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[–]MarkTwainiac 12 insightful - 1 fun12 insightful - 0 fun13 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Simultaneous hermaphrodites have both the male and female sex organs and produce both types of gametes.

In animals, simultaneous hermaphroditism is one of a number of novel reproductive strategies that occur very rarely in certain species of fish in specific habitats that pose unusual challenges to reproduction. It does not occur in any mammals or other land-dwelling creatures. Doesn't occur in birds either.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/simultaneous-hermaphroditism

Now, though hermaphrodites only exist in plants and other animals, think of these hypothetical scenarios where humans also have simultaneous hermaphrodites among them, so we're not just talking about other animals, but humans too:

No, this is a stupid sci fi "thought experiment" that's a total waste of time.

I think simultaneous hermaphrodites show us that sex, male or female, is not a universal thing

But even simultaneous hermaphrodites produce only two kinds of gametes - male and female. They don't produce a third kind of gamete that's part male, part female or is in some entirely new, separate category altogether. Moreover, sequential hermaphrodites can only reproduce if there's a fusion of a male gamete (sperm) with a female gamete (ova). So actually, sequential hermaphrodites prove that binary sex male/female sex is indeed a universal thing.

HTH.

[–]Not_a_celebrity[S] 1 insightful - 6 fun1 insightful - 5 fun2 insightful - 6 fun -  (1 child)

Can you respond to these scifi thought experiments then? It will be nice to know how things for simultaneous hermaphrodites in other animals work, I can't ask "biologists" because most of them are tra.

Hypothetical 1- A simultaneous hermaphrodite has sex with another simultaneous hermaphrodite. One fertilizes the other. What's happening here? Which one is true and why? a) a "male" is fertilizing a "female", b) a "female" is fertilizing a "male", c) a "female" is fertilizing a "female", d) a "male" is fertilizing a "male", e) all of those

Hypothetical 2- A male has sex with a simultaneous hermaphrodite. He fertilizes the hermaphrodite. What's happening here? Which one is true and why? a) the male is fertilizing a "female", b) the male is fertilizing a "male", c) both of those

Hypothetical 3- A hermaphrodite gets pregnant. Which one is true and why? a) a "male" gets pregnant, b) a "female" gets pregnant, c) both of those.

If sex, male and female, exists in mammals but not in non-mammal species, then sex is a social construct. We could sit here all day and come to the realization even "specie" and the difference between mammal and non-mammal is a social construct, some categories humans made up to make it easier for them to navigate through the world.

[–]MezozoicGaygay male 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Who gives a sperm is male during that time, who have egg is female. It is not rocket science. Definitions are very simple and complete - and it describes overwhelming majority of species, with some exceptions among viruses and bacteria (and maybe mushrooms, I don't know if their reproduction is sexual or not).