Honestly, (especially on tumblr) I feel people are just too sensitive about words. You shouldn't have to change the words you use. Unless you are using those words to directly and willfully insult someone, they are just words. People like to be offended, so find reasons to be.. If it's purely your intention to find a different word for stuff like futa, cool. But doing it purely because some kid on tumblr says it's offensive to their sensibilities is a little silly.

Oh I completely understand that, I know some people are more sensitive than others, some people may not be offended by the term at all, but others are. I know of a rather popular nsfw artist that was just targeted partly for their use of that term. I would like to find a safe alternative for the term futa because I don't want to use something that technically is slang, or could be offensive even if it isn't slang. Would intersex work? It seems like a more generalized term that would let commissioners know I would be willing to draw those types of characters.

Intersexed is a massively general term. You can be 'intersexed' in any direction. Futa is just a shortened version of a japanese term, though I've never even bothered to look up what futanari actually means aside from an obvious labeling of a girl with dick. And that was totally unacceptable for a person to be targeted just because they used a term that's been around longer than any of the over-sensitive tumblrettes have probably been alive. :/
Well, I hope you find something that works for you if that's what you wish to do. But this sort of stuff is always hard water to tread. Everyone is just offended by everything now-a-days.

I know :( It's unfortunate that that is what things have come down to, everyone is just going off on everybody over the smallest of thing what with being politically correct everywhere. But I also want to make an effort to be aware so that I have peace of mind, a small change in the words that I use could mean a lot to someone and I'm alright with making that change. I think intersex is the term that I'll use and go from there! ^,^

Ok, cool. Good luck, I hope no one gets ideas and comes at you for that ^^

Tumblr likes to make a fuss out of everything. Futa is litterally the japanese term for herm, Futanari is a genre of hentia with futas. Hermaphrodite is a term for someone who has both funtioning sets of genitalia. So transgenders by definition aren't hermaphrodites. So that may be where the stigma comes from. Honestly just ask the person what they're okay with being called if you're scared of offending them. You can't offend them by asking. :3

Thanks for the info, makes me feel that futa is the correct term to use since drawing those characters nude would probably be considered hentai anyway or at least ecchi. I think I'll just stick with it. I wasn't confronted by anyone, it was just a long text post rant that I'd seen reblogged on my dash. And with the recent things that went down with Doxy I figured I should ask about it to see what others' opinions and thoughts were because I was just confused. XD Thanks Raven! <33

ive allways thought futa was female with a penis instead of a clit, and herm was a female with everything, penis balls and vagina+clit, I will be honest and have not looked thoroughly into the dictionary of the meaning of each worth but I would agree with stormy and raven, tumblr.. like a lot of the internet.. has its ups and downs of what it likes and dislikes.

I personaly would say continue with what you currently use and try not to think of it to much~

I wish you luck on your amazing art and cant wait to see more

Yes I agree with them as well, I think tumblr is probably overly sensitive on a lot of things. I just saw what happened with Doxy there, and then seeing this reblogged post on my dash from some random person made me question my use of the term. I'll definitely keep drawing my ladies, no worries <3

yay ^^ deffinantly cant wait to see your lovely ladys~ and mahap one day i could see myself in your style O:

I would pay it no heed... as previously mentioned, the young (and quite frankly, often foolish) activists on Tumblr tend to be overzealous to the point of making an absolute HASH of whatever cause they're trying to represent. These are the "Die, Cis Scum" kids who seem to insist on declaring you "Cobra, The Enemy" for the crime of being straight and/or having a healthy sex-drive. They mean well, but some of their fire is being misdirected.

Eventually, these kids will grow out of it and realize that the vast majority of "Stuff-" things, objects, sundries, tchotchkes, bric-a-brac- is just Stuff. Stuff is neutral. It is the systems that employ the Stuff that are harmful. It is the purposes behind said Stuff that are evil. And when you're fighting to change systems and purposes, I believe it is incumbent upon one not to attack or demonize the Stuff in place of the real target.

Example? Binary gender-stratification is the disease. Sexual objectification is a symptom. But a picture of a hermaphroditic bombshell is just a picture of a hermaphroditic bombshell... no more or less than what the viewer makes of it. Art is SUPPOSED to make you feel something. That's what art is for.

So yeah... don't feel bad just because you stumbled across the Tumblr page of some zealot who wants everyone and their grandma to walk on eggshells around them.

