History Main / IntersexTribulations

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** WesternAnimationPeppaPig suffers from both precocious puberty and PCOS, making her grow a moustache as a four-year-old cis girl and resulting in complete strangers making transphobic/intersexist comments. It doesn't help that her whole family is fat and PCOS is known for affecting weight, so people comment on that too.

* ''Webcomic/{{Rain}}'': This is revealed to be the situation faced by Ana, who was born with ambiguous genitalia and was AMAB, but has always identified as female. Her mother left long ago, but her father has always been supportive and worked to ensure she could identify as her preferred gender. So supportive, in fact, that he's been okay with moving them across the country after at least one incident where she was attacked over her identity.

* ''Annabel'' by Kathleen Winter is a 2010 novel about an intersex individual born in 1960s Canada. They were born with a penis and vagina, but their father decided to raise them as a boy named "Wayne". As Wayne grows, they show feminine traits that their father disagrees with. Upon hitting puberty, Wayne gets their period and is put on testosterone, which causes more confusion. The novel ends with Wayne discontinuing their medicine because they wish to be more feminine. ''Annabel'' has been met with praise, however intersex rights organizations found it flawed and inaccurate.

* [[spoiler:Sadako]] from ''Literature/TheRing'' series was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome and was killed because of it. [[spoiler:She's later reborn in the first sequel novel Spiral as a "complete {{hermaphrodite}}". Eun-suh (Creator/BaeDoona), the version of her in the Korean adaptation ''The Ring Virus'', also has this syndrome.]]

* The {{Bishonen}} [[spoiler:Yoite]] from ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' is revealed to be intersex late into the manga. It isn't given much detail but it is used to explain his angsty personality and identity issues more in-depth. His own parents thought that being intersex was a sign that he was cursed.

* Megumi from ''Manga/TheDayOfRevolution'' is intersex, but was raised as a boy named "Kei". Upon learning about Megumi's chromosomes, it's decided that she should transition into living as a girl. Megumi originally hates the idea but comes to accept it.
* [[spoiler:Apos, the BigBad]] of ''Anime/{{Mnemosyne}}'' is intersex (self-identifies as male), which in that universe is very handy as it gives him Immortality (a female-only ability) as well as the powers of an Angel (male-only ability) upon ingesting a Time Spore. Though it does come with [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Great Insanity]] and an unnatural pleasure from prolonged torture of his victims.

* ''Manga/GhostTalkersDaydream'': [[spoiler:Haru]] is revealed to be intersex, as part of her backstory in chapter 12. It led to her being bullied at school and eventually caused problems in her relationship with [[spoiler:Inspector Gada]]. All of which caused her to develop [[FemaleMisogynist a deep-seated hatred for other women]], due to [[spoiler:her own sexual inadequacy]].
* Mashiro Ichijo, the protagonist of Creator/SetonaMizushiro's manga ''Manga/AfterSchoolNightmare'', is a teenager whose body is male from the waist up but female from the waist down. He's raised as a boy but is terribly afraid that his various weaknesses and failings mean that he is actually a girl. The manga begins with Mashiro getting his first menstrual period and the school clinician telling him he must attend a special class once a week in which he and other troubled teens enter a DreamLand, where they take on the form of their "true selves" and must fight for the right to "graduate".
* ''Manga/AstraLostInSpace'' has [[spoiler:Luca Esposito]], who faced neglect from his father because his intersex body meant he could not inherit the family business. [[spoiler:His body is later revealed to be a deliberate choice, as Luca turns out to be a clone genetically modified to have both masculine and feminine parts.]]

* ''Fanfic/LittleFires'' is a ''Warriors'' fanfic about a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} tortoiseshell she-cat. It is heavily implied that, like most tortie toms, Emberpaw is intersex. The Clans don't fully understand the condition but they do know that tortoiseshell toms are both very rare and oftentimes sickly. Emberpaw herself was weak as a young kit. She also doesn't enjoy living as a boy, but others don't understand her dysphoria and [[GenderedInsult make fun]] of her femininity.
* In ''Fanfic/TheWordOfYourBody'', Tobias has perineal hypospadias, and went through a painful genital mutilation surgery at a young age to make him look more male. [[ShapeshiftingHealsWounds Fortunately, morphing undoes it.]]
* in ''Fanfic/InkyFuture'', Orion is a shy Inkling boy who, through specific circumstances (specifically being [[spoiler:part of a FusionDance comprised of both male and female individuals, and later fusing with his sister Artemis]]) discovers that while he still would prefer male pronouns, he identifies as intersex and prefers having a much more feminine body, as well as both sets of sex organs, realizing that his body doesn't feel right without female genitalia. While he can't become a full-on "{{Hermaphrodite}}" yet, as he can't change his sexual organs without surgery (and any alternative means are still in the research phase of development), Inkling biology (specifically being able to transform) and a special piece of medial equipment allows him to change his body to be more female through physical therapy.

