A new genetic condition has been discovered that will help form another piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding why some people are born intersex. However, Australia’s peak body representing the intersex community has questioned why the research was done without the support of intersex-led organisations, and criticised it as another example of stigmatising intersex as “disorder”.

People who are intersex have reproductive organs, sexual anatomy, or chromosome patterns that don’t fit the typical binary definition of male (XY) or female (XX). Researchers from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Victoria led a study that showed a mutated form of the FGFR2 gene can also cause XY sex reversal.

Morgan Carpenter, the president of Organisation Intersex International Australia, believes the “disordering” of intersex has led to accelerated biomedicalisation: “Resources and funding go to research like this, but not to community-based support or long-term follow up and testing has clear uses to de-select embryos and foetuses with intersex traits.” Read More via Star Observer