indexed

Or, re-imagined Shakespeare.

or baby-making

That's kinda messed up. That's a kinda hateful word for intersex conditions. It's like using the N-word as your punch line.

@Anonymous: Buy a dictionary - medical, biological, greek gods, take your pick.

What's you're talking about?! I do possess all kinds of dictionaries, being an intellectual, but "L*go" I found nowhere... Maybe I should ask my grandkids...

Wait you're worried about Lego and not Hermaphrodite?? The joke comes from the fact that Lego's have interchangeable parts, but the male and female parts are exactly the same. It's saying that they share a coincidental common ground, not that hermaphrodite's are plastic toys.

You're being a bit oversensitive, and even hypocritical suggesting that the new generation has made some new set of derogatory terms.

Actually, the first anonymous is correct. "Hermaphrodite" is considered rather derogatory and dehumanizing to intersex people, who are beginning to claim their identity as such instead of being forced into exclusively one or the other of preset gender roles (and being relentlessly mocked if ever found out not to be a "normal" extreme on that continuum).

More tact in the delivery of said message may have been nice, but the fact remains that it's an offensive term to the people to whom it clinically applies.

"It's saying that they share a coincidental common ground, not that hermaphrodite's are plastic toys."

You see penises and vagina everywhere. You see missiles pushing through the air, you see fish swim through water. Cylinders are good for resisting mechanical force that comes from one of their ends, that's all. That's why they are good at humping vagina - they do not change their shape while force is applied from the other end, so stuff can flow through them when they get deep enough.

I'm fairly sure he's upset about Lego though. But Hermaphrodite, although no longer 'politically incorrect', is still fairly applicable, wikipedia even says that some intersex people prefer hermaphrodite due to less confusion. Personally, I don't think it really matters, you're all describing the same thing and what matters is if you mean to be hateful.

Well, I guess I'm "old school".

"Hermaphrodite" is a clinical word and I know what it means.

"Intersex people" is a made-up term and I wouldn't have a clue as to what it exactly applied to, except that it was used in context in a discussion about hermaphrodite.

This becomes even more unusual, of course, when I think back to Biology class and the first time that I heard the term, which I believe was in reference to earthworms or some other such animal. It would be really silly to call earthworms "intersex people" or even "intersex creatures".

The graph didn't even mention people (although the title said "Kids love em" -- which makes me think of Legos and slimy creatures).

Intersex?

This is the first time I've ever seen that word, and it makes me think that someone meant to type intercourse but didn't want to take that long!

Wow - I had never heard of "intersex" before either, and I find it hilarious. Sorry, but if that's the PC word for hermaphrodite, then you all have chosen poorly.

Just thinking of it as a homophone for "intersects" cracks me up. Oops, is it wrong to say homophone now too?

I won't be able to look at a Venn diagram the same again. Oh wait...

@Leland Witter: *applause*

Hermaphrodite is still a term used in nature. Maybe it's not a nice term to apply to any human being, but nothing says Jessica was talking about humans. It's a perfectly valid word though and not derogatory in itself.

Lego is composed of both male and female parts.

Nice.

It could also be extension cords, various types of converters, etc.

Man, I'm a dork.

~EEE~

LEGO is capitalized!!! GRR!

Hermaphrodite is the name of a greek GODESS, they should be honored and flattered to be named after a godess... and its not derogitory anyway, its the medical term for that condition... I take a biology corse in College and I've heard the term to describe that condition in Animals

Too bad they didn't teach you about the Greek pantheon, which is even mentioned above. It's a combination of Hermes and Aphrodite (a male and a female, just like androgynous is literally a combination of male-female.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphrodite#Etymology

I'm sure no offense was intended whatsoever by the author/artist or any posters here. Think of it less as a wag of the finger and more as a gentle reprimand from those who studied gender. Trying to spread some awareness about your fellow humans. Can't we all just get along (without imposing gender roles on those who don't fit the two predetermined molds)?

http://www.isna.org/faq/hermaphrodite

You don't have to agree, but it's helpful enough just to know what others are talking about.

wow, I'm impressed to see the term intersex here. Glad to see it being used in a wider context, and conflict aside, it's good to see awareness raised.

Speaking as someone who's Intersexed - "Hermaphrodite" is inaccurate in most cases, there's few of us who have both types. Usually parts of one, and parts of another, or one set that's in-between.

But I personally don't find it in the least offensive. There's too much PC rubbish in the world to worry about trifles (Hmmm.. Jelly... Cream... Custard...) and there was neither insensitivity nor malice shown. It's not as if it's a common topic over breakfast after all.

"Heard about the latest news on Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia? No, I was too busy keeping up with 5 alpha reductase deficiency. How's your Kleinfelter syndrome? Oh, can't complain..."

Not exactly.

BTW Intersexed Men who have CAH have masculine bodies, but female chromosomes. Guys with 5ARD look female at birth, vagina etc, but have an apparent sex-change to male at puberty. And those with Kleinfelter syndrome are neither 46xx (F) nor 46xy (M), but 47xxy, and generally look male - with a few oddities.

Contact me if you want some more information, URLs etc.

I have one of the rarer conditions.

nice