Hermaphrodite or herm is an Nonbinary gender that can fall under the Altergender, Intergender, and Xenogender umbrellas depending on the individual experience. Similar to Chimeragender, this identity represents hybridity, though in contrast it is specifically a hybrid of dichotomously paired aspects from the cardinal sexes or genders (male-female, man-woman, sire-dam) or may be considered a gender derivative of Salmacian body types, some intersex variations, and/or xenogenders derived from zoological/botanical hermaphrodites (organisms able to fulfill both reproductive roles).
"Maleherm" is used by some male-aligned or male-adjacent herms.In summary, there are three definitions of "hermaphrodite" that are only loosely related.
- Zoology/botany: An organism that can fulfill both reproductive roles.
- Medicine: (depreciated; contentious) A human with mixed or ambiguous sex characteristics (i.e.: intersex).
- Gender: A specific set of nonbinary genders combining male and female identities into one, a concept mainly derived from the zoological definition.

SENSITIVE USAGE NOTES!
This is not a synonym for Intersex, and due to a history of flippant and malicious usage, many Intersex people consider the term derogatory and may forbid its use in their company and communities.While some members of other communities demand usage restriction, INB declares the label open to any who identify with its qualities with the following statement: "An identity cannot be dictated from the outside, by those who reject and shame its use, or by a sect within itself. With the primary herm-identifying voices we have been able to ascertain being extraneous to Intersex communities and chiefly of Alterhuman origin, we consider these to be a significant authority on the matter whose right to identity shall not be infringed."More on this in the Difference from intersex section below.

ORIGINS
In Greek myth, the deities Hermes and Aphrodite gave birth to a son and named him Hermaphroditus, who was remarkably handsome and became a being of dual sexes upon merging with the nymph Salmacis.Hermaphroditus (and to an arguably-lesser extent, Hermes) is sometimes referred to as Atlantiades or Atlantiadis, and is known in Roman myth as Atlantius.From there, the word "hermaphrodite" has been used in two ways:
1. A now-depreciated reference to persons with mixed and/or ambiguous sex characteristics, chiefly those with an overt variation of sex development (VSD).
2. A zoological and botanical reference to organisms capable of fulfilling the reproductive roles of both sire and dam.
- As a derivative of the latter use case, some branches of Alterhumanity include hermaphrodites as a third sex or gender, sometimes employing unique pronouns, thus increasing the appearance that herms constitute their own gender(s).

Pronouns and titles
Among the hermaphroditic members of Alterhuman cultures, there are two sets of pronouns that enjoy some prominence:
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shi/hir is used chiefly by female-presenting/aligned/adjacent herms, grammatically mimics she/her and sounds roughly like:
(shi)/ʃeɪ/rhyme "day" | /ʃi/same as "she"
(hir)/hɛɹ/rhyme "air" | /hɪɹ/rhyme "deer" | /hɚ/same as "her"Shir (Shr.) is a title/honorific accompanying this pronoun set, taking the place of both ms. and ma'am, and sounds roughly like /ʃɛɹ/same as "share"
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hy/hym is used chiefly by male-presenting/aligned/adjacent herms, grammatically mimics he/him and sounds roughly like:
(hy)/heɪ/rhyme "hey" | /hi/same as "he"
(hym)/heɪm/rhyme "aim" |/him/rhyme "team" | /hɪm/same as "him"Shyr (Syr.) is a title/honorific accompanying this pronoun set, taking the place of both mr. and sir, and sounds roughly like /ʃaɪɹ/same as "shire"

Salmacian overlap
Salmacian, or Aphrodisian, is an Altersex identity that can be thought of as the bodily counterpart to hermaphroditic gender, being described as a desire for mixed sex characteristics, chiefly genitalia but sometimes gonads and secondary characteristics as well. It should be noted, however, that Salmacian/Aphrodisian identity spans all gender modalities and is not in any way exclusive to hermaphroditic gender.
We recommend for anyone who shares a hermaphroditic gender identity to look into Salmacian/Aphrodisian resources. There are transitional options, including various hormonal and surgical ones.

A note for Furries
This article is written within the context of real-world people and not fictional characters or avatars. Given the overlap with Furry communities, this line can get blurry and distorted, so mind that this is not attempting to describe the body types of any Furry (or anime) characters. It is attempting to describe a real-world Queer demographic that has thus far had little to no documentation or representation.However, there is significant overlap. If you find that it fits your "ideal self," even if that self is typically considered "just a fursona" or otherwise "fictional," you should consider looking into some transitional resources.

Difference from "intersex"
As for the distinction between "herm" and "intersex", a hermaphroditic organism is able to fulfill both reproductive roles for its species, and hermaphroditic gender alludes to that, while "intersex" refers to a very wide variety of "Variations of Sex Development" (VSDs) chiefly in humans and Intersex (proper noun) refers to the demographic surrounding that phenomenon, which includes people that have subclinical variations, including ones that are not widely regarded as "intersex conditions" in clinical settings, such as Klinefelter Syndrome and some instances of PCOS.
Hermaphroditism is not a VSD that occurs in mammals, and any references to such are misnomers.† VSDs similar to hermaphroditism include ovotesticular variations and some chimerism or mosaicism variations. Regardless of similarity, Intersex (also transgender and nonbinary) people should NOT be referred to as hermaphrodites (much less "futanari"). To do so is considered discriminatory, fetishizing, dehumanizing, etc. and should absolutely be avoided unless an individual specifically requests it.[†Due to lack of mammalian hermaphroditism, hermaphroditic gender may at times be considered a xenogender.]