Introduction to the Special Section on Culture and Variants of Sex/Gender: Bias and Stigma.

As a side effect of globalization, the ideological and religious heterogeneity of many local populations is increasing. This trend is particularly noticeable at tertiary-care medical centers serving patients with rare conditions such as somatic intersexuality or gender dysphoria and transgenderism (both with and without somatic intersexuality). This special section is designed to familiarize clinicians and researchers with culture-associated gender bias and stigma that may influence attitudes to individuals with somatic or behavioral gender atypicalities.