#bidirectional hermaphrodite

[yoshiyoshitaniart]

Trans Mythical Monsters

Kinarra-- I've loved Kinarra for a long time--but this is my first time drawing one! They are found all over South East Asia, including Thailand, which just legalized same-sex marriage!

Bi-Directional Hermaphrodite Merm -- as a genderfluid person, I love Bi-Directional Hermaphrodite fish aka fish that can fully change their gender between male and female multiple times in their life. The Ranma 1/2's of the fish world. So I imagined a merm that could do the same!

Saytr -- Classically, Saytrs are male, and love music, wine, and having a good time. Here I imagined a trans femme Saytr who enjoys all the traditional Saytr pastimes!

Happy Pride! This set is available in my shop

https://yoshiyoshitani.store/products/trans-mythical-monsters-mini-print-trio

If you join my patreon, you'll get this set 25% off! Additionally, you'll get to vote monthly on which theme and color palette I'll use

[mamawasatesttube]

Top five headcanons for either A) Kryptonian Biology, or B) Kryptonian Culture

THEY CAN PURR!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am going to cat-code kryptonians so hard (well, catdog. dog software running on cat hardware?). they have to purr and sleep in little piles in patches of sunlight and also have tapeta lucida and weirdly mobile joints.

kryptonians have significantly less notable sexual dimorphism than humans. instead they've got a bidirectional hermaphroditism thing going on - they have both ovaries and testes etc, and hormonal cycles that dictate their oogenic and spermatogenic phases. (they're not ever oogenic and spermatogenic at the same time; it cycles.)

their cells, all of them but skin cells in particular, have aggressive genetic repair systems somewhat like a crispr-cas9 complex, to combat thymine dimerization and other potential dna damage from all the various forms of radiation they regularly expose themselves to via their [bonkers insane] photosynthesis. this is also why it's so hard to clone them from an adult; if the dna already has shortened telomeres that aren't "supposed to be" that short, the embryonic cells will simply apoptose en masse and the tissue will not develop.

tied to their bonkers insane photosynthesis: like humans, they have hemoglobin as the primary oxygen-carrier in their blood, but via whatever the fuck is going on that makes shorter wavelengths of light make their photosynthesis more efficient by many orders of magnitude, their oxygen efficiency also increases manyfold. this is why they still need to breathe under a red sun, but not under yellow ones - they do still need to breathe under yellow light, but not for several hours, as compared to minutes under red light. in this way, they are kind of like whales. in space.

when they've gotten a lot of sunlight to the point that their bodies' mechanisms of internal energy storage are saturated, they glow very slightly. it's particularly noticeable in the eyes, since the heat vision is a very easy way to expel energy. this is part of why they tend to wear glasses in civilian guises; blue light filters make it harder to notice any glow around their eyes after a long day out in the sun. also, glowing eyes are just sexy.

[ipsogender]

Alternative language for biology of sex without using "hermaphrodite"

So, you're worldbuilding a scifi alien species or a fantasy race that can reproduce as both male and female. Or you're a biologist or science educator. And you want what you're writing/making to be inclusive to intersex people.

The term hermaphrodite in biology refers to species that can reproduce as both male or female. The problem is it's also a slur when used against intersex people (it's also incorrect - we're not hermaphrodites). I recently polled other intersex folks informally and a plurality were fine with the h-word being used with the correct meaning in appropriate contexts. But the qualitative feedback I got was, all things equal, most people who wrote to me said they'd just be happier seeing the term less.

So here is a glossary of words you can use to talk about the biology of sex without invoking the h-word:

Gonochoric species where individuals (typically) reproduce only as either male or female. This means the species produces two types of gametes that have different sizes, and conventionally the larger is female. Gono- for generation/reproduction and -choric for separated/distinct. Note that "non-gonochoric" includes both hermaphroditic species and those that can reproduce asexually (e.g. parthenogenesis).

Gonosyne: species where individuals (typically) can reproduce as both male or female. Gono- for generation/reproduction and syne for together/combined. This is a term I have coined to be an alternative to hermaphrodite.

