Gynomorph is a word used to describe an organism with female physical characteristics.
Gynomorph is a word used to describe an organism with female physical characteristics.
In Greek mythology and religion, a gynomorph was a bi-gendered god with both masculine and feminine characteristics. Gynomorphs were portrayed as effeminate young males, like Dionysos, a masculine god who possessed distinctly feminine features. Gynomorphs retained the creative capacity of female divinities: they had cosmic wombs, but they also possessed the inseminating abilities attributed to male divinities. [1]
In biology, a gynomorph is an organism with female physical characteristics, whereas an Andromorph is an organism with male physical characteristics. For instance, some female damselflies show colour variations typically found in males. Andromorphs, by resembling males, are thought to benefit from avoiding male harassment. Some authors have proposed that this benefit is offset by a higher probability of detection for andromorphs compared to gynomorphs owing to differences in body colouration. [2]
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. A male organism produces small mobile gametes, while a female organism produces larger, non-mobile gametes. An organism that produces both types of gamete is called a hermaphrodite. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inherits traits from each parent.
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. An ancient group, damselflies have existed since at least the Lower Permian beginning about 299 million years ago, and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos was a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to Ovid, he was born a remarkably handsome boy whom the naiad Salmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. A god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one and transformed him into a hermaphrodite, he being considered the origin of the name. His name is compounded of his parents' names, Hermes and Aphrodite. He was one of the Erotes.
Tomboy is a term used for girls or young women with masculine traits. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men.
Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered feminine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. To what extent femininity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate. It is conceptually distinct from both the female biological sex and from womanhood, as all humans can exhibit feminine and masculine traits, regardless of sex and gender.
Virilization or masculinization is the biological development of adult male characteristics in young males or females. Most of the changes of virilization are produced by androgens.
Male is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at least one ovum from a female, but some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Most male mammals, including male humans, have a Y chromosome, which codes for the production of larger amounts of testosterone to develop male reproductive organs.
Sexual characteristics are physical traits of an organism which are indicative of or resultant from biological sexual factors. These include both primary sex characteristics, such as gonads, and secondary sex characteristics.
The gender of God can be viewed as a literal or as an allegorical aspect of a deity.
In Hinduism, there are diverse approaches to conceptualizing God and gender. Many Hindus focus upon impersonal Absolute (Brahman) which is genderless. Other Hindu traditions conceive God as bigender, alternatively as either male or female, while cherishing gender henotheism, that is without denying the existence of other gods in either gender.
Sexual mimicry occurs when one sex mimics the opposite sex in its behavior, appearance, or chemical signalling.
A hermaphrodite is an organism that possesses both male and female reproductive organs during its life.
Wiccan views of divinity are generally theistic, and revolve around a Goddess and a Horned God, thereby being generally dualistic. In traditional Wicca, as expressed in the writings of Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente, the emphasis is on the theme of divine gender polarity, and the God and Goddess are regarded as equal and opposite divine cosmic forces. In some newer forms of Wicca, such as feminist or Dianic Wicca, the Goddess is given primacy or even exclusivity. In some forms of traditional witchcraft that share a similar duotheistic theology, the Horned God is given precedence over the Goddess.
A hermaphrodite is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are of different sexes, either male or female but not both, are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic.
In Christian theology, the gender of the Holy Spirit has been the subject of some debate in recent times.
Although the gender of God in Judaism is referred to in the Tanakh with masculine imagery and grammatical forms, traditional Jewish philosophy does not attribute the concept of sex to God. At times, Jewish aggadic literature and Jewish mysticism do treat God as having a gender.
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
Futanari is the Japanese word for hermaphroditism, which is also used in a broader sense for androgyny.
Gender systems are the social structures that establish the number of genders and their associated gender roles in every society. A gender role is "everything that a person says and does to indicate to others or to the self the degree that one is either male, female, or androgynous. This includes but is not limited to sexual and erotic arousal and response." Gender identity is one's own personal experience with gender role and the persistence of one's individuality as male, female, or androgynous, especially in self-awareness and behavior. A gender binary is one example of a gender system.
Intersex, in humans and other animals, describes variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies". Intersex people were historically termed hermaphrodites, "congenital eunuchs", or even congenitally "frigid". Such terms have fallen out of favor, now considered to be misleading and stigmatizing.