I've recently been researching intersex representation for Intersex Wiki, including Intersex in Mythology and Intersex Art History.
And it's made me want a term for individuals like:
- Ardhanarishvara, the Hindu deity that is the combination of Shiva (male) and Paarvati (female)
- Hermaphroditus, the Greco-Roman god who according to Ovid was transformed to have mixed sex characteristics after his sexual harasser Salmacis got her body forcibly merged into his body in an act of serious body horror (note: there are alternate versions of this myth where he was born intersex)
- Stevonnie, the Steven Universe character who is a fusion of Steven and Connie
As @praeobscura in writing the call for An Intersex Jam point outs, these individuals are not actually intersex. And thus, I coin...
Desmosex: an individual with a varsex body, who has sex characteristics that were modified as a result of fusion/integration of multiple individuals/headmates or collaborative transition by a plural system. (Desmo- means to bind, connect)
This term would include:
- fictional characters like Stevonnie
- religious/mythical entities like Ardhanarishvara, Harihara, Lakshmi-Narayana, and the Ovid version of Hermaphroditus, etc
- plural systems with perisex bodies who decide as a group to medically transition towards androgynous/neutral sex traits as a compromise for the varying genders of the different headmates
- plural systems with intersex bodies who change their sex characteristics for similar reasons
- a corelet who, because of their plural experiences, had changed their sex traits prior to final fusion
Note: I am not a plural system! I am intersex and median, and I personally interpret stories about "two individuals are merged into one varsex body" as an experience that belongs more with plurality than intersex. In coining a term and creating a definition for the mythical/fictional characters above, it struck me that there are probably plural systems out there who would identify with these individuals!
Acknowledgements: @clairvoyant-weapons, who is an actual system, gave helpful feedback on the definition, coining, and the flag! 💜 And @goingrampant started the conversation that triggered me looking for a term for this, and was the one who first picked desmosex out of a list of several ideas I brainstormed. 💜
Flag is inspired by these transition flags that @bloomshroomz made. Symbolism is:
- Orange, dark violet, and treble ampersand: plurality
- White chevron and trans symbol: gender transition
- Dark red: for the specifically embodied aspect of this - to be desmosex, one has to have changed one's bodily sex characteristics.
Tagging for archival: @varsex-pride @radiomogai @liom-archive @pluralterms @plurchive
Edit for adding to Pluralpedia: I consider any term I coin to be in the public domain and no permission is needed to make a Wiki page for it <3
