No Biological Sex: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"I am an immortal entity with a large cue ball for a head, and no biological means of reproduction."''|'''Doc Scratch''', |''[[Homestuck (Webcomic)|Homestuck]]''}}

Compare [[Ambiguous Gender]], when the character does have a physical sex but the viewers/readers simply don't know what it is, and [[Barbie Doll Anatomy]], when the body parts in question are presumably meant to be there but are not drawn for censorship reasons. Also compare [[Purely Aesthetic Gender]] when the gender of a video game character is completely irrelevant so that they might as well have [['''No Biological Sex]]''' as far as the plot is concerned. Finally, [[Intersex]] people ''have'' sexual characteristics, but they may be [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex#Signs |ambiguous]] or mixed, not fitting into either sex category. Characters like this sometimes run into [[Pronoun Trouble]] if they don't identify with a specific gender, so "[["It" Is Dehumanizing|it]]" may be used as a [[Take a Third Option|third option]].

Note that due to a lack of alternate phrases in the English language, referring to a character as "sexless" does not mean that they're [[Asexual]], which instead deals with sexual orientation and attraction, nor does it mean that a character does not or cannot ''have'' sex.<ref>No, we're not renaming this trope again</ref>. If [[Everybody Wants the Hermaphrodite]] is in effect they may in fact have a very active sex life.

** Ruby Moon from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' is explicitly sexless, a point raised when Spinel comments on Ruby Moon's decision to wear female clothing.

** A [[Shrug of God]] has also hinted that the Zashiki Warashi from ''[[XXX Holic×××HOLiC]]'' may not necessarily be either male or female, playing off old portrayals of the spirits in mythology and artwork, where their gender was often unclear.

* ''[[Wagaya no OinarisamaOinari-sama.]]'''s Kuugen is a [[Kitsune]] and too old to remember his/her original sex, if he/she ever had one, and just switches between male and female forms on a whim. Justified in that Kitsune are spirits in the first place, and tied to the ''kami'' Inari (see below).

* The Shinigami of ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'' do identify themselves as male or female (meaning that they do in fact have genders), but it is clearly stated that they cannot have sexual relations of any kind, and odds are that they don't have any sexual organs, and even if they do they're most likely non-functional.

* [[Humanoid Alien|Namekians]] in [[DragonballDragon Ball]] are often assumed to be [[One-Gender Race|all male]], but their [[Truly Single Parent|method of reproduction]] places pretty firmly them into this category.

* All angels in the expanded Vertigo universe, which means they've made several appearances in ''[[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|Hellblazer]]'', ''[[Sandman]]'' and their respective spin-offs.

* [[The Bible|YHWH]] technically doesn't have or need a physical sex. [[Eldritch Abomination|Being an unfathomable entity,]] this is a given. In the past, God has been arbitrarily assigned male gender nouns and pronouns because 'It' [["It" Is Dehumanizing|seems disrespectful]] and His people were originally patriarchal. However, feminine nouns are sometimes used in Jewish religious literature when God is credited with female gender characteristics such as nurturing and tenderness. The ancient Hebrews even used [[I Am Legion|plural]] words for God sometimes, while Christians are much more likely than Jews or Muslims to think of God as male because He got a woman pregnant and sired a male who was also Himself, in a way, depending on which Christian sect you ask.

* Inari Okami, the [[Useful Notes/Shinto|Shinto]] God of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry and worldly success, is generally considered to be neither male nor female, though like YHWH, masculine or feminine aspects are often emphasized depending on the context and the region. This is true for many other ''Kami'' as well.

* In ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]'', being of angelic stock are specifically mentioned as this 'unless they really want to make an effort', the phrasing of which has led to [[Unusual Euphemism|Unusual Euphemisms]]s among the fandom.

* Golems on Terry Pratchett's [[Discworld]]. Most are referred to with male pronouns, for the usual reasons. In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]]'' one was arbitrarily declared female (and named Gladys) because Ms Macclariat took exception to anything called "he" cleaning the lady's bathrooms. When questioned about this in ''[[Making Money]]'', Moist points out that the 'default' golems aren't any more male than Gladys is female.

