are hermaphrodites real?

Hey guys, I just came up with this weird thought today. Do you guys think it would be possible for a person to be born with both male and female organs? Like a person that has both a penis and a vagina? That would be so creepy......uke:

 

yup it's possible, saw it on the learning channel...

 

As a former nursing student, this is how it works:

First off, a literal hermaphrodite (as they exist in the animal world) would have to be capable of producing both sperm and egg. By this definition, no, there are no technical hermaphrodites in humans. However, there is plenty that can and does go wrong in the development process.

All embryos are female by default. This means that the only reason embryos become male is if a y chromosome is present, then a specific amount of testosterone is released through the placenta at a specific time. If this does not occur, the embryo will develop as a female. All male sexual organs have homogenous counterparts in the female--A penis, believe it or not, is nothing more than an enlarged clitoris (with only have the nerve endings, thank you very much). Your testicles started out as ovaries which dropped down to where they are today. The uterus shrinks to become the prostate, the cervix becomes the bulbourethral gland, etc.

So, keeping this in mind, it is VERY easy and actually not that uncommon for something to go wrong in the development process. Some women have a normal XX chromosome, but for whatever reason, they are born with an enlarged clitorus. As a stated before, a penis is little more than an enlarged clit, so that woman would have what would appear to be a penis. Her urethra and vagina would remain in their normal positions, so there would be no hole at the end of it.

There's also something called Turner's syndrome, which is what Jamie Lee Curtis has, in which someone is born with only one X chromosome, but no Y. This means that the person is still born female, but around age 3 their ovaries disappear, and when they reach puberty, they have to have hormone therapy to develop as a normal female. They have normal looking vaginas, they just are infertile and need hormone replacements.

There are also men whose testicles never dropped at birth, men that are born with two X chromosomes and a Y, so they are more effeminate than other men, women who spend their entire lives thinking they are female, only to discover they have no uterus.

There are SO MANY ways in which it can go "wrong" is almost miraculous nature gets it right as often as it does. I personally find it fascinating, in a respectful way. People who have such birth defects/chromosomal disorders are not "creepy," anymore than someone with Down's syndrome is "creepy" (though they also aren't retarded, so perhaps that was a poor choice in comparisons). People with such deformities can go through a tremendous amount of psychological pain in their lives, given the huge stigma against those who don't perfectly fit into a sex category. They deserve compassion and understanding.

You should read more about it, it's actually a fascinating subject.

-Kate

 

I love hermaphropites i call em maphiesss

 

Yeah its possible just not as simple as having a penis and vagina, like Strawberry Fields said

 

I had a hermaphroditic guinea pig once.

 

Thats so cool

 

As if someone questioned this... at the age of 18, you should be a little better educated. No offence.

 

Well Im sorry, but I don't recall any teachers in my high school teaching any classes called "Hermaphrodism 101" or anything like that.

 

very real. also very rare. this isn't a gosh wow, but a photographically and otherwise well known medical fact that yes, viable herms ARE born, usually being medically mutilated after birth to grow up as one gender or another. another problem with a dominant society that can't stand to leave the unusual alone and just allow it to be and appreciate it.

(ok, so both sets of equipment arn't reproductively functional. like so this is such a big deal. it's not like humanity isn't fertile enough as it is. but so, having what looks like both sets between ones legs, and being viable in the sense in this in no way imparing survival and being able to go through life.)

 

So the only place you "learn" is school, then? Don't you watched educational shows or read when you're at home?

 

My mother has a BS in zoology, and was once a med student. She's in her fifties now, and still claims that there is no such thing as a hermaphrodite in ANY sense. I told her about Jamie Lee Curtis, but I have heard from two separate bio profs that she has a disorder which left her XY, therefore genetically male, but kept her body from responding to the extra testosterone, so she developed entirely as a female. My mother responded with "Oh, God. Next you're going to tell me that she's gay!" She was disgusted. I asked her, if the person is genetically male but has the organs of a female, then is the person male or female? One must determine sex before one can use the terms "gay" or "straight." She said that I was going to Hell and wandered away.

For myself, my birth control pills triggered my body's testosterone production. It's a rare side effect. I'm comfortably female, but since taking these pills I have found myself with a lower voice (tenor from second soprano), much more agressive than I was, a bit more hair growth (only in the normal places, thank the Goddess), increased muscle mass, and much more attracted to females than I was. My doctor figured it out after I asked her why I was no longer getting "lubricated" normally and she asked if I had the other signs. So apparently now I'm a chemical andogyne. I don't mind, I rather enjoy it. My husband loves it. We've always oogled women together, and he has said for years that he would like men more than women if they only had vaginas, curves, and breasts. As long as I don't start sprouting facial hair, there shouldn't be any problems.

I knew a couple once who were both transsexuals. He was a woman in a man's body, and she was a man in a woman's body. They met while they were both saving for the surgery, and decided to get married and save the thousands. They have a daughter, he's a wonderful mother, and she's a wonderful father. There really is someone out there for everyone, I suppose. This sounds so much like a sitcom, but I swear that it's true.

 

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/jamieleecurtis/a/jamieleecurtis.htm
That said, I believe they had someone who actually did have this problem on House. Kleinfelter's Syndrome I believe, but I don't know if that's how it's spelled. I know there's another one called Androgen syndrome or something similar, but I always get them mixed up (I'm working toward my own BS in biology).
For a scientist, your mom sure sounds... interesting, lol.

 

My Aunt was a hermaphrodite. I didn't know this until after her death. Breasts and both penis and vagina I am told. She lived her life as a female, but she was very tomboyish. She had a hard life. That part of my family literally lived back in the bush and were called hillbillies. No running water and no electricity. I naively thought that she was a product of inbreeding when I was first told. I am glad to read from this particular thread that ...hmmm probably not. Alot of things could have happened to cause this. She was shunned mostly and treated terribly. Died an alcoholic. But I knew her well and she was a beautiful person. She once saved me from a very evil person when even my parents wouldn't speak out...she was the only one...(and this is my tribute to you Aunt Mae)....people that look alot different than the rest of us are NOT freaks...they have spirit, soul, feelings...they are no different than us on the inside...

 

Thank you, Firefly. I stand corrected. I read an aritcle once on homosexuality and hermaphrodism in Native American cultures. In many of them, such people were revered as the fortunate who got "the best of both worlds."