Are futas female?

[thymoit]

I just thought I would ask because I thought futas were non-binary, but I have run into more than one request thread in the “Roleplay Requests by Females” section where the poster is only offering to play a futa as their character.

 

[Caramel Cooper]

I've always thought of Futa as a type of body, not a gender. It's not really even clear what type of body it refers to because the original word means "hermaphrodite" (as far as I know) but it's also used to refer to the fantasy body type that's biologically female except for cock and balls instead of vagina. But in any case I wouldn't use it to describe gender. You can be female with a futa body, nonbinary with a futa body, or male with a futa body.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

In terms of where to put a request thread, the official staff stance is that users can place their request threads wherever they feel like as they prefer this over trying to impose authority or will upon other's interpretations.

Personal opinions will differ wildly and while I'd generally agree that non-binary makes the most sense for them you are going to find all different kinds of characters in all the different sections. It doesn't help that "Futa", short for "Futanari", is simply the Japanese word for hermaphrodite so there is no consensus over what the term means on the internet because everyone uses it in different context.

 

[Staine]

I've personally always considered futa to be non-binary but there isn't a set label to put them under. For sure, most I have seen use the she/her pronouns in their RP's and would likely prefer to be known as female so I think ultimately it's fine for them to post there, though if I were playing a futa myself I would put it in the non-binary section because that is where I'd expect people to be looking for that kind of character.

 

[Murdergurl]

Futanaris are just fantasy hermaphrodites. Literally the Japanese word for it. Though it is a gross misrepresentation of true hermaphroditism as it normally occurs in a natural species (like the Banana Slug or Earthworm). Hermaphroditism, in irl documentation as a normality in a species, is when a creature chooses between one or the other (usually only for purposes of mating). It is never both at the same time.
But as I said, it's fantasy, so... realism is out the window.

Edit: This obviously does not address the existence of Hermaphroditism as a genetic fluke/defect. That is a wholly other instance, and in my personal opinion, a complete misnomer of the terminology.

 

[Silvered Sutures]

TL;DR: Yeah, Futa = Herm, but gender identity isn't the same as sex so technically they can fit in both NB and Female.

Hermaphroditism comes in a plethora of forms in real life (see "intersex") and while it is not impossible for a hermaphrodite to fit the standards of futanari, it is uncommon. Bits of information about hermaphroditism.

Additionally, since gender identity is not determined by what kind of genitals someone has in modern understanding, a person with a female gender identity might well have a penis. In other words, yes, some women do have penises. It is also entirely possible to make oneself a "futanari" by undergoing partial gender reassignment, for example. Like by having only top or only bottom surgery, depending on what arrangement you start off with. Given the number of gender identities in existence its not surprising at all that some may CHOOSE to identify as non-binary, intersex, or hermaphrodites.

More broadly, it is one of the many possible layers of being intersex to have non-standard primary and secondary sexual characteristics. If you want to look at it from that lens of intersexuality (which affects 1-2% of the world population), it's technically more common than having natural red hair, or having a twin.

Futanari as a term in general is more fantastical and not really helpful because it seldom has a clear definition most agree upon. Generally, they are women with a penis. But whether they have a scrotum, or a vulva, or both, or neither, is entirely up in the air and up to interpretation since "Futanari" just means "of two kinds", is synonymous with hermaphroditism in general, and could cover technically any individual that fits into the very broad intersex spectrum.

Arguably, it's just as logical to see futanari in the female section as it is to see pre-op trans women in there, or pre-op trans men in the male section.

As someone who prefers playing hermaphroditic characters with female features but male genitalia, my RTs are in the Non-Binary section because I personally felt that's where I belong and where I'm more likely to find partners, but frankly; with their increasing prevalence in the Female section, I've been thinking of just copy pasting them there myself if ever I want more hits. I really wish we had many many, many, more labels we could use for our RTs, especially for the purpose of sorting to find what you're interested in. Given the type of character I prefer to play and my preference for feminine partners for example; I have the most success when looking through "FxM or NB" and "FxAny" labeled RTs. But I still have to sift through a lot because it's not everyone's cup of tea, and not what everyone means by it when using that specific tag. "FxNB" tends to just land me in the "people looking for specifically trans partners" boat, and there's a lot of people who have the expectation that all "chicks with dicks" will be 7'2" amazonian uber doms with a bitch-breaker the size of their femur who think of women and men alike as cum dumpsters and go insane if they don't climax seven times a day. ...which sounds INCREDIBLY specific but trust me; I've met SO MANY RPers with this exact expectation its a specific category in my mind. Then there's femboys and butches that are just men and women adopting behaviors and aesthetic from the other group, which get conflated under the whole non-binary/intersex umbrella making everything even more bloody confusing... ...and that's just the world we live in now.

