020 | access-date = March 27, 2021 | work = News.com.au | archive-date = May 12, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210512061823/https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/nsw-treasury-asks-bureaucrats-to-add-pronoun-preference-to-emails-in-safe-space-training/news-story/f5412b8985428176c1c4fec70bfeacb7 | url-status = live }} The Daily Telegraph reported that Perrottet wanted staff to feel included, and was unaware of the meaning of the word endosex.{{Cite news | title = Honey, we need to have a word. (2020, Sep 08). The Daily Telegraph | last = Clark | first = Georgia | work = The Daily Telegraph | date = September 8, 2020}}{{Cite web | last = Fordham | first = Ben | title = PC brigade reaches NSW Treasury: Dominic Perrottet admits it's time 'to get real' | url = https://www.2gb.com/pc-brigade-reaches-nsw-treasury-dominic-perrottet-admits-its-time-to-get-real/ | work = 2GB | date = September 7, 2020 | access-date = March 27, 2021 | archive-date = April 17, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210417200815/https://www.2gb.com/pc-brigade-reaches-nsw-treasury-dominic-perrottet-admits-its-time-to-get-real/ | url-status = live }}

References

;Notes

{{notelist |refs=

{{efn|name="bod-orig"|Heike Bödeker quotation from 2000 in the original German:

{{quotation|{{lang|de|italic=no|Genauso wie man dialektischerweise nicht heterosexuell sein könnte, gäbe es keine Homosexuellen, wie man nicht cissexuell sein könnte, gäbe es keine Transsexuellen, so könnte man auch nicht endosexuell sein, gäbe es keine Intersexuellen. Oder auch ganz allgemeinhin, man könnte gar nicht »normal« sein, gäbe es keine Anormalität (meist mit der Implikation, es gäbe kein »drinnen«, gäbe es kein »draußen« – nämlich bezogen auf die Positionierung relativ zur Gruppe).}}}}}}

}}

; Citations

Category:Intersex topics in society