A futanari can be a person or fictional character with the physical qualities of cis-women and cis-men. The term futanari is the Japanese word for hermaphroditism, an outdated term for the condition that gives some people, animals, and plants reproductive organs outside of the gender binary. The term futanari literally means “two figure.” This translation references the what was traditionally seen as "male" and "female" elements of an intersex or gender-fluid person.
The term futanari has long been a part of Japanese culture. Throughout history, intersex and gender-fluid people were called futanari. Ancient Japanese folklore suggested some people, known as "half-moon," could change their genders during certain lunar phases, from men to women and back again. Some ancient Japanese gods, such as dōsojin, also had ambiguous genitalia.
The common usage of the term futanari changed in the 1990s with the rise of futanari porn and hentai. This genre of anime, manga, or eroge porn, became very popular, not just in Japan but all over the world. These hentai works featured futanari characters who identified as female and had soft facial features with big breasts and small waists and either a penis or a vulva and penis.
Futanari characters sometimes have testicles, but not always. Their penises were often large, sometimes in proportions typical of horses rather than humans. They usually ejaculated with a large amount of semen. American transgender porn from artists including Kitamimaki Kei greatly influenced futanari hentai. Hot Tails by Toshiki Yui is one of the most popular examples of this animated porn.
While futanari hentai is fairly niche, it has influenced mainstream anime. "Gender-bending" and cross-dressing storylines can be seen to take their cues from futanari and the Japanese folklore that helped shape their storylines.
Due to the popularity of futanari hentai, the word futanari has become synonymous with animated characters with "feminine" features, large breasts and small waists and a penis or ambiguous genitalia. The genre of hentai featuring these characters is also called futanari. Futanari and the hentai featuring these characters is often abbreviated to futa, or the plural form futas.
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Research suggests that between 60 and 70% of people who search for futanari hentai identify as straight males. As futanari characters have bodies with traits often deemed "feminine" watching them interact with female characters isn’t too different from viewing girl-on-girl porn. While futanari have fully-functioning penises, they also have female gender identities. This makes them “safe” sexual interests for people who might not feel comfortable admitting attraction to men.
Some of this hentai genre’s predominantly straight male audience may also like to imagine themselves as futanari. The idea of having a penis and a vagina, and being able to stimulate and have sex with any kind of body, can be a real turn-on for these fans.
People interested in futanari may enjoy the futanari hentai others create or make their own characters. Many futanari enthusiasts are active in the 3DX community. This website's users share original or existing 3D characters in sexual situations. Users create new futanari characters or modify popular video game characters to give them the typical futa appearance.
Futanari are sometimes confused with transgender people or with drag queens, as their penises are the focus of their sexual interactions. Some artists don’t draw a vulva on their futanari characters. Even when they do, it rarely gets the sexual attention of the futanari’s penis.
The term futanari is rarely used to refer to intersex people today. Instead, Japanese people use the terms intasekkusu, which is the Japanese equivalent of the English word intersex, or han’in’yō, which means “both yin and yang.” The term futanari is likely to have fallen out of favor in the wider community due to its strong association with hentai.
