Welcome to the online home of Organisation Intersex International – OII – world’s largest organisation of intersex people
What is intersex?
THE term intersex was adopted by science in the early 20th century and applied to human beings whose biological sex cannot be classified as clearly male or female. An intersex person may have the biological attributes of both sexes or lack some of the biological attributes considered necessary to be defined as one or the other sex.
Intersex is always congenital and can originate from genetic, chromosomal or hormonal variations. Environmental influences such as endocrine disruptors can also play a role in some intersex differences. The term is not applicable to situations where individuals deliberately alter their own anatomical characteristics.
Intersex people represent a significant percentage of the global population, from 1.9% (Anne Fausto-Sterling, sexologist, 2000) to 4% (various authors).
What is OII?
THE Organisation Internationale des Intersexués – OII – is the world’s largest intersex organization with members representing almost all known intersex variations.
OII has affiliates in twenty countries, on six continents, speaking ten languages including Mandarin Chinese and Arabic.