* The live-action film ''Spork'' is about an intersex, female-identifying elementary school child. It follows her figuring out her identity and relationships with other characters. She faces a prejudiced AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse, who frequently bring up her intersex status in a demeaning way.
* Jane of ''Film/{{Predestination}}'' is eventually revealed to be intersex - albeit of a kind so subtle that it isn't even noticed until given a thorough physical examination: along with female sex organs, she possesses an internalized set of male reproductive organs. Though unaware of this, Jane has always felt uncomfortable with herself, uneasy with the notion of sexual contact, and instinctively isolates herself from people. However, the real tribulations don't begin until after she gives birth: [[spoiler: her female sexual organs didn't completely mature and were critically damaged during labour, forcing the doctors to remove them... and replace them with the male organs. From then on, Jane has to go through the process of coming to terms with a new identity altogether, eventually becoming John, AKA "The Unmarried Mother."]]

* ''Literature/TheWickedYears'': It's implied in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'' that Elphaba is intersex. At birth, her sex is difficult to understand until she's fully cleaned. Later in life, she's noted as being lanky and androgynous looking. Elphaba displays discomfort with her body and won't even let her lover [[spoiler:Fiyero]] touch her below the waist. [[spoiler:Fiyero]] also notes that Elphaba has an unexplained scar near her groin, which may be due to an intersex-related surgery. In her case, though, Elphaba's still able to [[spoiler:get pregnant and give birth to a son, Liir]].
* In ''None of the Above'' by I. W. Gregorio, champion hurdler and homecoming queen Kirsten Lattimer finds her life turned upside-down when she's diagnosed with androgen insensitivity syndrome.
* [[spoiler:Sadako]] from ''Literature/TheRing'' series was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome and was killed because of it. [[spoiler:She's later reborn in the first sequel novel Spiral as a "complete {{hermaphrodite}}". Eun-suh (Creator/BaeDoona), the version of her in the Korean adaptation ''Film/TheRingVirus'', also has this syndrome.]]

* In ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'', fifth book of the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' saga, Creator/GeorgeRRMartin introduces "Sweets", the purple-haired violet-eyed intersex prized slave of Yunkish slaver Yezzan zo Qaggaz, who owns a grotesquerie of unique and deformed slaves. Though Sweet's place of origin is unknown, the books do reference that people born in the cities close to the devastated Valyrian peninsula are often born with deformities and alterations.
* ''Literature/NemesisSeries'': The transphobic [[spoiler:Greywych]] casts a spell to kill off "men" (by her definition, anyone with a Y chromosome) but almost dies when she casts the spell. Danny theorizes that it's because she's likely has a Y chromosome and androgen insensitivity, though [[spoiler:Greywych]] insists that it's just because of the spell is so powerful she accidentally CastFromHitPoints.
* In the later Literature/TimeScout books, Dr. John Lachley was born with ambiguous genitalia. A little of each. Combined with a [[DarkAndTroubledPast terrible childhood]] in the CrapsackWorld of VictorianLondon's East End, and you've got one hell of a FreudianExcuse.
* Elise Kavanaugh from ''The Descent Series'' is the only female on record to be a kopis (demon-slayer and exorcist), which appears to be tied to the fact that (as revealed in book two when she visits a gynecologist in a flashback) she's intersex: she has an XY chromosome pair and an androgen insensitivity disorder. It's a touchy subject for her, as her boyfriend Anthony finds out the hard way.

* ''Literature/AcrossTheGreenGrassFields'': Regan's [[ACupAngst lack of physical development]] makes her feel left out from her peer group as a preteen even before her parents tell her that she has XY chromosomes and androgen insensitivity syndrome. A prejudiced friend outs her and drives her away in tears, leading her to be TrappedInAnotherWorld that proves much more accepting.
* Calliope/Cal from Jeffery Eugenides' novel ''{{Literature/Middlesex}}'' was born with 5-alpha reductase deficiency (meaning generically XY but with ambiguous genitalia and internal testes) as a result of their grandparents being secretly [[BrotherSisterIncest brother and sister]] and their parents being [[KissingCousins second cousins]] twice over, unbeknownst to them[[note]]her father's parents were the aforementioned brother and sister, while her mother's mother was the first cousin of those two[[/note]]. The doctor who delivered her was nearsighted and didn't notice her unusual genitalia so she was raised female. It was only when she hit puberty that her lack of a period and the male secondary sex characteristics becoming apparent tipped them off that something was wrong, and when she heard they were planning to surgically alter her body Calliope ran away, changed his name to Cal and began living as a man.
* The Micah Grey trilogy by Laura Lam is about an intersex person who runs away from home after overhearing their parents deciding to give them surgery to make them entirely female.