 

[Murdergurl]

...and there's a lot of people who have the expectation that all "chicks with dicks" will be 7'2" amazonian uber doms with a bitch-breaker the size of their femur who think of women and men alike as cum dumpsters and go insane if they don't climax seven times a day. ...which sounds INCREDIBLY specific but trust me; I've met SO MANY RPers with this exact expectation its a specific category in my mind. Then there's femboys and butches that are just men and women adopting behaviors and aesthetic from the other group, which get conflated under the whole non-binary/intersex umbrella making everything even more bloody confusing... ...and that's just the world we live in now.

And this is why I stopped trying to ERP on Discord. The servers there are chock full of these kinds of RTs... to the point where its just a wave of indistinguishable posts advertising the same topic over and over rand over...

 

[Silvered Sutures]

And this is why I stopped trying to ERP on Discord. The servers there are chock full of these kinds of RTs... to the point where its just a wave of indistinguishable posts advertising the same topic over and over rand over...

True. Even on here, I THINK (I haven't actually checked, to be fair, I encourage you to contradict me if you find otherwise), I'm the only person who has an RT stating an interest for playing a futanari-type character that doesn't specify a desire to be the dominant in a given pairing.

 

[Murdergurl]

True. Even on here, I THINK (I haven't actually checked, to be fair, I encourage you to contradict me if you find otherwise), I'm the only person who has an RT stating an interest for playing a futanari-type character that doesn't specify a desire to be the dominant in a given pairing.

I wouldn't know, tbh. Futas aren't an element I ever really seek out for roleplaying. Not my cup of tea.
Call me old-fashioned, but my sought-out pairing is the traditional cis-het male x cis-het female. Of course, there is a great variety in the ways that can manifest

 

[KittKatt]

I'm not going to hijack this conversation with my soapbox again, since it's still public even if the thread had to be locked, but I do want to touch on this briefly: there are people, primarily trans people, who will not engage with someone who uses words that reduce them to a fetish; my list is shemale, futa, and tranny. (Clarification, this is my choice and opinion, I'm not really asking for what others think about my choices. Don't make this thread into that one.). Just something to consider for everyone when making a thread!

But I will say that the concept of a futanari character varies wildly from person to person, even on this site. As other people have mentioned, it's their gender determination that matters.

 

[Murdergurl]

I'm not going to hijack this conversation with my soapbox again, since it's still public even if the thread had to be locked, but I do want to touch on this briefly: there are people, primarily trans people, who will not engage with someone who uses words that reduce them to a fetish; my list is shemale, futa, and tranny. (Clarification, this is my choice and opinion, I'm not really asking for what others think about my choices. Don't make this thread into that one.). Just something to consider for everyone when making a thread!

But I will say that the concept of a futanari character varies wildly from person to person, even on this site. As other people have mentioned, it's their gender determination that matters.

Personally, I don't equate Futas to irl Trans people. To me, Futas are a fantastical derivative of online hentai/porn and ERP (which is EXACTLY why their definition is so nebulous). I don't measure them up against real people in the slightest. Honestly, I would find it quite strange if someone told me they identified as a Futanari. It would be on much the same level if they told me they identified as a Tiefling.

 

[Zephyra]

I would easily consider them either one. Futas aren't "real" anyhow -- intersex people are, but futanaris are pretty much just a fantasy anime trope that aren't really supposed to be equated to anything in real life. For this reason, I think a futa could theoretically identify as any gender they want. The way that the character identifies is, I think, the sole defining factor in deciding which board it should be posted to, not their body type or genitalia.

Personally, I don't equate Futas to irl Trans people. To me, Futas are a fantastical derivative of online hentai/porn and ERP. I don't measure them up against real people in the slightest.