Types of gonosyny: it's common to categorize different forms of gonosyny based on temporality and how many gonads an individual has.

Grouping by Temporality:

Cosex: species where individuals can reproduce as both male and female simultaneously. Alternative terms: cosexual, simultaneous hermaphrodism. For example: land snails/slugs typically mate by linking up both pairs of genitals.

Dichosex: gonosynic species where individuals reproduce as male and female at different times in their lives. Protandrous species start as male then switch to female; protogynous start female then switch to male. Some species cycle between the two (serial/bidirectional hermaphrodism/disexuality). Alternative terms: dichosexual, dichogamous, sequential hermaphrodism. I coined this one after feedback that "dichogamous" was not intuitive to non-botanists, keeping dicho- (in two parts/paired) for simplicity. Example animal: clownfish (the Finding Nemo fish).

Grouping by Gonads:

Digonic: species that can reproduce as both male and female because they have separate male and female gonads. Digony can be cosex or dichosex. In botany the term monoecious is used for flowering plants. For example: barnacles have their ovaries in the base of their body, and testes in the back of their head.

Syngonic: species that can reproduce as both male and female, because their gonads can produce both male and female gametes. Alternative terms: syncoecious, monoclinous, ambisexual. (Note ambisexual has other meanings.) Syngony can be cosex or dichosex. In dichosexual species the gonad changes which gametes it produces when the individual changes sex. For example: land slugs have a single gonad (ovotestis).

Together this makes four categories. Examples come from: Sex change in plants and animals: a unified perspective.

Syngonic cosexual. Simultaneous gonosyny within the same flower/gonad. Examples: Black-jack daisy, Lady of the Night cactus; mangrove killifish, stubby-root nematode.

Syngonic dichosexual. Non-simultaneous gonosyny within the same flower/gonad. Examples: Bromelia chrysantha, grape ivy; California sheephead fish, common limpet.

Digonic cosexual. Simultaneous gonosyny from different flowers/gonads. Examples: bitter melon, jaraguá grass; barnacles, flatworms.

Digonic dichosexual. Non-simultaneous gonosyny from different flowers/gonads. Examples: papaya, catsfoot; staghorn coral, earthworm.

Hope this is helpful! I have two little notes I want to add on: Note on "non-gonochoric": it's possible this could also include isogamous speries? There's some ambiguity in use. Isogamy refers to sexual reproduction where you don't have two different sized gametes - instead it's two identically sized gametes that are getting combined. This is the standard amongst unicellular eukaryotes and very common in fungi.

Note on ambisexual: this is the term that Ursula K LeGuin used for the dichosexual aliens in the Left Hand of Darkness. The term in biology these days refers to undifferentiated (immature) tissue that has yet to develop into a given sex - e.g. a human embryo has ambisexual gonads until sexual differentiation later on in development. The term ambisexual has a ton of other meanings in other contexts such as a sexual orientation. For this reason I'd personally avoid it.

[fanonical]

With trans hyrule, are you going to do anything fun with the Rito and Zora? What's your interpretation of them? What are their views on this issue?

im not sure yet! i want them both to have a unique take on gender comparatively to the other kingdoms of Greater Hyrule. some people have suggested that the Zora have sequential bidirectional hermaphroditism (and be able to change “sex” at any time) and i think that would be interesting to explore how that might impact their culture. like perhaps they have barely any concept of transition because to them it’s always nigh instantaneously accessible, and because they age so slowly they don’t understand why it’s a big deal to Hylians that they have to transition much slower? and we could explore Zora that choose NOT to “biologically” transition but to just present differently. did i hear somebody say fish femboys???

the Rito i’m still not clear on. thinking about giving them a culturally quite binary perception of gender; men and women, but possibly with different gender roles to hylian men and women? much to think about

thanks for the question!!! keep em coming folks ask more :D

[kaiju-krew]

Here’s an idea. What if the titans can reproduce asexually.