* Stuart "Magilla", the first friend Delia makes in ''Series/{{Everwood}}'' was born intersex and his parents chose to raise him as a boy. This poses problems when Stuart is caught playing dress-up with Delia and his parents freak out, forbidding Delia to play with their son and hastily switching him to an all-boys school. Stuart's parents are the first and possibly only people in the series Andy is unable to help or reason with.
* The ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "[[Recap/FarscapeS03E18Fractures Fractures]]" features Moya's crew making the acquaintance of another gang of fugitives escaped from Peacekeeper custody. One of them, a Nebari named Hubero, turns out to be intersex: effectively exiled from her people, she bitterly refers to herself as "not exactly male, not exactly female, not exactly anything." As it turns out, intersex individuals - known as "[[FantasticSlur androgen]]" -- are a persecuted minority in the [[LawfulEvil highly-conformist Nebari culture]], to the point that most are executed at birth; Hubero only managed to avoid this because she grew up on an isolated liberal colony, but when the Peacekeepers raided it and tried to ransom her back to her people, Nebari Prime refused to take her in. Needless to say, she's the most guarded of all the fugitives, and only feels comfortable revealing herself to Chiana -- another Nebari exile and [[DefectorFromDecadence cultural rebel]].

* Kainé of ''{{VideoGame/Nier}}'' was bullied as a child due to her intersex body, which came about as a result of [[spoiler:an error in her Replicant data]]. She took to dressing in an extremely {{Stripperiffic}} manner after her grandmother encouraged her to show off the feminine aspects of her appearance, but she clearly overcompensated to the point other characters comment on the impracticality of her wardrobe.
* Issue 9 of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' introduces Kaoru, a character heavily implied - almost stated outright - to be intersex. Among other things, she was mercilessly bullied after being seen swimming in public and attempted to drown herself as a result; following the breakdown of her relationship with Ricky Pagan, she believes that it was prompted by him seeing "the real me"; finally, Ricky himself claims that he didn't dump her because of "what was between her legs" and insists that "everyone's bits are beautiful!" [[spoiler: It turns out that he actually dumped her because of a tattoo on her thigh indicating that she works for the [[RuthlessModernPirates Phoenician Brotherhood]]; despite their shady status, Kaoru believes that they're the only faction in the Secret World that will accept her.]]

* Adrian in ''[[https://tapas.io/series/ringbrothers Curious Case of the Ring Brothers]]'' is an intersex gay man who performs in a [[TheFreakshow circus freak show]] as "Rose, the Man with Breasts" in [[TheSixties 1962]]. He binds his chest in public and is rejected when another gay man realizes his breasts are real.

* Ramona in ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'' has 17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase III deficiency and is relatively well adjusted, though she does call herself [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/sticky-dilly-buns/not-tomboyish-at-all a hermaphrodite]] until Angel corrects her with the medically accurate term, and Angel forcefully corrects some of the other characters' misconceptions over the next few strips. Later during a guest spot in ''Webcomic/PixieTrixComix'' Sharon hits Ramona's BerserkButton when she makes a joke fundraiser page about getting her cisgender (but initially closeted bisexual) brother Aaron gender-reassignment surgery. Ramona [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/pixie-trix-comix/respond-to-people-appropriately explains]] that she wasn't subjected to nonconsensual surgery because her condition wasn't obvious at birth, but a lot of other intersex people are.
* In ''WebComic/AndShineHeavenNow'', Heinkel (who in ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' falls more into AmbiguousGender territory, with Hirano saying Heinkel was "neither male nor female") confirms they have 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, and has breasts, a penis, and a pseudovaginal opening. They've admitted they had issues about not really being able to identify as one gender or another, mainly because society insisted they had to choose, [[spoiler:and volunteered to become a prototype regenerator in hopes that the regenerator powers would make them the gender they're 'supposed' to be.]] This helps them create a bond with Timothy, who, thanks to briefly being possessed by [[spoiler:[[Manga/RevolutionaryGirlUtena Utena]]]], has his own gender identity issues.

* The live-action film ''Spork'' is about an intersex, female-identifying elementary school child. It follows her figuring out her identity and relationships with other characters.

%%* ''Literature/TheWickedYears'': It's implied in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'' that Elphaba is intersex. At birth, her sex is difficult to understand until she's fully cleaned. Later in life, she's noted as being lanky and androgynous looking. Elphaba displays discomfort with her body and won't even let her lover [[spoiler:Fiyero]] touch her below the waist. [[spoiler:Fiyero]] also notes that Elphaba has an unexplained scar near her groin, which may be due to an intersex-related surgery. In her case, though, Elphaba's still able to [[spoiler:get pregnant and give birth to a son, Liir]].

