Are futanari and herms the same thing?

[Luxio512]

As far as the Portal is concerned, futas are tagged as H/? or ?/H, implying they are synonyms, but isn't the classic futa simply a woman with a dick? (Sometimes even without balls) Rather than a true hermaphrodite?

[Siuddithsi]

That's how I understand it. Hermaphrodites have fully funcional genitals of both genders. Breasts, Vagina (etc) and cock (etc).

However, definitions vary by artist. I run a cryptic hermaphrodite character. Normally looks exactly like a normal woman, except her Clitoris enlarges to a cock and her balls drop when she fucks someone with her cock.

Others have said that Futa in their work have internal testes (if the balls aren't visible and they produce semen). Depending on the artist, Futa may or may not have vaginas. I've seen plenty of pregnant futa/hermaphrodite porn.

So I haven't seen a hard and fast definition. Just my observations.

[Siorche]

There's a lot of nuance to it, but! Here you go, a lot of helpful definitions for you.

Intersex
Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies".[

her·maph·ro·dite
/hərˈmafrədīt/
Learn to pronounce
noun
an organism having both male and female sex organs or other sexual characteristics, either abnormally or (in the case of some organisms) as the natural condition.

futanari
ふたなり 双成り フタナリ ふたなり化

"[to be of] two kinds"

A female character with male genitalia.

In the context of Danbooru, the image does not need to directly show whether or not they have female genitalia. If you can visually confirm the lack of a vagina, tag newhalf. If you can visually confirm a vagina, penis, and testicles, tag full-package futanari.

It is not related to transgender or intersex, but is purely fantasy-based.

Futanari is not to be tagged with either hetero, yuri or yaoi.

-

newhalf
シーメール ニューハーフ 男姉ちゃん 雌男娘

Visually similar to futanari with penis and testicles but no vagina. That is to say, the character has a female body but male sex organs.

This tag should be used if you can either visually confirm the character has no vagina or there is information that clearly supports that the character doesn't have one, such as the tags used in the source, the artist's commentary or indicators in the art itself that confirms the character is a newhalf. When in doubt use the futanari tag instead.

Newhalf is a Japanese slang term for a pre-op or non-op male-to-female transexual. Also known as "shemale" (シーメール). The word "newhalf" was originally used for referring a male who had begun to transition to female but kept her lower body the same; literally a "new half".

[TheKawaiiCommie]

Far as site organization is concerned, generally, yeah. People's tagging habits and any outside context don't really match up most of the time.

[umakeisee]

As far as I'm concerned, yes. I come from e-hentai though, where tags are a lot more strict.

Person with Vagina and Boobs - Female
Person with only Dick - Male
Person with Dick and Boobs - Shemale
Person with only Vagina - Cuntboy (I know, I didn't name it)
Person with all three - Futanari

Eka's could use a cleaning up of the tags, but that would be a massive undertaking, so it makes sense that it's just kind of a mess.

[hax]

Honestly, if people wanted to hyper-categorize anatomical androgyny it'd make more sense to use those sciencey-sounding words like "Gynemorph" from e621. Colloquialism like "futanari" have a lot more cultural baggage people could fight over, and "hermaphrodite" is very broad even in formal scientific contexts.

[ninjajoeman]

Girl with dick n boobs futa
Girl with dick n vageen n boobs hermi

ez pz

[EnderDracolich]

Eka's could use a cleaning up of the tags, but that would be a massive undertaking, so it makes sense that it's just kind of a mess.

I prefer letting artists tag their own characters. I don't think we need people running around slapping 'herm' or 'futa' or whatever on pictures of trans women or intersex characters, or vice-versa.

[umakeisee]

Girl with dick n boobs futa
Girl with dick n vageen n boobs hermi

ez pz

That's flat wrong though. Look up any futanari hentai and it will be all three. It's just the Japanese name for Hermaphrodite for all intents and purposes.

[ninjajoeman]

Girl with dick n boobs futa
Girl with dick n vageen n boobs hermi

ez pz

That's flat wrong though. Look up any futanari hentai and it will be all three. It's just the Japanese name for Hermaphrodite for all intents and purposes.

y you no make this ez pz

[umakeisee]

Girl with dick n boobs futa
Girl with dick n vageen n boobs hermi

ez pz

That's flat wrong though. Look up any futanari hentai and it will be all three. It's just the Japanese name for Hermaphrodite for all intents and purposes.

y you no make this ez pz

I did make it easy. Herm is Futa. Easy.

[TSaPA]

There's overlap but they differ on some key definitions that keep them from being synonymous.

Herms by definition specifically possess both male and female genitalia. While futas are the archetypal "chick with dick" and are often herms (e.g. full set of both male and female genitalia, or visible penis and vagina but no balls), there are variations in morphology within the genre where a futa may have a penis and testes but no vagina while still possessing an otherwise female form (often due to some effect transforming the vagina into a penis), this disqualifying them from being categorized as herms.

Further complicating the issue, herms by definition aren't required to possess a feminine physique like futas do, i.e. "maleherm", where an otherwise masculine character has a vagina hidden behind/beneath their male genitalia.

In conclusion, futas and herms mostly overlap, but while futas can be herms, there are enough exceptions to the rule that they can't be considered synonymous, and while a significant percentage of herms are futas, they aren't by definition required to be futas to still be herms.

[MoonyKnights]

Two words from different languages/cultures designed to represent the same thing. The only reason 'futanari' is in our lexicon is because of doujins, and to try and specifically define them as different is just people's headcanon with no real consensus on the matter.

The only real difference is in their origin - hermaphrodite is a scientific term with an express definition, whereas Futanari is a cultural invention - from the natural evolution of language, as opposed to a clinical term, and thus carries with it a little more vagueness to it's definition. So for example, If someone were to state that a Herm has a vagina, dick and balls, and a futa with just the vagina and dick, no balls, They wouldn't be entirely correct, but neither would they be entirely wrong, as the cultural umbrella of 'futanari' could feasibly include that.

But frankly, it's all semantics and they generally refer to the same things when referring to lewds.

[TETRO]

The details of what a futanari is can vary quite a bit. But, as long as it looks like a woman and at least has a penis, it can be called a futanari. There can be balls or a vagina involved, or none of these at all, but the penis and the overall female look, makes it a futanari.

Herm, is of course short for "hermaphrodite". A true hermaphrodite has a set of both male and female organs, and both sets of organs are functional for reproduction. This means a herm can serve the biological function of either a male or female.

A herm and a futanari can be the same thing, but "futanari" is a broad category and "herm" is a lot more specific. There's one case where they don't overlap. Some artists draw "male herms" which have an overall male look but still have both sets of organs.

This is not to be confused with real-life medical terms. We no longer call a real-life person born with a mixture of male and female parts a "hermaphrodite" because humans are not a truly functionally hermaphroditic species. The modern-day term for such people is "intersex".

IRL, hermaphroditic species can be "sequential" or "simultaneous". Some swap between male and female over their lifespan while others have both functioning sets of organs up and running all the time.