Key traits overlap extensively and rarely fall into two discrete types. Ultimately, the definition of s*ex is culturally constructed.
The ancient Roman sculpture Sleeping Hermaphroditus depicts the long-acknowledged variability of sex. According to Greek myth, Hermaphroditus (child of Aphrodite and Hermes, from whom his name is compounded) melded with the nymph Salmacis to create one intersex person.
Although hermaphrodite was once a term used to describe people with genitalia that is not obviously male or female, the term is now generally considered outdated and offensive. Intersex is a more expansive term that encompasses multiple ways of defining sex.
Sculptures such as Sleeping Hermaphroditus demonstrate the integration of biology, history, and culture in definitions of sex.
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