Yes, I completely understand where you are coming from. People can be overzealous, an their direction misguided.
I don't draw with the intent to objectify, or degrade anyone, that's why I have my own limits as to what I draw and what I don't. What people take or interpret from what I do is their own altogether. If I draw an intersex bombshell, I would draw her as I would any female bombshell. When I'm given a character to draw, I'm not looking to know specifics, just the anatomy I'll be drawing.

Anyway, I am glad I'm at least aware of it now if nothing else!

Here's my philosophy- "Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take A Joke." >w>

Oh, well I definitely don't mean anything as a joke, I just want to make sure I'm accurate, but I seem to be finding out that nothing really is a definitive answer...so I'll just have to make a decision and let my art speak for itself, because at least I know that won't be degrading to the character.

What I mean is that you shouldn't really care if someone likes your art or not. You do this for YOU, and anybody who doesn't like that can take a hike.

Everything is offensive if used in an offensive context. Nothing is offensive if used in a non-offensive way. Always remeber that. Trust your own morals when approached with issues like this. Thats how I get by. And defend your right to do just that. Don't let people push you around.

True True! <3 I wasn't approached directly, but I've been seeing some rumblings about it in numerous places recently, and this last post I saw reblogged on my dash pushed me to talk about it.

intersex would the term to use, if you are describing an individual born with both male and female gender characteristics, herm works most of the time as well, since its a shortening of the word hermaphrodite, which is the archaic version of intersex

trans is different from intersex, most definitely; someone who is transgender was born one sex, but identifies as the opposite sex; and usually, but not always, trans-itions to look like the sex they identify as

i personally find the misuse of futa to describe transgender people like myself to be offensive, but futa could be used to describe intersex, as it IS the shortened form of the japanese term, futanari, which means a female bodied person with both sets of genitalia; however this would be a case by case basis, as some intersex people would find it offensive and others would not

also, while i can't speak for all male to female trans, i will say i find the terms shemale and dickgirl offensive, since those were always used in the porn industry to objectify trans women

Thank you so much Onyx, I was really hoping to receive a reply like this. It definitely helps a lot!

It sounds like intersex would be my term to use when saying that I am open to drawing characters that have both male and female characteristics (for example on commission info sheets), correct? When I am asked to draw a character that fits those qualifications, I'm not aware of the details surrounding it unless I specifically ask, which I don't see myself doing.

I would never call a transgender person a futa, I can most definitely see where it would be offensive. I knew for certain from the start that shemale and dickgirl were offensive, as they're offensive to me just hearing them, so I've always avoided them.

Nobody approached me about it at all, I've just been seeing different situations and posts popping up that I felt compelled to write this, I'm definitely learning a lot today!

Offense really comes down to the person. Honestly Futa and Hermaphrodite seem MUCH better than 'Intersex' which is widely used on e621. IMHO intersex is the most offensive word you could ever use. Transexual is the 'PROPER' or 'Politically correct' term. So I would say stick with that if you want to offend as few people as possible.

Or you can just do what you want and not give a fuck what people on fuckin' tumblr think cause honestly tumblr is a breeding ground of stupid opinions and people who JUST want attention and will do ANYTHING to get it, good OR bad.

"tumblr likes to make a fuss about everything" is true in this case as well as many others, however if you want the unabashed truth about it futa is a term used in Japan that means essentially two people, it is in fact a Japanese slur on trans women, and Japan is very very not okay with LGBT people as real people. So yes, it is a slur. Hermaphrodite is not a slur, it's just inaccurate. Hermaphrodites of the humanish variety don't exist in real life, but gender variant people do. People probably aren't going to change how they speak but that being said, the way herms are used and depicted are generally very very wrong as to how that would work with an actual intersex/trans bodied person.

The truth of the matter is the fetish culture around these words and trans bodies are horrible for actual trans people. They're things created to get the rocks off of usually cisgender men, though some women and gender variants do indulge in it as well. It's fetish, a fetish culture that has and probably will continue to hurt trans and intersex people, but it's not one I'm about to micromanage, nor do I think the fetish itself needs to be done away with, just how people treat trans and intersex bodies because of it.

TL;DR Yes it's a slur but do whatever, just don't ever call an actual human being any of those terms because those bodies do exist and that's not okay.I guess unless they ask you to but that's unlikely.

Thanks for commenting, I'm learning a lot.
What I'm gathering is that most art depicting characters with both male and female characteristics is born from pure fetish, they're unrealistic (I've seen this many times) and I can definitely see how the various terms used to describe those body types would be offensive, and cast the wrong impression or expectation.
When I decided to offer this kind of art in my style I try to depict these characters as realistically as is possible, and in a positive light, I want to make them beautiful just like I would any female character.
I wouldn't ever think of calling an actual person any of those.

