What Lady Gaga and earthworms may have in common

Lady GaGa .... a "hermaphrodite"?! Apparently rumors started when a slight bugle in front of her panties made obsessed viewers curious. - Lady Gaga has a penis! Pretty soon after this the pictures zoomed in on her crotch area surfaced and everyone was over analyzing her videos. Then there is an un-cited statement floating around by Lady Gaga in which she states:

"It's not something that I'm ashamed of, just isn't something that I go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia..." "But I consider myself a female. It's just a little bit of a penis and really doesn't interfere much with my life. The reason I haven't talked about it is that its not a big deal to me. Like, come on. It's not like we all go around talking about our [genitalia]. I think this is a great opportunity to make other multiple-gendered people feel more comfortable with their bodies. I'm sexy, I'm hot. I have both. Big fucking deal."

I don't know if this is a true statement or not but its pretty gutsy- as we know Lady Gaga to be. but it's still unfortunate to have your personal biz put on blast. Yes I am adding to the hype but I would also like to offer some insight of course and make some sense of the matter.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary a hermaphrodite is 1. an animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs 2. something that is a combination of diverse elements. An earthworm is a known hermaphrodite carrying both ovaries and testes. Humans are not hermaphrodites. What Lady Gaga might be is intersex. Intersex is a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. Now if Lady Gaga is in fact an intersex individual and considering herself to be female then she probably has female reproductive organs. The bulge in her panties could possibly be an enlarged clitoris making it seem like a baby penis.

This is unfortunate for Lady Gaga but this does bring to light some greater social concerns about Intersex individuals. When an intersex child is born with one of the various birth defects that would make them intersex should corrective surgery be done shortly after birth or should the child be allowed to grow and develop a few more years? Sometimes the birth defects are deadly and thus surgery is necessary but what about when it is a matter or making things look more normal? The Intersex Society of North America recommends that Surgery to change genitals or make them look more like a “normal” penis & scrotum or vulva should not be performed until the child is mature enough to make an informed decision for himself or herself. Do you agree with them? Your answer might depend on how you categorize gender.

"nature doesn’t decide where the category of “male” ends and the category of “intersex” begins, or where the category of “intersex” ends and the category of “female” begins."

~Intersex Society North America

Poor Lady Gaga- I guess when you are constantly wearing leotards, body suits and thongs over tights people can't help but stare.