• Question: what do you call human with both genders

    Asked by 263heaa27 to Dorcas, Jay Oty, Mel, Chapa, Priscilla on 24 Sep 2014. This question was also asked by The Intellects, moddyzo.
    • Photo: Melissa Kapulu

      Melissa Kapulu answered on 24 Sep 2014:

      @252heaa27

      A hermaphrodite. This is having both the male and female reproductive organs.

      In humans this is actually a biological genetic condition though very rare. However in some organisms it is actually very advantageous to have both “genders”. Could you think of why this might actually be beneficial for these organisms?

    • Photo: Dorcas Kamuya

      Dorcas Kamuya answered on 26 Sep 2014:

      hello 263heaa27,
      I assume that you are referring to humans who may have both sex organs or reproductive systems of both sexes. As Melissa, these are called hermaphrodite.

      There is also a difference between gender and sex. Sex refers to the biological formation of males and females, while gender refers to the socially constructed differences (including roles and functions) between males and females. For example, giving birth and breast feeding is the sexual reproductive role of a female (because biologically, her body can do this). Other roles, such as paying bride price (in communities where this is practiced) could be a gender role e.g. in some communities the bride price is paid by the groom while in other communities it is paid by the bride. Paying of bride price is then a gender role.
      Dorcas

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