Thank you for being so understanding and willing to take criticism on this but please do take a look at my most recent comment in reply to someone else below as it details a lot of really important things about the slurs that are commonly used on this site by even your own followers. If you see someone using these things on your page, please ask them to stop at least, trans, intersex and gender variant people are dehumanized and face great violence every day and need as many cis allies willing to stand up to things like violence and slurs as possible, it may not seem like much, but every bit makes a difference.

Thank you for taking the time to write all of the replies that you have, I've learned a lot from this journal, and I still don't have a definitive answer because while I understand where you're coming from the art realm is also hard to define. I'm coming to the understanding that many characters with both male and female gender characteristics that end up being depicted on this site and others are born of pure fantasy, they can't always be defined by human terms, and in most cases they aren't even human. That is why I was looking for a general term, and I still think I'll be going back to either intersex or herm to define these characters because it is the simplest definitions that I can see...I'm going to let my art speak for itself. I have no ill will or thoughts toward trans people, I think they are unique and brave and I wish I knew one irl.

Also while futa is not directly offensive to me or a lot of trans/intersex people a lot of the casual things said here are directly harmful ways of thinking so please keep that in mind and if you would like to know more please note me, I've done a lot of research on this particular topic and can explain much but I prefer not to do it here in light of those directly offensive things.

Also Futa is the Japanese language equivalent of dickgirl so if you're uncomfortable with dickgirl you should probably be uncomfortable with futa.

Being intersex myself, I have no problem with "hermaphrodite" at all. ^__^

As for a female with c&b instead of vag, it would depend. If she was born like that, then she'd be intersex. If she transitioned to that, whether by science or magic, then she'd be transgender.

I see, so it's sort of a grey area and there isn't a direct general term that I could use to say "hey I'm open to drawing a character that has both male and female characteristics"...thank you for the definitons though! I am gaining a much better grasp on the differences! :)

Futa is just short for futanari; the japanese term for hermaphrodite. Which is in turn the scientific term for an animal, human or not, that has genitals of both genders.
Not slang or derogatory in the least. Tumblr is just full of retarded SJWs.

Actually it's the Japanese term for Dickgirl. The Japanese are very anti-LGBT despite the roaring love of LGBT works made for straight cis people to read. Hermaphrodite, since it's not technically correct for human anatomy, has a different term in the Japanese language, though culturally they prefer to pretend gender variants do not exist.

Newhalf is the term for 'dickgirls' or pre-op trans now.
'futanari' is still considered the broad term for chicks with dicks and can encompass girls with or without testicles as well. Or clits that are like dicks... or whatever.

Newhalf will always have testicles and usually refers to 'traps' or trans individuals.

Futa, or futanari, is way too widely used. Futa is often used for Shemale. They're two separate things. While Shemale is derogatory to most, it is pretty much what a person is called when they're transitioning. For example, a male on hormones and/or surgery for breasts. Still has a dick, and in porn you'd see 'shemale'. But yes, as stated a few times, futanari is a female with both genitalia.

No tits and a cock/balls is a trap. If that trap wants to be a girl, then they're transgendered. Think of gender in your mind, sex on the outside. Trans/gender/ is mental. Once you transition into whatever you want to be, and your genitals are changed, you're considered a tran/sex/ual.

Intersex is pretty much a deformity. I guess. Sorry if that offends. But it's when someone's born with a sexy bit that looks kind of different and even a little like the opposite sexy bit. Like big clits. :3

Herms are what we have in real life. They're born with both genitals somewhere in there. They're probably almost never functional. Way I see it (and I'm no expert), Futanari are the creations of the fantasy 'herm', where both cock and cunt are fully functioning and on the outside of your body. :P

Dickgirl is kind of a wide category, and almost no one uses it anymore, really. As everyone bunches everything into 'futa'. This consists of futa, actually, but also clit-dick girls and girls with the ability to grow a dick out of their vag hole. :D

Porn is weird.

This entire comment is filled with trans slurs.... Also it's scientifically inaccurate.

"Futa" is a Japanese slur for trans women, the Japanese are not okay with trans people, there is no "kind" mainstream term for them.

"Shemale" is a trans slur, often thrown at drag queens as well, used to show that trans women are still men when they are not. Porn uses slurs because it's derogatory and that's how it works.

"Trap" is also a trans slur, also thrown at cross dressers, often used to say that rape of trans women in particular is okay because they were a "trap" and "trapped" the person and tricked them into believing they were a woman.