* The [[Fantasy Pantheon|Ainur]] of [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)|JRRR. Tolkien]]'s works. As pure spirits, they have no biological ''sex'' beyond that of whatever form they've taken at the time, but explicitly ''do'' have gender identities (or at least, identify themselves in a way comparable to mortal gender). Still, it would probably be better to call them ''masculine'' and ''feminine'' rather than ''male'' and ''female''.

* The Gethenians from ''[[The Left Hand of Darkness]]'' have no sex for most of the time, except for a few days each month when they go into kemmer and become male or female, returning to androgyny afterwards. The sex during kemmer can change from month to month--amonth—a father of one child could be the mother of another.

* Xantcha from the ''[[Magic: theThe Gathering]]'' novel ''Planeswalker''. The Phyrexian Newts were created to resemble humans, but the first generation was defective in certain aspects, including lacking a physical sex. Mentally, Xantcha began thinking of herself as female after she was [[Mind Rape|Mind Raped]]d by the male demon Gix.

* In ''[[Time Scout (Literature)|Time Scout]]'', Armstrong is a character with an ambiguous sexual identity. He could be a feminine man. She could be a masculine woman. She never identifies as either and he can pass for either. His hair is cut short, she wears wigs, and long-necked clothing eliminates the possibility of seeing an adam's apple.

* Warforged from the ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' ''[[Eberron]]'' campaign setting are sexless. They may have a gender identity, but given that they have no biological basis for it, they generally either go along with whatever those around them label them, or just pick whichever feels right. While Changelings have a "natural" sex, they are able to take a sexless form, and it is pointless outside of high level magic and the [[Dropped a Bridget On Him]] that leads to [[Fantastic Racism]].

* Angels and demons in ''[[In Nomine (Tabletop Game)|In Nomine]]'' are technically neuter, although many that spend time on Earth end up acquiring a gender-bias, depending on which sex of vessel they most often have. Elohim don't acquire such biases (they are by nature supposed to avoid bias) and [[Body Surf|Kyriotates and Shedim]] switch bodies so often they usually don't imprint on any one gender.

* Orks in ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' are sentient fungi and have no gender. They ''act'' extremely male, however.

* Comparable to the above examples, the Naaru of ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. They get referred to with male pronouns because [["It" Is Dehumanizing|calling them 'it' would be insulting]], but not being even humanoid, the few we've seen appear entirely sexless.

* Some fans have said this about ''[[Ni GHTSNiGHTS Into Dreams|NiGHTS]]''. Others say that it's a case of [[Ambiguous Gender]]. It doesn't help that Sonic Team never really gave a straight answer. In ''Nights: Journey of Dreams'', Nights was given a voice actress whom sounded both like a young boy and a slightly older girl at the same time. But it's basically up to the dreamer [[Your Mileage May Vary|and the player]] as to what gender, if any, Nights is.

* Cloud of Darkness, as seen in ''[[Final Fantasy III (Video Game)|Final Fantasy III]]'' and ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', appears female (particularly in the latter) and is referred to with female pronouns... but as the name implies, she's just the physical form of a literal cloud of darkness, and actually refers to herself with "We", apparently including sentient tentacles in that. Therefore, she can't be said to ''be'' female.

* The ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series has the [[One-Gender Race|Yoshis]], all of which have [[No Biological Sex]]. And yet despite this, they lay eggs. [[MST3K Mantra|Don't think too hard about this]].

* Sanyiel from ''[[Hero in Training (Webcomic)|Hero in Training]]'' has no physical sex, although he passes for male. This becomes a bit of a complication when he gets a girlfriend...

* The biogolems created by the [[Mad Scientist|Val'Jaal'darya]] clan in ''[[Drow TalesDrowtales]]'' do not technically have a physical sex, and are thus all sterile, meaning that they're not technically even a speices. Most of them appear externally female, but that's more [[Author Appeal]] on the part of the Jaal since they're clan that [[Does Not Like Men]]. Despite this, Sata, one biogolem, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131008175634/http://www.drowtales.com/wordpress/?p=3711 is referred to using male pronouns] by the author.