Futanari: A Proper Introduction

I feel like the initial post of this blog doesn't quite do justice to the obscure yet expansive phenomenon of futanari. I've read countless other essays and descriptions of futanari before, and Wikipedia has a good one (not work safe, if you decide to look up the term there), so I feel I shouldn't try to re-invent the wheel here. The sources I read were unabashed and sometimes smutty, though, so I'll try to write a pro-pornography style treatise, without being smutty. (If you want a smutty treatise, check out this in-depth essay at Elegant Succubus. NWS, obviously. But there are links to some work-safe reading material on there, which is here and here.)

Generally, people explain the appeal of futanari from a mainstream pornography perspective. They'll say something like "It's like hetero porn, but without a yucky male physique" or "It's like lesbian porn, but with a money shot and penetration so it isn't boring". I'm in agreement with these sentiments, and they're good enough for me, but not good enough for this blog. Note that both of these statements imply that a "futanari" is equivalent to "a woman with a penis", no matter what. Hence the colloquial term "dickgirl". (I have to admit I didn't put much thought into the name of this blog, but displaying the term in large letters, calling attention to its limiting and mildly offensive meaning, is part of my way of deconstructing the term.)

Like I said in the opening post, the etymology behind the term futanari is loaded. "Two forms" leads to a lot of possibilities, that is if humanity does exist in a mere gender binary. "Female + penis" is by far the most common, but what about other combinations? Male + vagina? I've definitely seen "cuntboy" art out there, and I find it fascinating. (If anyone feels like getting uppity about what words I use for female genitalia, see this post from The 1585.) What about more analogue definitions? Despite looking at this stuff for upwards of six years, the only perceived effort to portray true hermaphrodites I've found is by krisCrash (some thumbnails are NWS, be careful, but the gallery is pretty tame overall). I think it's because most people can say they prefer one sex over the other, and striking too fine a balance in appearance is too far removed from the human experience to be able to get off to it.

Yet, paradoxically, nothing is further removed from the human experience than the portrayal of futanari. In reality, intersexed people are never born with both sets of genitals fully functioning. Transwomen can be effectively castrated by hormone therapy (if they haven't undergone SRS yet) and are not seen as virile as most sex-addicted, juice-spraying futanari. For those like me who like seeking out transwoman on ciswoman porn, I haven't seen much where the transwoman is really into it, because - guess what - most of the population is heterosexual, so a woman, trans or not, probably isn't attracted to another woman. Whereas in the impossible futanari world, dick-less women are seduced and conquered by all manner of futanari for various reasons, as if a futanari's insatiable need to get off is even greater than a high school boy's. As for futa on male stuff, that actually could have some comparisons in the real world, but I'll write about that later. The vast majority of futanari material out there does not involve strictly male characters - it's usually futanari with "natural" women, or futas with other futas. ("Futa" is used as shorthand for a single futanari person in the community.) It's easy to see that futanari is effort to strip males away from hentai completely, and this will be the biggest issue I write about, but...later. (Another issue I want to quickly assuage: some people are upset by the use of male/female instead of man/woman, I guess, but the futanari community isn't. Also, look at the Wiktionary definition; I think the issue is that "female" could refer to female animals, but if that's the context that makes women feel queasy or afraid, then I have to say that's illogical. Zoophiles are probably more interested in raping animals than women, right?)

So what then, is the appeal of futanari? What is the point of it, if it cannot manifest in reality, like typical fetishes and paraphilias that are well-documented? Look at this expansive fetish map from 2002. Although furries are listed on there, giving reference to a well-known Internet subculture, there is no inkling of futanari on there at all. It must not even be a real fetish then. Indeed, it is not. Wikipedia says a sexual fetish is an object "not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature needed to satisfy." What I get out of that is, "you perceive something non-sexual to be so sexual, its presence is essential for you to achieve orgasm". Like needing the walls of the room to be pink, or getting it on under a Christmas tree. And given that futanari should have an expanded meaning of "a person with alternate sex organs", it's irrefutable that the subject matter is already sexual in nature, and impossible to consider as a fetish. Yet people still list an interest in futanari as a "fetish" of theirs, when it might be more accurate to say they either have a penis fetish (need one in their lesbian porn) or a vulva fetish (need one in their gay porn...wait, not really).

Like certain branches of pornography, futanari is a zenith of escapism, a highly elaborate fantasy. The removal of male presence has an element of voyeurism for males who partake in viewing it, although for me, it's a strange kind of sub-voyeurism where I no longer even exist. The fact that it's very unrealistic means that suspension of disbelief can be empowered to its utmost; if one rule is broken, then the artist may as well break all of them. Futanari characters are often given unbelievable proportions, godlike stamina, and can be manipulative beyond understanding. This is why the Wikipedia article brililantly used the term "cross-pollination" in its futanari article, for a futanari character can infiltrate any fantasy setting. This is a fundamental difference between "futasexuals" (more on that term later) and the heteronormative general population: whenever a penis is spotted, the latter will think, "that's attached to a man", and then recalls all the notions that go with it. If said latter subject is a straight man, they'll be repulsed and accuse any male onlookers of being homosexual, even though all men have penises and (hopefully) don't feel gay when looking down at themselves. But a futasexual will see potential, and imagine what kind of woman might be attached to it. To give an example from computer science, it's kind of like object inheritance, or if you're a pervert, type-casting. (As an exercise to any adventurous futasexual reading this, try imagining a man attached to a vulva you see. And no, it doesn't have to be Buck Angel.) Likewise, women may be imagined to be packing male genitals, until proof otherwise can be seen firsthand. (Never seen your prof naked? She's totally a futa. Now you know why all the girls who see her in her office hours get higher marks.) Social contexts, re-imagined in this fashion, can have dizzying scope. Then again, I guess other fetishes can too, if you inject that into what you overhear in everyday life, but since most people have genitals futanari fantasy can act in a variety of ways. Imagine a woman with a full set of male parts, and then you can imagine her having all the difficulties of male genitals, such as uninvited erections. Add in other aspects of male fetishes and sexuality, and it gets more complicated; maybe she discovers later she's into cock and ball torture? (Couldn't find a work-safe link for that, sorry.) Men transforming gradually into women is another common theme in the futanari world, which is the closest thing we have on a large scale to the mirror image, where men begin to experience the troubles women have. Hopefully it isn't too hard to see how playing around with gender roles and sexual tension like this can make for a flavourful fantasy setting, one that has a vast following, if underground.

So there you have it. Futanari can be summarized as fantasy, not fetish, involving the swapping of genitals, or gender roles. Unfortunately, this only works if it operates on stereotypes. This post by Maymay, for instance, shows that some gender roles are still firmly entrenched. If the LGBTQ movement had been underway a long time ago, enough time to inform everyone about the fluidity of gender and sexual orientation, futanari might not exist, because the notion of combining the sexes wouldn't seem exotic or even taboo any more. Maybe that's why I've never heard a self-identified queer person ever mention the topic. The issue of "how do I combine the sexes and present them in one form?" either never comes up, or is a question already answered, or is a faulty question to begin with.

Too bad breaking stereotypes and defying the status quo is hot.