what is compulsory dyadism?
Compulsory dyadism was coined by Celeste Orr in the book Cripping Intersex. It's a term to describe a system of oppression that targets intersex people.
Specifically, compulsory dyadism is the idea that there are immense amounts of societal pressure to conform to a mythical sex binary, and that society builds different structures and mechanisms of violence to try to enforce this sex binary.
the myth of the sex binary is that everyone can be sorted into either a male or female sex, and that everyone who is "female" has to have XX chromosomes and a uterus and ovaries and is capable of becoming pregnant and a vulva and a vagina that's capable of having penetrative sex (it also becomes clear how gender roles + sexual norms get attached to sex traits) and the "right" amount of body hair and a predominantly estrogen based hormone system etc etc etc. and the idea that everyone who is "male" has to have XY chromosomes and a large penis and testes capable of producing sperm and a flat chest and the "right" amount of body hair and a predominantly testosterone based hormone system etc etc etc.
in truth, even among endosex (non-intersex) people, there are plenty of ways that not all these boxes are going to line up. there are plenty of endosex people with uteruses who are not able to get pregnant, there are plenty of endosex people with penises that are not considered sufficiently large compared to this mythical ideal. and this is where the compulsory part of compulsory dyadism comes in--in response, we see all kinds of societal pressure to conform to these "ideal" sex traits. for example, there are so many different kinds of hair removal products marketed to women. there is widespread acceptance of jokes where the punchline is around shaming dick size.
compulsory dyadism impacts everyone to a certain degree, but intersex people are the most impacted. our bodies inherently disprove the myth of the sex binary, and as such, become treated as a threat that needs to be eradicated. this can look like nonconsensual surgery, sterilization, and other examples of curative violence; structural discrimination that makes it impossible to be legally intersex (i can't get a passport in the US right now, for example); and all sorts of ideas, practices, social norms and policies that are violent towards intersex people.
i think compulsory dyadism is a useful framework for helping us think about how "biological sex" is a socially constructed phenomenon, and i think it can help us look at ways that ideas about sex traits change in different times and contexts. it can help us identity ideas + practices that contribute to the oppression of intersex people, even when those ideas or practices might seem unconnected and might not on the surface talk about intersex issues.
i also think compulsory dyadism is a useful way to look at how other systems of oppression work together, and how all these combined forces define what is considered "normal" and "abnormal." in my post before this I was talking a lot about how eugenics, white supremacy, and antiblack racism collide with compulsory dyadism to create different kinds of violence. I've also been thinking a lot about compulsory dyadism and transmisogyny and some specific transmisogynistic pressures around dyadic sex traits and the sex binary. (as always my blog is a space for transfeminist intersex community and I will block transmisogynists who try to engage with my intersex posts.)
lmk if you have any other questions!
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