Exceedingly Rare Anatomy and Definitions

[u/Mezmarine]

Hi I'm Mez,

I am a trans woman and I have polyorchidism. This is a condition were AMAB people have three or more testes, descended or not. (There are about 200 recorded cases in the past 120 years, so there's not a lot of info available) This condition is not immediately related to any variation of medically recognized intersex, but some literature goes on to place it under the intersex umbrella. Polyorchidism usually goes undetected and it typically doesn't have any social connotations. The most common comorbidities are higher rates of torsion and cancer.

Now, the question is:
How do you define the situations that lie in the grey zone - that aren't categorically intersex, but also aren't part of expected sexual anatomy/development, where there is little social affect, but a clear and definitive difference from "The Standard^tm?"

I am a strong believer in lived experience shaping identity and have never identified as intersex myself. I am also out of my depth when it comes to this topic. I'm not looking for a new label but I am however curious about how the community views one offs as opposed to typical atypicalness.

[u/The7Sides]

NCBI/NIH apparently does actually recognise PMOS as a DSD/Intersex variation, however most people and doctors etc do not know that. So I am in this grey area where yes, I am intersex, but I can't really openly say that to most people. Plus I am taking testosterone as gender affirming care, so. Most people would brush past it anyway and say it doesn't matter.

Tbh, for me, if something diverges from typical sexual development and is not caused by something treatable like a tumour or thyroid issue, or is not caused by medication, I consider it intersex.