#hermaphrodites

[cuties-in-codices]

the land of hermaphrodites

from a copy of the voyages by jean de mandeville in the livre des merveilles du monde, paris, c. 1410-1412

source: Paris, BnF, Français 2810, fol. 195v

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[intersex-questions]

do you know the general consensus on using the H-slur to refer to plants and/or animals? I know it shouldn't be used for people but I see a lot of people still using it to talk scientifically about animals or plants so I'm curious if I should be correcting them or not

It's entirely acceptable scientifically. There's no reason to correct! It is not usually offensive when being used towards animals or plants or the such. It is just the scientific term. It's okay if an intersex person feels uncomfortable hearing it, but it is okay to use. No need to correct!

Great question though! Totally valid concern.

However, it should only be used for organisms that are always hermaphrodites, if that makes sense. For example, slugs always have both functioning "male" and "female" reproductive systems. Gonochoric (meaning they function on a binary female/male sex system, like all mammals and birds) organisms are not ever hermaphrodites. They are intersex. A dog born with ovotestes would be intersex, not a hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodite is not only offensive when applied to gonochoric organisms, but scientifically incorrect.

For example, an animal like a male calico cat is intersex, and using hermaphrodite would be scientifically wrong and potentially offensive.

Intersexuality is not to be confused for hermaphroditism. They are not the same.

I'm actually going to school for zoology soon so if you have questions about animals I'd love to answer. I know lots about biology in non-human life forms as well.

To recap:

It's okay to call organisms that don't have different sexes hermaphrodites because that is what they are called. (This means an individual organism can and is "supposed" to sexually reproduce with both male and female gametes/sex cells.)

You shouldn't call a gonochoric organism a hermaphrodite, this is offensive. (Gonochoric means that the organism functions on a system of two sexes, male and female. "Opposite" of hermaphrodites.)

Intersex is usually only applied to gonochoric organisms. It is used to refer to an organism that has mixed sex characteristics in an otherwise understood binary sex system of male and female. You may occasionally see it used in reference to hermaphroditic organisms, but this is usually wrong. (There are hermaphrodite organisms that have intersex individuals as a large portion of their population. There are also animals that frequently have intersex individuals as a part of their population. Some scientists believe that these should be classified as another sex, though, as it's a "natural"/"intended" part of the population.)

Examples of organisms you shouldn't call a hermaphrodite:

A female lion who developed a mane later in life. This is intersex.

Female hyenas. Female hyenas have a pseudopenis, very high testosterone/androgens, and are highest in their social caste. This is just how female hyenas are. They are not inherently intersex, either.

Examples of organisms that are hermaphrodites:

Many molluscs, like snails and slugs.

Most plants that flower

Clown fish. Even though they are born as male and become female later on, they are all still hermaphrodites as they don't function on a binary sex system and possess both female and male gametes at one point. (This is called sequential hermaphroditism.)

There are Wikipedia articles on everything I mentioned, but some of the information may be incorrect or misleading. It says that all female moles of certain species are intersex, which I and many others disagree with. Female moles have both ovarian and testicular tissue, but this is an "intended" part of their biology, meaning it isn't a variation of their "intended" sex. It is okay to use the word intersexual to describe this, as intersexual is used to refer to an organism that has sex traits that we usually consider mixed or androgynous (such as ovarian and testicular tissue), but it is something they are "supposed" to have. Such as in a few mole species. However, some people think it is correct to use intersex for animals like this. There is no common consensus. It is important to understand the nuance of how intersex can be used in a given organism and in non-human biology, as it can refer to different things than in humans.

Sorry for answering so much! Zoology is a special interest of mine and I'm planning to go to school for zoology. I also love biology and sexology.

TLDR; There are organisms that are called hermaphrodites because they have male and female gametes. This is not offensive and scientifically correct. Gonochoric organisms (ones that function on a binary male female sex system, like mammals) are not ever to be called hermaphrodites and should be called intersex.

If I made any scientific mistakes and anyone sees, please correct me!

If you have more questions please ask I love talking about biology and zoology.

[thecurefordepression]

[s-exy-sapphillean]

Hey perisex artist/writer! yes, you! No, your character's entire made up species being physically hermaphroditic does not make them intersex. There is no such thing as an "entirely intersex species". That is not how being intersex works. Being intersex means deviating from the "standard" sex categorization. If an entire species shares the same hermaphroditic characteristics they are not intersex, they just literally only have one hermaphroditic sex. Just because it doesnt fit human sex standards doesn't make it intersex, it's literally a different species.

