Androgynos (Judaism)

In Jewish tradition, the term androgynos (Hebrew: אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס, romanized: ʾandərôg̲înôs, lit. 'man-woman,' 'intersex') refers to someone who possesses both male and female sexual characteristics. Due to the ambiguous nature of the individual's sex, Rabbinic literature discusses the sex of the individual and the legal ramifications that result based on potential sex classifications. In traditionally observant Judaism, sex plays a central role in legal obligations.

Biological basis

During the development of the embryo into a fetus, a specific process occurs that determines the physiological properties of the fetus. In other words, there is a point in time where the fetus exists without male or female genitalia. Eventually, due to the release of hormones in one part of the fetus and the recognition of these hormones in another, the fetus either develops male genitalia or female genitalia. This process occurs roughly a month and a half after conception, and occurs completely separately from genetic sex. Genetic sex is determined solely by the presence or absence of the Sex-Determining-Region of the Y chromosome (presence = male, absence = female).

Distinction from tumtum

As explained above, the Jewish androgynos refers specifically to an individual who outwardly appears to have both male and female genitals. A similar though distinct category exists, called a tumtum (טומטום in Hebrew, meaning "hidden").