BY LETTER
Ferm
Science > Biology
Culture and Society > Cultures and Sub-Cultures
Culture and Society > Family and Community
Culture and Society > Cultures and Sub-Cultures
Culture and Society > Family and Community
Female Pseudohermaphroditism |
 Image from Steve Bowers |
One of six standard hu genders, the others being male, herm, merm, female, and neut. A Ferm has male secondary sexual characteristics and female sexual organs.
When occurring naturally among baselines and other hu clades (usually in prim or other non-nanotech environments) this is female pseudohermaphroditism, most often caused by a missing enzyme, which causes over stimulation of the adrenal gland, overproduction of androgen, and alteration of the genitals. Chromosomes are XX and individuals with this condition have ovaries and are genetically female.
More usually, as a fashion or lifestyle choice or clade or peer mark, a combination of bionano, nanomedibots, and specific hormone treatment are used to alter the gender. The genitals are resculpted with symbiotic bionano or bioborgonics.
The following table should only be used as a rule of thumb for
identification and use of gender, primarily for hominid, or at least
mammalian, clades.
| Can naturally bear children? (ie, has female primary sexual characteristics) | Can naturally contribute genetic material to others' borne offspring? (ie, has male primary sexual characteristics) | Has female secondary sex characteristics? (eg, in humans, enlarged breasts and lack of facial hair. Non-hominid clades often use a different variety of features to make this differentiation: manes, tusks, antlers, colours, etc.) | |
| herm | yes | yes | yes |
| herm | yes | yes | no |
| female | yes | no | yes |
| ferm | yes | no | no |
| merm | no | yes | yes |
| male | no | yes | no |
| neut | no | no | yes |
| neut | no | no | no |
Related Articles
- Asexuality - Text by Michael Beck
Many subsapient organisms (a number of types of lower animals, plants, and microbes) are asexual and reproduce by rhizomes, by budding or fission. Several alien sapient species are asexual. Some terragen sapients likewise choose the option of asexual bodysculpting so as not having a sex at all. Asexuals feel that the whole sex thing is too complex and problematic, better to just the whole thing out of the way. Any bodymod can do this, they are referred to as "hir" and "shhe" when a specific (gender) pronoun is required. Asexuals can and do love platonicaly and feel joy at having children, but they don't feel lust. - Herm
- Merm
- Neut
- Pronouns, Anglish
Appears in Topics
Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev, Daniel Eliot Boese
Initially published on 29 October 2001.
Initially published on 29 October 2001.
