Can females have androgen insensitivity syndrome?

Yes! You can be female and have androgen insensitivity syndrome!

Let’s take a refresher course on biological identity:

• Karyotype - your chromosomes.

• Genotype - the genetic makeup of an organism.

• Phenotype - observable traits on your body.

Let’s use me for an example! I have Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. My Karyotype is 46 XY. My genotype, well, I carry a mutation on my X chromosome where I am unable to understand androgens (male hormones) which I inherited from my mother who inherited from her mother. My phenotype, is female – I have breasts, a clitoris, a vulva, and a vagina.

So what is our answer? Well, in short, that I am intersex, or have DSD (Differences of Sex Development) because I don’t neatly fit into male or female because my Karyotype and Phenotype don’t neatly match. But, we are forgetting, that choice matters!

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You see, I was assigned female at birth. I am phenotypically female. I identify as female. I feel female. I am attracted to men. A far as the gender-bread person goes, I’m rather boring. In all the ways that matter to me, I AM FEMALE.

In Summary

Yes, you can have androgen insensitivity syndrome and be female. Learn more about identity.