Agreed, I don't see futas and trans people as the same thing at all. Trans people have real struggles they have to deal with because of their gender identity, futas tend to just be plot devices for hentai and are essentially viewed no differently than a cis person. A request thread for people looking to play transwomen (pre or post-op) would belong in the female section for sure, futa could really go either way.

 

[Fandomizer]

Me personally - I like to play aliens and some of those aliens are all female in terms of their personality, body shape, and voice, and general disposition, except that they have a retractable penis because they would go extinct if they didn't. Said penis can go away entirely and turn back into a clit or it can lance out at a massive 13 inches and there are no balls, just an internal cum organ that allows them to maintain their female shape when the cock is away and confuse the hell out of humans. I would definitely classify them as girls. They giggle like girls, they cuddle like girls, and they tease like girls.

 

[Murdergurl]

I think the gist of what everyone is basically on the same page about, is that it kinda doesn't matter where you decide to place the RT. The Futanari is fantastical, so if you wanna call it a Male, put it in male. If you wanna call it a female, put it in female. But for reasons of making it less complicated, the Non-Binary is probably the best place.

I think I know where the issue lies. And I hope I don't inadvertently step on any toes here. But there seems to be this blurred line of where "Males" and "Females" belong because of character "gender identification" versus their Sex organs. See, when I go and look through the MALES SEEKING part of the site, it's because I'm looking for an RT featuring Characters that identifies as Male and has a penis and doesn't have Mammaries. If the character in question identified as Male but did not have a penis and instead had big whopping tits, well... that's definitely NOT what I would expect in that section. And I imagine that if a bunch of penis-less characters with breasts identifying as Males became the Meta, then the sub-Sections might need a better re-wording so that we could properly divvie up Males with penises and Males without them.... because, let's face it, most of us go to the MALES SEEKING part to look for Male characters with a cock and without breasts.

 

[Silvered Sutures]

I think the gist of what everyone is basically on the same page about, is that it kinda doesn't matter where you decide to place the RT. The Futanari is fantastical, so if you wanna call it a Male, put it in male. If you wanna call it a female, put it in female. But for reasons of making it less complicated, the Non-Binary is probably the best place.

I think I know where the issue lies. And I hope I don't inadvertently step on any toes here. But there seems to be this blurred line of where "Males" and "Females" belong because of character "gender identification" versus their Sex organs. See, when I go and look through the MALES SEEKING part of the site, it's because I'm looking for an RT featuring Characters that identifies as Male and has a penis and doesn't have Mammaries. If the character in question identified as Male but did not have a penis and instead had big whopping tits, well... that's definitely NOT what I would expect in that section. And I imagine that if a bunch of penis-less characters with breasts identifying as Males became the Meta, then the sub-Sections might need a better re-wording so that we could properly divvie up Males with penises and Males without them.... because, let's face it, most of us go to the MALES SEEKING part to look for Male characters with a cock and without breasts.

and most go to the FEMALES SEEKING part to look for Female characters with a pussy and with breasts. Yes, logic follows.

Female-bodied individuals with a penis but otherwise feminine physical characteristics, including but not limited to breasts, do exist, however. I think futanari in the sense of an individual who is female in appearance and has a functional penis and vagina is where the "fantastical" lies. I have done research in that regard, and cannot cite a single real life example of a human who fits all those traits.

 

[Murdergurl]

and most go to the FEMALES SEEKING part to look for Female characters with a pussy and with breasts. Yes, logic follows.

Yes... I agree, but didn't think it needed be obviously outlined as the implied counterpart to my statement.

I think futanari in the sense of an individual who is female in appearance and has a functional penis and vagina is where the "fantastical" lies. I have done research in that regard, and cannot cite a single real life example of a human who fits all those traits.

yeah, I don't think I've ever seen anyone advert with a Futa character that has a flaccid and malformed pen-gina. X_x
It'susually some kind of Muscle-guts amazonian type with an arm-sized dong and melon titties

 

[Zephyra]

But for reasons of making it less complicated, the Non-Binary is probably the best place.

