[Sloth]

Although her sex chromosomes are unambiguously XY, there is no doubt that she is a woman.

I doubt it. She is a disfigured man.

[ahayes]

It's not quite that simple. I read a medical journal recently about a XY mosaic woman who gave birth to a healthy baby.

[js1138]

Have trouble reading? Your quote refers to an entirely different person that the one featured in the article.

[aruanan]

I doubt it. She is a disfigured man.

Remember, the default fetal phenotype is female. Hormone release during development results in the development of male gonads and genitalia. If a fetus who is genotypically male has a defect in the gene for androgen receptors so that the hormones cannot dock with the receptor, he will develop phenotypically female, though sterile and non-menstruating. If a fetus who is genotypically female has an overproduction of androgen during a critical phase of development, she can end up with a phenotype more or less characteristic of a male. As one of our biochem teachers said on the subject with respect to a newborn, "Now that's either a very small penis or a very large clitoris."