Sex change is a process by which a person changes sex – that is, by which female characteristics are substituted for male ones, or vice versa. Sex changes may be natural, as in hermaphrodism, inadvertent, such as in weightlifting, or political. Politically motivated sex change usually involves sex reassignment therapy, often including surgery. People who think that "sex" is a naughty word may set their sights lower and set out merely to achieve gender change, which often involves no object sharper than an accent.