'Why Am I Not Getting Pregnant?'... Chinese Woman Discovers She Is Male After 25 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] A Chinese woman who visited a hospital due to a sprained ankle discovered a secret about her gender after 25 years.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) recently reported the story of a Chinese individual who appears female externally but is male chromosomally.

The woman in the story recently injured her ankle and went to the hospital. The medical staff found the ankle unusually underdeveloped on the X-ray and, upon further examination, confirmed that she had never menstruated even once.

Further investigation revealed that the woman had no uterus or ovaries. She was in a condition where menstruation was never possible.

Through collaboration with the endocrinology department, Zhejiang University Hospital analyzed the cause of this condition and revealed on the 10th that the woman is 'intersex,' neither female nor male.

Dong Fengqin, an endocrinology specialist at Zhejiang University, explained, "Chromosome testing showed that the woman’s karyotype was 46,XY. A typical female karyotype is 46,XX. This is a typical male karyotype, indicating ambiguous gender."

The woman was said to have female external genitalia but was born without a uterus and ovaries.

He also mentioned, "We looked for hidden testes but found none. They probably regressed gradually with age."

According to the report, the woman had congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which caused a sexual development disorder known as Swyer syndrome.

She reportedly said, "When I was young, I visited the hospital with my mother due to menstrual issues, but the doctor said I was just slower than other girls and would start menstruating within a few years." Medical staff pointed out, "This case shows how lacking sex education is, as they believed she could become pregnant despite having no menstruation."

The woman has not yet decided which gender to choose. A psychiatrist at Zhejiang University Hospital said, "It would have been better if this had been discovered a little earlier," adding, "Setting aside physical issues for now, the most important thing is to reconstruct her gender identity. Because of the heavy psychological burden, recovery will take a long time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.