Don't get me wrong, it's always great seeing people be creative with how sex classification of fantasy species deviates from human sex. But please don't call it intersex. It isn't.

Edit:

Actually just going to edit this into the original post in hopes it means more people see it cuz it's an important add on

[ ID: Post by @/status-quo-hater, which reads: "Adding on to this, if your fictional hermaphroditic species is sapient/people it's in incredibly poor taste to call them hermaphrodites or God forbid 'herms' even if it is an accurate term.

I would recommend using botany terms like monecious (as opposed to dioecious), gynandromorph, dualsex, bigenital, or the term I coined recently for this, gonosimulism (as opposed to gonochorism)". /End ID ]

And on another note please stop asking if in such a species it would be intersex to only have one type of genital. The answer is technically sure but you're rapidly approaching "what if being gay was the default and straight people were discriminated against" territory. If you unironically label a character who conforms to the human sex binary "intersex", no matter if their species is usually hermaphroditic, intersex people should be allowed to hunt you for sport

[weeblmaodotcom]

Among these 4 individuals, 2 are hermaphrodites, and the 2 others are normal , Meme by Weeblmao.com

[unimatrix-420]

How do Republicans explain hermaphrodites?

[feelingautistic]

Pride Month Special

Happy Pride Month to my shark enthusiasts across the LGBTQ+ spectrum! Since June is Pride Month, I thought I'd discuss the common view that being LGBTQ+ 'goes against nature' by talking about...being LGBTQ+ in nature.

In nature, sex typically serves the singular purpose of reproduction. Therefore, many animals don't engage in long-term mating like humans, instead breeding with many members of their species to spread their genes to as many offspring as possible. By this logic, same-sex relationships/mating in animals should be an unusual behaviour as the animal takes on the same costs to energy and overall fitness without the benefit of producing offspring.

That being said, over 1500 animal species have been observed engaging in same-sex sexual behaviour, many of which are marine animals. Male guppies have been observed flashing sexual displays at other males, male dolphins have been observed forming long-lasting sexual relationships with other males, female cleaner wrasses will perform the male courting rituals towards other females in the absence of males etc.

Particularly in marine animals, gender can be quite ambiguous too, with marine invertebrates commonly being hermaphrodites, capable of producing both male and female reproductive gametes (typically both sperm and eggs) which, as a result, have no distinguishable genders. Examples include coral, limpets and mangrove rivulus.

Not to mention, there are 500 fish that are known to be sequential hermaphrodites meaning they can change from being one sex to the other when necessary (for example, if the males in a population are wiped out, being able to have females become males is an excellent survival strategy). Many of you will already know that clownfish share this trait but wrasses, groupers and some gobies are also able to change their gender.

Humans changing gender and sexual orientation 'against the rules of nature' is not a reason to dismiss the idea as impossible or ridiculous. That being said, we can see that humans are not outliers in this area anyway and, without even considering land animals nor plants, we can see plenty of examples of the LGBTQ+ spectrum occurring naturally. So let's respect everyone's gender identity and sexual orientation :)

[weirdlookindog]

Ernst Fuchs (1930-2015) - Ikarus ~ Hermaphrodit, 1975

[deergravity]

I am intersex, a poem by Lee, as printed in Hermaphrodites with Attitude Spring 1995

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[ms-cornucopia]

Roberto Ferri - Salmace e Ermafrodito

Salmacis and Hermaphrodite

[uselessimpulses]

something something plant membranes as clothing so hes n akey

[zegalba]

Takato Yamamoto: Fermentation of a Hermaphrodite (2008)

[trans-axolotl]

also this is the reason why i hate the whole discussion about "oh can we still say hermaphrodite in science discussions" because like. you all do not fucking understand the weight of the word. what it feels like when someone calls you a hermaphrodite when you are fearing for your fucking life. the amount of times i had to call myself a hermaphrodite because no one fucking knew what intersex meant but i needed to find a way to disclose that to clients so i didn't end up assaulted again when they were surprised. you don't know how much i fucking hated myself for that and what that was fucking like to experience at 16. like. that is what that word means to me! that's what i think of when i hear it! lots of other intersex people have their own stories, their own ways this slur was weaponized against us and written down in our medical records and a million fucking things. so i really don't want to hear from dyadic people who have never had this slur used against them about how hard it is to find an alternative word and how they just really really need to be able to still say it because of all the scientific discussions that are happening all the time or whatever. literally fuck off i don't care

[royaltea000]

He’s like the worlds shittiest Madonna to me