Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24–79) the Roman naturalist described "those who are born of both sexes, whom we call hermaphrodites, at one time androgyni" (from the Greek andr-, "man," and gyn-, "woman"). Augustine (354 – 28 August 430 AD) the influential Catholic theologian wrote in The Literal Meaning of Genesis that humans were created in two sexes, despite "as happens in some births, in the case of what we call androgynes".In medieval and early modern European societies, Roman law, post-classical canon law, and later common law, referred to a persons sex as male, female or hermaphrodite, with legal rights as male or female depending on the characteristics that appeared most dominant. The 12th century Decretum Gratiani states that "Whether an hermaphrodite may witness a testament, depends on which sex prevails". The foundation of common law, the 17th Century Institutes of the Lawes of England described how a hermaphrodite could inherit "either as male or female, according to that kind of sexe which doth prevaile." Legal cases have been described in canon law and elsewhere over the centuries. Some non-European societies have sex or gender systems that recognize more than the two categories of male/man and female/woman. Some of these cultures, for instance the South-Asian Hijra communities, may include intersex people in a third gender category.
Although the person may not recognise the connection, self-harm often becomes a response to profound and overwhelming emotional pain that cannot be resolved in a more functional way.The motivations for self-harm vary, as it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness and a sense of failure or self-loathing. There is also a positive statistical correlation between self-harm and emotional abuse. Self-harm may become a means of managing and controlling pain, in contrast to the pain experienced earlier in the persons life over which they had no control (e.g., through abuse).Other motives for self-harm do not fit into medicalized models of behavior and may seem incomprehensible to others, as demonstrated by this quotation:
"My motivations for self-harming were diverse, but included examining the interior of my arms for hydraulic lines. This may sound strange. "Assessment of motives in a medical setting is usually based on precursors to the incident, circumstances, and information from the patient. However, limited studies show that professional assessments tend to suggest more manipulative or punitive motives than personal assessments.A UK Office for National Statistics study reported only two motives: "to draw attention" and "because of anger". For some people, harming themselves can be a means of drawing attention to the need for help and to ask for assistance in an indirect way.