That would probably be my first pick, since most of them seem to be the last of a species of megafauna (might be more hiding in the Hollow Earth, but for now most seem to be solo) mothra already produces her eggs asexually, but she’s probably an outlier case because of her reincarnation magic nonsense✨

in my personal hc/au Gojirans are capable of parthenogenesis,(big word but basically they can fertilize their own eggs) as well as having a type of bidirectional hermaphroditism. (Not exactly the same as it occurs with real animals, but my idea was that they have a dominant sex, but once they reach sexual maturity, they’re capable of both fertilizing and/or carrying eggs. aka they carry both sets of reproductive organs, one being dominant as they mature, and can eventually swap.) for Goji’s parents specifically, his mother’s dominant sex was female, and she carried his egg. buuuuut, for his sister Iru, their father had her via parthenogenesis. So she’s kind of a funky half-sister x)

[wheel-of-fandoms]

It’s a biological fact that fish do indeed change their sex to keep the male/female ratio balanced in their school population.

Some fish do exhibit bidirectional sequential hermaphroditism. From what I found, it seems unclear just how much this occurs in nature, though it does occur at least in some cases there as well as in captivity. I didn't see any sources specifically claiming that it was used to keep an even sex ratio (but I only did a few brief searches and skimmed a few papers) Fish do all kinds of different strategies when it comes to sex. Some do an age based M -> F. Some do age based F -> M. Some can go back and forth depending on environmental factors. Some depend on local social structure, like some clownfish were there is one big female and her several smaller males, if she dies, one of the males gets bigger and becomes female.

Most fish are just male or just female their whole life more like what we mammals are used to.

I don't know offhand of any fish that are simultaneously male and female (producing viable sperm and eggs in the same general period of time), but maybe there are and I just haven't heard of them. Ah here is at least one case: "Evidence for Hermaphroditism in the Squalius alburnoides Allopolyploid Fish Complex"

Totally fair to base merfolk off of the idea of balancing the sex ratio, BTW, not saying otherwise! But want to be clear that that exact thing may not be known in fish, and if present, is part of a great variety of fish sex strategies.

Some of the interesting papers I saw in my brief searches: Hermaphroditism in fish: incidence, distribution and associations with abiotic environmental factors

Bidirectional Sex Change in Seven Species of Priolepis (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae)

Bidirectional Sex Change in Marine Fishes

and some other info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential_hermaphroditism

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/fisheye-view-tree-of-life/gender-bending-fish/

https://karger.com/sxd/article/10/5-6/223/296444/Bending-Genders-The-Biology-of-Natural-Sex-Change

tired: mermaids are all women

wired: much like elves, merfolk are mistaken by sailors for being all women because they have long hair and are very pretty

[milfbailorgana]

I mean this in the least alienfuckery way possible, but thinking about alien reproductive systems fucks so hard

Anyways, whoever proposed that nautolans are bidirectional hermaphrodites is the sexiest bitch out there

[springfallendeer]

Random little thing.

Those who cannot accept the usage of the word “Hermaphrodite” when being applied to a character that literally has both male and female sexual organs, can get right the fuck off of this blog.

It is the context of a word which dictates if its being used to belittle an individual. Calling a character who falls into any definition of the word “Hermaphrodite” (as in having both male and female sex organs; capable of getting pregnant and impregnating others), a Hermaphrodite is not a slur. It is a blunt aspect of character description.

Whereas using the word to belittle someone in the trans community is; because in that specific context, you are attempting to dehumanize them.

[borbology]

Fun Fact: Many fish are bidirectional hermaphrodites, meaning that they can change their entire biological gender from male to female or female to male -- sometimes as a response to environmemtal cues, sometimes as part of a life-stage, sometimes just out of sheer will, and sometimes even multiple times.

