AJC on intersex cop
Friday, August 29th, 2008AJC.com published a really interesting story today about an Atlanta cop who recently learned she is intersex, meaning she appeared to have the anatomy of a girl at birth and later developed “external sexual anatomy that appears to be a blend of a man’s and woman’s.”
Genetic testing conducted earlier this year showed that the officer, Darlene Harris, carries the XY chromosomes of a male.
Sounds very close to the plot line of Jeffrey Eugenides’ 2002 Pulitzer-winning novel, Middlesex. Eugenides’ intersex protagonist, Calliope, has 5-alpha-reductase deficiency — which, judging from its Wikipedia entry, closely approximates to Harris’ condition.