I do generally agree with this. I think most people have a very specific idea of what they're looking for when they go to the male or female roleplay requests, whereas the nonbinary requests can encompass a lot more stuff that is seen as less 'traditional' without stepping on any toes. However, I don't mind if people want to put their futa main character in the female section anyway, so long as they make it clear exactly what they're looking to play as so that people who aren't looking for that can click off.

 

[Caramel Cooper]

I do generally agree with this. I think most people have a very specific idea of what they're looking for when they go to the male or female roleplay requests, whereas the nonbinary requests can encompass a lot more stuff that is seen as less 'traditional' without stepping on any toes. However, I don't mind if people want to put their futa main character in the female section anyway, so long as they make it clear exactly what they're looking to play as so that people who aren't looking for that can click off.

With that logic, same should also go the other way round: people posting in the male and female forums as cis should state exactly what they want so that people who aren't looking for that can click off. Is it really the cis posters who need things made more convenient for them? If one every ten or twenty request threads there happened to be by someone who wants to play a male/female character that has a futa body, is it that big of a deal for people who are looking for traditional cis characters, even if it's not clearly stated in the title?

 

[Silvered Sutures]

Right, because if we follow that logic, a male-bodied character who identifies as female would still fit in the "female" category and so you could do a MxF with two... male-bodied individuals. I have a feeling the former male wouldn't go for it if they're seeking specifically MxF.

 

[Caramel Cooper]

I get what you mean, that's by definition non-binary, but if we go with the definition that futanari is not trans and just a naturally occurring type of body in a fantasy world, it doesn't necessarily belong in the NB forum. But I suppose with that logic it would need its own forum which would result in way too many categories (and maybe by that logic there would be more than two biological genders and biological genders in that fantasy world wouldn't even be "binary").

 

[Silvered Sutures]

That's accurate. Though that's why terms like "intersex" exist. I am myself intersex, which is why I've been relatively active in this thread since I noticed it. I'm glad "futanari" is considered as its own separate thing, though.

 

[KittKatt]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone advert with a Futa character that has a flaccid and malformed pen-gina. X_x

Hey, I don't think you were intending to be transphobic, but this definitely read that way to me. Would you mind clarifying?

 

[ƒeral]

some of my points below have already been made, but it's easier on my brain to write it cohesively

- non-binary is an identity. same as cis or trans. and, being an identity, it can be the same as biological sex or different. and thus, biological sex is not determinative of identiy.

- futa is an extremely vague word that i've seen used to refer to any number of things. going off of the origin of the word, which is basically hentai, futa is a fictional trope that is mostly used to refer to sex, not identity. in hentai, most futa identify as female. so, if we were going off of hentai (that sentence sounds so funny lmao), futa is most likely female but not always. but honestly, it's kind of a shit word in the sense that people use futa to mean girls with pp, girls with vjj and pp, girls with vjj and a clit that can turn into pp.......... like there is so much variance there. so personally i would say, instead of using a word that can mean a ton of things, write out more clearly what you are looking to play and it will probably help with finding the right partners?

- intersex. unlike futa, intersex is actually real, and thus should not be conflated with a hentai trope. given intersex is also sex and not gender, i would think such request can similarly fall into any forum. it depends on the identity of the character in question

- i won't hit on trans since i feel like other posters have already said it pretty well. which is just that futa and trans are not remotely similar

with reference to roleplaying boards, which is where the conversation has gravitated to, i do want to point out the following:

- i think it's silly to think everyone should have a vjj under the female requests. just like how irl, not all women have vjj, why should that be the arbitrary definition in a roleplay request category? i will say if someone is looking to play or play against a specific archetype, there's probably enough information in an rt to gauge compatibility... and also, i will fully admit the 'sex' of a character is very important for a lot of people, myself included, in gauging whether i want to pick up a particular rp. but that is one aspect of compatibility. im equally interested in their ability to tell a convincing story or spin me prose i admire. so like, it's not asking that much to read someone's rt thoroughly

- we cannot discount the fact that there are inherent tendencies in some subforums. the nonbinary subforum tends to gravitate towards hentai tropes. and i'm not hating on hentai tropes. i am admittedly a degen and find quite a few of those very amusing. but generally speaking, i'm looking to write something with more realism than hentai tropes. i've written a lot of different things, but definitely gravitate to sapphic, and the roleplay requests by females section tend to be more fitting for what i'm looking for. so like throwing my two cents into the conversation - i write a lot of women with pp without the trans experience. to me, it's just as much an unrealistic fantasy thing as throwing a fireball is. it's not any deeper than that