Particularly these guys are a trans icon:

(plus they already come with a pattern that makes them perfectly exploitable to be recolored into trans pride merch)

fish are an underappreciated source of trans names

we got bream, coley, mako, saithe, danio, trahira, devario, tetra, cisco, coley, dace, lenok, taimen, koi...

just imagine meeting someone named trev but it's not short for trevor

it's trevally

[mamawasatesttube]

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

HMMM. well, depending on your definition of weird, there's probably several. i went down quite the rabbit hole looking up facts about albireo (a star in the constellation cygnus) while plotting out the core four space adventures fic i have yet to post, but i mean who doesn't love astronomy wikipedia pages???

the most fun big research deep dive i've gone on anytime recently though was the blue-banded goby one. i was thinking about ways to write kryptonian biology as different from human, and then started thinking abt how a lot of mammals have largely bimodal models of sexual dimorphism, but other parts of the animal kingdom do it differently. blue-banded gobies are really cool because they're bidirectional hermaphrodites, so they just change their sex to whatever's more convenient, and can undergo that change multiple times in their life cycles!!!

i skimmed a few papers, but this one ("Structural changes in the ovotestis of the bidirectional hermaphrodite, the blue-banded goby (Lythrypnus dalli), during transition from ova production to sperm production") was my favorite. there's a set of fish in there who both transitioned from producing ova to sperm and i think about them often. it's just so funny to me. this is so funny to me. oh we're both girls so neither of us can fertilize eggs? not to worry i'll grow some spermatogenic tissue-- wait. what are you doing.

overall i just love doing scientific research, especially in biological fields (im a bio student with preclinical laboratory experience so like. its my jam!!!). i also did a whole bunch of reading on various melliferous plants before writing a sex pollen fic. the research in question influenced all of one (1) line in said fic. BUT!! it was still fun fhjkds

Writers' Truth & Dare Ask Game!

[cellarspider]

According to some research, various fish also do the back-and-forth sex switching that moles do. 👀👀👀 (Ex. Gobiodon histrio, Gobiodon erythrospilus, Paragobiodon; source DOI 10.1159/000449297 ) Loving the lamprey-facts though!

Indeed, that’s a somewhat different mechanism, but just as fascinating! While “female” moles go through cyclical changes based on breeding season, they don’t ever fully become fertile males the way fish can. There are a ton of species that are sequential hermaphrodites, which can switch their sex based on social and environmental factors.

That review in particular is a blast to read--I knew about sequential hermaphroditic fish that change sexes in a fixed direction, but the fact that some like Gobiodon histrio can undergo bidirectional sex change is something I hadn’t known before. Thanks for the link!

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Okay okay late night two am thot

One of my favorite headcanons I’ve ever seen is that nautolans are bidirectional hermaphrodites (it’s a thing fish do where they change sex depending on whatever sex is needed more in their environment for reproduction) which would mean their society would be super chill about gender and shit

But since this is supposed to be ;), just imagine him coming home for the first time with an all new downstairs to have fun and play with, figuring out what makes him feel good and what new things you can do together

Well that is something to think about...

Send Me Some Late Night Thots

[daenerysstormreborn]

“It’s a biological fact that fish do indeed change their sex to keep the male/female ratio balanced in their school population.” Dramatic generalization that is extremely misleading. Unlike other vertebrate clades (aside from frogs), hermaphroditism does occur in many bony fish species! But what’s described in the quote there is called bidirectional hermaphroditism, in which an individual can go back and forth. This is uncommon. Most hermaphroditic fishes are sequential in only one direction, starting out as male and switching to female (protandry, like clownfishes) or starting out female and switching to male (protogyny, like wrasses). This is irreversible. Bidirectionality as described there happens almost exclusively amongst gobies, but also occurs in one damselfish, four dottybacks, and nine other assorted perciforms. There are less than 500 species of fish that exhibit any type of hermaphroditism (and there are over 34,000 species of fishes).

Check out inverts if you want to get a bit wilder, fungi if you want to be confused, and some unicellular eukaryotes if you want to be confused and amazed. Not that fish hermaphroditism isn’t amazing and fascinating but it isn’t ubiquitous and isn’t fluid in most cases.