"intersex" is anything that is not obviously male or female, since humans are not naturally born hermaphrodites, anyone you'd think is one and was born that way is in fact intersex which is a mutation, but not really a deformity, you can be intersex and look completely normal. There's a lot of different bodies that come from intersex, from completely normal to a big clit or a penis with the slit down a bit too far or open too wide to being completely both and having a dick and vagina with the labia starting to form balls.

"Herms" are when a species has a sex that is fully functioning male and female anatomy and one can create offspring with other or themselves(depending on the species) from either direction. Humans are not considered hermaphrodites since intersex people with both anatomies are mutations and generally are sterile and cannot reproduce.

"Dickgirl" is also a slur again at trans women who transition and generally ones that either grow natural breasts via hormone replacement therapy or get implants and do not get bottom surgery and therefore still have penises, most slurs are regarding this sort of trans woman, there are some slurs for trans men as well but that's not what we're on about right now.

I am not going to go into defining gender identity but I will say that someone who's gender identity is male /is a man/ they are not a woman who thinks they are a man, they are a man, and same goes for the other way around or not in that direction at all, do not under any circumstances refer to people as a gender they do not identify with because /you/ think /their/ gender identity is not valid. They know more about themselves than you and it's not really your place to decide.

Also Transsexual is someone who has finished their transition but it's kinda dated, it's not offensive just no one uses it anymore.

Remember, words are what you make of them but never use a slur unless you are a- referring to yourself(in which case say whatever your comfortable with) or b- have express permission from the person you are referring to as a person. Slurs are real and it's not the word but the years and years of intent behind them that make them so harmful, do not encourage language that dehumanizes people like this as we face violence and hate in almost every corner of the world, we don't need it form people who "mean well" too.

I had someone give me the huge rant about how hermaphrodites is a slur and that's not what you should be calling an 'intersex' individual. But... it's kind of the definition?

in·ter·sex
noun
-the abnormal condition of being intermediate between male and female; hermaphroditism.
-an intersex individual; a hermaphrodite.
plural noun: intersexes

Again, generally humans are not considered hermaphrodites because the combination of our sexes in one person usually comes together in a rather odd way, a fully functional penis balls and vagina separately on one person would make a hermaphrodite, but that doesn't really happen like that, you really get more of a vagina penis and half-balls half outer vagina parts and at least one thing doesn't work. So no, you would not call an intersex person a hermaphrodite, it'd just be scientifically inaccurate. I mean I suppose you could it just wouldn't be correct.

I used to work veterinary and in the two cases we had of abnormal genitalia, the two different vets on the cases labeled them as hermaphrodites. So I'm just used to it being termed as such I suppose?
One case had a micropenis where the dog's sheath was shaped more like a vulva, so made it awkward for the dog to pee, and ovaries instead of testes. It was interesting to say the least for the 'neutering' surgery.

I guess it just boils down to if people want to get away from having intersex and hemaphrodites being interchangable, they should look into having the actual definition of both changed. Because they link back to each other. Sure, people will quote hermaphrodites as being perfect half male/half female.... (which interestingly enough, has been seen birds and rodents) but if the definition to intersex calls them a hermaphrodite, that implies an imperfect hermaphrodite is normal.

Just more musing on my part really though. Thankies for the discussion~

it's actually an outdated term if it was being used like that, based on an understanding of how gender forms that was since revised to accommodate more findings. I' sure you could read more about it than I'm particularly versed in somewhere online.

Before anything, I will say that 'slur' is really just someone's either derogatory or very incorrect term for another.
You seem to really focus on how each affects trans people. But not everyone is trans. >_>

Whether or not a trap is a slur, so she understands, it does mean a male or female without identity issues, or off hormones, that only /appears/ to be the opposite gender. Imho, trap isn't that bad either. They go out with the added effect of fooling people. (Those that are convincing, at least) You have to remember that most of these words were created by people, rather than specialists-- because everyone has a kink and everyone makes up their own terms. In art, especially art that'll show all these bits that make the difference-- it's probably perfectly fine to label them as a trap or shemale, because that's what people will search for.

So at the end of the day, I'm talking about art and proper tagging more than anything. I did mention the derogatory terms, but that's just what people use and what you will see on the internet. She wants to get things right, and I'm sure tagging is also part of her curiosity.

I certainly don't use terms that will offend people. Genetic mutation might've been a better word, but since it changes the way you look on the outside, too, I used it. 'Herms' don't have both fully functioning parts. Maybe on furaffinity that's the proper term, but in real life, which is what I was talking about, is /entirely/ different. Herm is much like the american term for Japan's futa, and in art, is just a fantasy. In real life, herms do not have both fully functional, and it's all very often inside their body.