 

[Silvered Sutures]

- we cannot discount the fact that there are inherent tendencies in some subforums. the nonbinary subforum tends to gravitate towards hentai tropes. and i'm not hating on hentai tropes. i am admittedly a degen and find quite a few of those very amusing. but generally speaking, i'm looking to write something with more realism than hentai tropes. i've written a lot of different things, but definitely gravitate to sapphic, and the roleplay requests by females section tend to be more fitting for what i'm looking for. so like throwing my two cents into the conversation - i write a lot of women with pp without the trans experience. to me, it's just as much an unrealistic fantasy thing as throwing a fireball is. it's not any deeper than that

I agree with this statement and wish to add to it. Futa has come to be a handy shorthand for the intersex character archetype of a male with female genitalia "otokonoko" and, more commonly, a female with male genitalia "futa(nari)". I find myself using it as a shorthand myself rather than go into elaboration about the specific sub-type of character falling under the intersex umbrella I wish to portray. However, it is of note to remember that while it is the common usage, Futanari is not a word that originated from hentai.

According to "Onnagata: A Labyrinth of Gendering in Kabuki Theater", futanari appears as a medical condition in a 12th-century scroll, The Book of Disease. Here, futanari describes a person with male and female genitals, which we might now call intersex. In Japanese, futa means "two" and nari means "figure," which refers to such a person's perceived dual nature.

In the 17th century, the pathological term gave way to an aesthetic called futanarihira. Narihira was a poet noted for his beauty, and so futanarihira (combining his name with futanari), is sometimes translated as "androgynous beauties" or "androgynous stunners." These were male Kabuki actors who, according to the Nikkei Times, played both male and female roles.

Futa hentai became popular as late as the 1990s. The Japan Times describes the typical futanari character as "endowed with feminine curves, voluptuous breasts and a virile penis," though the terminology is applied so broadly and haphazardly among western audiences as to lose its original meaning even in the medium, and such characters have been portrayed predating hentai in both Japanese and international media, myth, and medical history. What's more, the definition submitted by The Japan Times is no longer entirely satisfactory, as many characters who fall under the umbrella terms lack the voluptuous breasts, or virility of the penis, which were originally common to the archetype.

 

[ƒeral]

I agree with this statement and wish to add to it. Futa has come to be a handy shorthand for the intersex character archetype of a male with female genitalia "otokonoko" and, more commonly, a female with male genitalia "futa(nari)". I find myself using it as a shorthand myself rather than go into elaboration about the specific sub-type of character falling under the intersex umbrella I wish to portray. However, it is of note to remember that while it is the common usage, Futanari is not a word that originated from hentai.

According to "Onnagata: A Labyrinth of Gendering in Kabuki Theater", futanari appears as a medical condition in a 12th-century scroll, The Book of Disease. Here, futanari describes a person with male and female genitals, which we might now call intersex. In Japanese, futa means "two" and nari means "figure," which refers to such a person's perceived dual nature.

In the 17th century, the pathological term gave way to an aesthetic called futanarihira. Narihira was a poet noted for his beauty, and so futanarihira (combining his name with futanari), is sometimes translated as "androgynous beauties" or "androgynous stunners." These were male Kabuki actors who, according to the Nikkei Times, played both male and female roles.

Futa hentai became popular as late as the 1990s. The Japan Times describes the typical futanari character as "endowed with feminine curves, voluptuous breasts and a virile penis," though the terminology is applied so broadly and haphazardly among western audiences as to lose its original meaning even in the medium, and such characters have been portrayed predating hentai in both Japanese and international media, myth, and medical history. What's more, the definition submitted by The Japan Times is no longer entirely satisfactory, as many characters who fall under the umbrella terms lack the voluptuous breasts, or virility of the penis, which were originally common to the archetype.

interesting! i did not know this. thanks for sharing!

i'll revise my original statement then and say 'futa' as the term is commonly know today, refers to a hentai trope

but the more you know about fascinating culture tidbits...