Petition 432 calls for a ban on “biological males” from participating in women-only sports and access to women’s locker rooms. 

One serious shortcoming is that this petition, and similar “bathroom bills” in various legislatures, fails to address those of us born with intersex conditions.  There are over 30 different medically identifiable conditions where someone has one or more characteristics often associated with a different sex.  While each individual condition is rare, the large number of such conditions means that there are a lot of us.  Every school district undoubtedly has more than a few people like us.  Most of us hide our conditions because we don’t want to be outed as That Freak by our oh-so-nice high school classmates.     

A strict insistence that sex is strictly binary and biological ignores people like us.  We do exist and are a vulnerable population.

Sports leagues have long had to deal with controversies of how to classify people who seem to be in between.  The public flap over athletes like Semenya Caster and Imane Khalif are cases in point.  Classifying someone for life by a quick glance at their infant genitals, the “sex assigned at birth” often misses the complicated nature of a particular person’s situation.

Clearly, someone who has been through male puberty has the advantage of the height, muscles, and bones that usually, but not always, accompany male puberty.  Fairness dictates that such people compete with others who have also gone through male puberty regardless of their current gender affiliation.  Sports leagues have long dealt with this, and the exact rules for classification are not necessarily the same for each sport. It makes common sense to defer to the gender classification rules of the particular sport in question rather than a crude one-size-fits-all approach pushed by the extremes of the right or the left.

Women have a natural need for protection from predatory males.  They are uniquely vulnerable when disrobing, so locker rooms and lavatories are usually segregated by gender.  Locker rooms can be particularly scary places for intersex people.  When others see that our bodies don’t conform to gender norms, we are vulnerable to harassment and assault. I have personally been assaulted in a male locker room. 

Any rules promulgated should consider not only how to protect women from the extremely rare case of a pervert masquerading as a female to access women’s spaces, but also consider protecting intersex and trans people from assault in a men’s locker rooms.  Again, we should look for common sense that can take into account particular situations rather than a crude one-size-fits-all approach driven by the political gender ideology of the right or the left.      

Appendix:

A partial list of known intersex conditions:

Late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Hypospadias

Klinefelter syndrome (47, XXY)

Trisomy X or triple X syndrome (47, XXX)

Turner syndrome (45, X)

Müllerian agenesis (of vagina, i.e., MRKH Syndrome)

Vaginal atresia

45,X/46,XY mosaicism

47, XYY syndrome

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (classical forms)

48, XXXY syndrome

49, XXXXY syndrome

48, XXYY syndrome

49, XXXYY syndrome

XX male or de la Chapelle syndrome

Ovotesticular syndrome

XY gonadal dysgenesis

Androgen insensitivity syndrome (complete and partial phenotypes)

Androgen deficiency

Idiopathic (no discernable medical cause)

Iatrogenic (caused by medical treatment, e.g., progestogen administered to pregnant mother)

5-alpha-reductase deficiency

Aromatase excess syndrome

Aromatase deficiency syndrome

Anorchia

Persistent Müllerian duct syndrome

46,XX/46,XY

Leydig cell hypoplasia

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone insensitivity

Familial male-limited precocious puberty

Cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase deficiency

Isolated 17,20-lyase deficiency

Testicular dysgenesis syndrome

Penoscrotal transposition

Hyperandrogenism

Hyperestrogenism

Polyorchidism

Aphallia

Cryptorchidism

Cloacal exstrophy (born with XY chromosomes)

These are the medical conditions that are currently medically identifiable.  It does not include same-sex attraction or gender identity issues.  As gay and trans people have been known throughout history and in most cultures, it is probable that eventually a biological cause will be found.