I don’t know about you, but I learned very little about variations in sexual development during my medical education over a decade ago.

Commonly presented topics were usually of a genetic nature — this person has XXY or XO chromosomes and the “abnormalities” such chromosomal variations can bring.

That’s about the extent of my education regarding sex development and gender, with the impression conveyed that these were minor topics.

Fast forward to now, when I have since learned that there are people who defy our traditional understanding of male and female sex. These people are called intersex, and they account for 1.7% of our population.