#hermaphrodites

[escuerzoresucitado]

[galusandmalus]

yea yeah i know the other examples are WHACK but i do like dionysus and hermaphordites "For instance, Jupiter himself was in love with Ganymede" *a bunch of examples later "Dionysus with Laonis, Ampelus, Hymenaeus, Hermaphrodites"

-CLEMENS ROMANUS et CLEMENTINA

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[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]

[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.

[weeblmaodotcom]

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