Hermaphrodites—people born with both male and female physical attributes—are living examples that looks can be deceiving. Often looking like one gender more than the other, it is impossible to see an average person on the street and be able to tell who is a hermaphrodite and who is not. However, just because one looks a certain a gender does not mean one feels like one.
It is difficult for a person to juggle two genders. Not only does a hermaphrodite have the responsibilities of a male, but they also have the responsibilities of a female as well. At times hermaphrodites do not pick to be a gender, but alternate between feelings of one or another.
Even when a person does choose one gender over another, it is unlikely that gender chosen will match the person’s physical form. A person might feel like a woman from the inside but have a man’s outer appearance. In a case like this, what is the person supposed to be identified as? If one gender’s characteristics are more prominent than the other, it still odes not eliminate the fact that the person has characteristics of both genders, and may even feel and identify as both.
In a time where the lines of what determines gender is blurred, it is unfair to pressure hermaphrodites to choose between one gender or another. Just like it is unfair to force a biracial choose only one race, it is unfair for us to make a hermaphrodite choose between genders. This is why the U.S. must officially recognize a third gender for hermaphrodites.
Being forced to choose a gender can invoke shame and discomfort in hermaphrodites, and pressure them to hide who they are. But like it or not, hermaphrodites exist, and they deserve the same treatment and respect as males and females.
Hermaphrodites exist because they have chromosome of one gender and the external organs of another. While that is the case for the majority of them, there are cases where a person has extra chromosomes.
This feeling of isolation can have a major psychological impact on these innocent people. Angelfire.com, for example tells the story of Lynn Elizabeth Harris, a hermaphrodite who was assigned a female at birth. At the age of 29 Harris, transformed into man. Not only did he feel isolated form the society, but was constantly accused of stealing a women’s identification card. Harris is just many of the people who have to suffer and tolerate these constant accusations.
However, unlike the many people going through this experience, Harris has actually fought back. He decided to change his gender to male, and after a court battle, is now identified as male.
Harris was okay with changing his gender after his body started to transform. However, there are people who may not be mentally ready to transform into another gender. It is unfair that they have to choose one gender in a time of certainty.
The vast majority cannot understand a hermaphrodite’s plight. Hermaphrodites are rare, accounting for 1.7 percent of all births. So we must ask ourselves this: What gives us the right to ask a group that we cannot identify with to conform to our unrealistic ideals?