I don't know what you were going for when you said your whole.. " do not under any circumstances refer to people as a gender they do not identify with because /you/ think /their/ gender identity is not valid." Because I never actually said anything like that. I did mention gender to be in their mind. Meaning, biologically, on the outside, they are not the gender they believe themselves to be on the inside. Hence, trapped in a male/female body. I have /plenty/ of trans friends, and I address them the way they'd like to be addressed.

Also-- plenty of people still use transsexual, especially in the trans community, since they all love to separate themselves between -gender and -sexual.

In real life, we have trans-people, intersex, and hermaphrodites. Everyone calls themselves whatever they want to call themselves, and that's that. Be careful about what you call people in real life. We are on a site full of art, and let's face it, porn is art, too-- and it should be properly labeled when things are being drawn that are fictional.

Really? they are slurs MADE ORIGINALLY TO HARM TRANS PEOPLE How is this a "not everyone is trans!" argument. They are TRANS SLURS. How can you defend something that was literally popularized by the ease of blaming the rapes on the victims? At the end of the day your opinion does not make them not slurs and you should /not throw them around/ Because that's not an okay. You have a lot of trans friends? really? Because that doesn't justify using trans slurs, I want to know who these people are so i can slap them for not properly educating themselves or a friend.

Not everyone is trans. Futa is also in this discussion and they aren't for trans either. Can an idiot call a trans a futa? Yes, because they don't know any better. It will then become a slur. Some people have no problem calling themselves some of those slurs. I really don't know who here is talking about rape. I'm sure that if presented with someone's situation of being raped, they'd have much more sympathy. Do you just get mad at everyone who uses trap, shemale, futa, intersex, dickgirl, etc, to tag their art?

I will once again mention~ "In real life, we have trans-people, intersex, and hermaphrodites. Everyone calls themselves whatever they want to call themselves, and that's that. Be careful about what you call people in real life. We are on a site full of art, and let's face it, porn is art, too-- and it should be properly labeled when things are being drawn that are fictional. "

it will not /become/ a slur if some idiot uses it it IS A SLUR AND WAS CREATED AS A SLUR and even if Futa wasn't there is SO MUCH ELSE that you said that was how hard is this to get through?!

Hoo boy, I'm gonna end this right here. We all have our own thoughts. :)

This is just BS, how can you tell me it's not a slur? One of the words you used is used to Justify rape but oh that one's "not that bad" just because it makes you giggle or something? This is why I hate people.

Nobody ever said anything about rape or justifying rape with the term 'trap'. I believe wholeheartedly that you will find people largely identify the term trap with a male being dressed as female, or possibly transitioning to a woman. Is the word trap offensive to some trans indivuduals I am sure. But nobody is condoning rape of anyone here period.

Trap is offensive to more than a few trans individuals and you can's just defend someone who uses slurs o casually like that?

I've learned that you will always be offending someone, somewhere. I still use the term hermaphrodite. I have had people get mad at me for it.


Generally, Intersex or hermaphrodite will always be a person displaying both or abnormal genitalia. Though saying 'abnormal' is another can of worms >_<;
Transgender will always be someone in the process of changing genders or after changing genders. You can still have breasts, but genitalia would be male if they're pre-op. You wouldn't have both like a hermaphrodite or intersex individual.


I tend to lump 'futanari' into the 'opps! Somehow this dick magically got here!' category. It it's a character that doesn't normally come with those parts... opps? It's not a term I use regularly. If I did consider it, I'd probably use it more for 'herm' fanart and such. Usually, both sets of gender parts being involved.
Dickgirl is one I really don't use, it's the most slur like one to me.

Newhalf is popping up a lot with futa tags lately. It's more of the male to female transgender option though. The character will have no female genitalia, only the penis and testicles. Breasts are usually up top. 'Trap' is another term you'll see. It's a meme reference to Admiral Akbar's 'It's a Trap!" And not realizing that cute chick has a dick.



I'm not an expect. I'm a cis female and this is how I interpret things.
I was especially confused by people trying to insist that intersex is a state of mind and has nothing to do with physical gender.... so there's another head scratcher to the pile. O_o;

I am cis female too...(just went and looked that up tbh)...this journal got a lot bigger than I was expecting and hooooboooy I have lots of reading material.

I'm going to have a hard time figuring out what to do on this matter since there are so many conflicting opinions out there..and with art the line becomes even more blurred to know what type of person or character I'm even drawing without using a term that could potentially be harmful...I just know that no matter what I won't be drawing those characters any differently than I would my full female ones..so hopefully that speaks for itself.