%%* Abigail Tarttelin's novel ''Golden Boy'' is a ComingOfAgeStory about Max Walker. He's a "golden boy": attractive, athletic, intelligent, and from a well-to-do family. However, his family keeps it a secret that Max is intersex.
%%* In ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'', fifth book of the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' saga, Creator/GeorgeRRMartin introduces "Sweets", the purple-haired violet-eyed intersex prized slave of Yunkish slaver Yezzan zo Qaggaz, who owns a grotesquerie of unique and deformed slaves. Though Sweet's place of origin is unknown, the books do reference that people born in the cities close to the devastated Valyrian peninsula are often born with deformities and alterations.

* Raven from ''Series/FakingIt'' is notable for being the first intersex character played by an intersex person, Amanda Saenz.

%%* The live-action film ''Spork'' is about an intersex, female-identifying elementary school child. It follows her figuring out her identity and relationships with other characters.

%%* Raven from ''Series/FakingIt'' is notable for being the first intersex character played by an intersex person, Amanda Saenz.

* A variation can be found in the Italian movie ''Film/{{Le Comiche 2}}''. After a series of misadventures a male character undergoes an accidental breast augmentation transforming him in a male with prominent secondary sexual characteristics of the opposite gender. This is even more relevant because, when he reappears in the movie, he’s discovered having lived as man with breasts for a period of time (possibly months), he’s even wearing a lacy black bra under male clothing. Unfortunately for him a new series of misadventures cause him to end up in a hospital stripped to his underwear, here he is mistaken for transgender and undergoes a full gender reassignment surgery.

* Both main characters of ''Webcomic/DropOut'' are intersex to some degree, though the author refused to give specifics, and what they've faced is a contributing factor to their decision to [[DrivenToSuicide jump off the Grand Canyon]]. Sugar later reveals that it's hereditary in her case, and [[HasTwoMommies one of her moms]] is a urologist who specializes in intersex GRS.

* Issue 9 of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' introduces Kaoru, a character heavily implied - almost stated outright - to be intersex. Among other things, she was mercilessly bullied after being seen swimming in public and attempted to drown herself as a result; following the breakdown of her relationship with Ricky Pagan, she believes that it was prompted by him seeing "the real me"; finally, Ricky himself claims that he didn't dump her because of "what was between her legs" and insists that "[[AnythingThatMoves everyone's bits are beautiful!]]" [[spoiler: It turns out that he actually dumped her because of a tattoo on her thigh indicating that she works for the [[RuthlessModernPirates Phoenician Brotherhood]]; despite their shady status, Kaoru believes that they're the only faction in the Secret World that will accept her.]]

* In ''WebComic/AndShineHeavenNow'', Heinkel (who in ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' falls more into AmbiguousGender territory, with Hirano saying Heinkel was "neither male nor female) confirms they have 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, and has breasts, a penis, and a pseudovaginal opening. They've admitted they had issues about not really being able to identify as one gender or another, mainly because society insisted they had to choose, [[spoiler:and volunteered to become a prototype regenerator in hopes that the regenerator powers would make them the gender they're 'supposed' to be.]] This helps them create a bond with Timothy, who, thanks to briefly being possessed by [[spoiler:[[Manga/RevolutionaryGirlUtena Utena]]]], has his own gender identity issues.

Intersex characters are frequently depicted as androgynous, either in a DudeLooksLikeALady, LadyLooksLikeADude, PrettyBoy, {{Bishonen}}, or {{Bifauxnen}} manner. They are frequently uncomfortable about their bodies in a manner similar to gender dysphoria. Their intersex status often leads to a lot of [[InternalizedCategorism internalized angst]] or {{angst}} that can be [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer brought upon them by others]]. Intersex characters are also frequently depicted as villains, leading to UnfortunateImplications.

* ''Literature/NemesisSeries'': The transphobic [[spoiler:Greywych]] casts a spell to kill off "men" (by her definition, anyone with a Y chromosome) but almost dies when she casts the spell. Danny theorizes that it's because she's likely has a Y chromosome and androgen insensitivity, though [[spoiler:Greywych]] insists that it's just because of the spell is so powerful she accidentally CastFromHitpoints.

* ''Manga/GhostTalkersDaydream'': [[spoiler:Haru]] is revealed to be one, as part of her backstory in chapter 12. It led to her being bullied at school and eventually caused problems in her relationship with [[spoiler:Inspector Gada]]. All of which caused her to develop [[FemaleMisogynist a deep-seated hatred for other women]], due to [[spoiler:her own sexual inadequacy]].