Gender identity and sex assignment

Gender identity and sex assignment can be fraught with difficulty for people who have intersex conditions (a.k.a. differences/disorders of sex development). An incongruence between these two can develop during a person's lifetime and more commonly occurs in particular types of intersex conditions. We will tackle some of the specific challenges in these cases and review the data we have so far to help avoid gender incongruence and gender dysphoria (distress related to incongruence between sex assigned at birth and gender identity). Gender incongruence and gender dysphoria can occur in people without intersex conditions, which defines being transgender. We will not discuss being transgender in this chapter. Finally we will take a look at studies that help predict and guide gender assignment based on the different categories of intersex conditions. This knowledge also helps families understand the chances of making a gender assignment that may not match the child's gender identity in adulthood.

Duke Scholars

Author Deanna Wilson Adkins Pediatrics, Endocrinology