Ma, they’re out there misrepresenting fish hermaphroditism again

[magic-is-something-we-create]

non-genetic sex determination is absolutely wild. did u know that alligators hatch as males if their nest is warmer, and females if its colder? the same goes for tuatara, which are, by the way, the last remaining species in an otherwise extinct order called sphenodonts that split from lizards and snakes back in the triassic and had its heyday in the mesozoic era

also bidirectional sex-changing hermaphroditism in fish. like. if the social hierarchy in a school of blue-banded goby fish changes, the subordinates grow female genitals, and dominant and non-subordinate ones grow male genitals. also these dudes are SUPER into ~doing their thing~ in front of divers so take that as u will

anyways i am absolutely using this seemingly random research to inform how drenn work and yes that means that all drenn are biologically genderfluid and largely nonbinary by outsider’s standards. yes these are my dragon people that live on a fairly isolated archipelago of islands. yes they are all at LEAST 15 feet tall

completely unprompted research/ramble dump over, hope u enjoyed <3

[notlikeothercatgirls]

what's up with clownfish?

TRAs keep citing the fact that some fishes (and they almost always use clownfish) are sequential hermaphrodites (meaning they change sex) to say that humans can change sex. But sequentially hermaphroditic fishes are not a tractable model for human sex. These fishes do not have chromosomal sex determination (XX = female and XY = male, or ZZ = male ZW = female). We do. Our sexes are fixed. Sex is most usefully defined in terms of gametes produced, or at least by the gametes that one's body is structured to produce. I.e. a male human with complete androgen insensitivity may have an external phenotype that appears female, but will lack a uterus and ovaries. They still have testes though, and although they do not produce viable sperm, their gonads can still be identified as testes. Sequentially hermaphroditic fishes, aside from any external morphological changes they may undergo, switch from producing sperm to eggs or vice versa. Some species are even bidirectional, meaning they can go back and forth. Humans cannot accomplish this.

Furthermore, fishes do this naturally. Every healthy individual of a sequentially hermaphroditic species will change sex when exposed to whatever cue triggers is. For some, like many wrasses, they spend their early lives as female and when they reach a critical body mass, given that they live long enough, they will become males. Every wrasse that hits this critical size will change. For others, like the clownfish, it's a social cue. Clownfish live in small groups. They're born undifferentiated, meaning their gonadal tissue produces neither eggs nor sperm. The largest clownfish is the female, and the second largest is the male. When the female dies, this serves as a cue to the rest of the clownfish. The male switches to female and the next largest becomes the new male. I do not fully understand how they accomplish this. For others still, its about sex ratios. For some bidirectionally hermaphroditic gobies, if the sex ratio is suboptimal, the population will rebalance itself via sex change in a matter of days. I also do not know how they accomplish this.

If humans were anything like this, all healthy individuals would be capable of switching the type of gametes we produce and possibly undergo dramatic morphological changes without any medical intervention. Humans can not, no matter what, go from producing one type of gamete to the other, and any changes in primary and secondary sex characteristic we can accomplish can only be done via surgical and supplemental hormonal alterations. We are nothing like clownfish with regard to sex.

[mossiestpiglet]

I’ll say right off the bat I’m not a geneticist or fish expert, but as best I can remember from reading on this sequential hermaphrodites typically don’t have sex chromosomes, and instead all are born with all the genetic code needed to do all of it. Certain genes are only activated at certain stages of life based on age, size, or environmental factors, and that determines the reproductive role that they will play. Their chromosomes don’t change, it’s the activation of different genes which they all already have.

The teleost fishes, the group all these protandrous/protogynous/bidirectional fish belong to, are the biggest group of fishes and have the most diversity and they also have basically every method of sex determination represented. So the question of what kinds of sex chromosomes fish have is a different and also complicated question, but that one I really don’t know about unfortunately.

I'm not a biologist so I don't know how fish chromosomes work and I have questions.

I know several species of fish have the ability to change from female to male. Once their transition is complete they are able to mate with the other female fish and make offspring.

Do their chromosomes change?? What even are the female / male fish chromosomes?