Gynomorph

A gynomorphic sculpture of Bacchus, Roman Imperial (2nd century AD), at the Musée du Louvre.

A gynomorph (Greek: γυνόμορφ) (gyno– "woman" + morph "shape", literally "female-like shape") is a Greek word used to describe a male who possessed distinctly feminine features.

Mythology

In Greek mythology and religion, a gynomorph was a bi-gendered god with both masculine and feminine characteristics. Gynomorphs were portrayed as effeminate young males, like Dionysos, a masculine god who possessed distinctly feminine features. Gynomorphs retained the creative capacity of female divinities, they had cosmic wombs, but they also possessed the inseminating abilities attributed to male divinities.^[1]

Biology

In biology, a gynomorph is a male that resembles a female, whereas an andromorph is a female that resembles a male. For instance, some female damselflies show colour variations typically found in males. Andromorphs by resembling males, are thought to benefit from avoiding male harassment. Some authors have proposed that this benefit is offset by a higher probability of detection for andromorphs compared to gynomorphs owing to differences in body colouration.^[2]

See also

• Androgyny
• Gynandromorph
• Sexual dimorphism

References