In May 2026, an international group of experts, patient organizations, and medical professionals announced the renaming of a variation known in medical terminology as “polycystic ovary syndrome.” The new medical name in English is Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome. In depathologized Russian terminology, this can be translated as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian variation. This change was the result of a fourteen year international process involving people with this experience, medical professionals, and fifty six patient and professional organizations. Full implementation of the new name is planned for 2028.
This change is important for the intersex community because some people with this variation understand their experience through an intersex lens, especially when hormonal characteristics visibly affect secondary sex characteristics. At the same time, many people with this variation use different language to describe their experience, and their self description should also be respected.
The renaming was prompted by several reasons. First, for years, the old name narrowed the meaning of this variation to “cysts” on the ovaries. In reality, follicles on the ovaries are not present in all people with this variation, while the variation itself is linked to androgens, insulin, neuroendocrine regulation, ovarian hormones, metabolism, skin, the menstrual cycle, and fertility. Because of this misplaced focus, there was confusion about what exactly should be looked for and what medical care was needed. In addition, the old name reinforced stigma through a narrow and pathologizing view of the body, since this variation was often described through the shape of the ovaries, “excess” androgens, “unwanted” hair, or “disrupted” femininity.
Renaming alone, of course, does not solve the problems of medicalization, stigma, and unequal access to care. However, it creates an important precedent: people with lived experience of this variation should participate in how it is named, explained, and used, and they have the right to understand their bodies without shame.
