Sex, Sexuality and Gender are real

Originally posted 2021-02-08 14:09:30.

Sex, folks, is real. So are Sexuality and Gender. But these are not always related as people might expect them to be. So let’s have a look at them.

In all sexually dimorphic species there are two morphs, which are directly linked to reproduction; that, after all, why sexual dimorphism exists. One of these produces large, relatively static cells called gametes, which contain half the DNA needed to make a new individual. The other produces small, highly motile gametes, which contain the other half. The former are called ova and the latter spermatozoa or sperm.

 

We call the morph that produces the larger gamete female and on the 23rd position, these have a pair of similar XX chromosomes in every cell nucleus. We call the other type male and this has, in the same position, a pair of dissimilar chromosomes, usually called XY. The latter doesn’t really look like a ‘Y’ it’s just called that out of convention.

Because females only have X type chromosomes, all ova are also X. But sperm can be either X or Y, because the male has both. Whether an X or a Y chromosome fertilises the ovum depends on pure chance and averages out to close to equal. So the resulting baby will be either male or female, again in a ratio of about 1:1.

XX/XY

This can never be changed. Our XX/XY makeup is programmed in for life. Sex cannot be changed, in other words.

One of the most interesting features of mammals, a group of sexually dimorphic species, is that the females retain their ova inside their bodies. Compare this to fish, for example, which typically lay eggs for fertilisation outside their bodies. In mammals, it all happens deep inside the female. But she needs the male to be able to deposit sperm in close proximity to her ovum, so she has to have an access route; the vagina. For exactly the same reason, males must have a specific organ that can enter the female and place sperm close to the waiting ovum. They can’t just spread their sperm around in the general area, as fish do. This organ is called the penis and the male inserts it into the female.

So, the presence of a vulva and a vagina is a reliable indicator that an individual is female and the presence of a penis that he is male, the cantrips of the operating theatre aside.

Sex is based in reproduction

The purpose of life is reproduction and this presents a problem for mammals, especially humans. Females must attract males to fertilise their ova.

For males, a perfectly viable reproductive strategy would be to impregnate as many females as possible. However, because human young take so long to mature, the females must ensure that their offspring make it to reproductive age themselves. In fact, in human societies, reproduction is actually a multi-generational activity, with mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers working together to provide care for the children and to ensure their survival. In addition, the female is likely to desire sperm from a successful male, because these are more likely to survive. So she chooses her partners.

Attractors and gatekeepers for sex

Women, therefore, are both the attractors and the gatekeepers, and all human societies have strict rules governing this. However, men have to convince women that they are suitable partners and to open the gate. So men are the persuaders.

The boy problem

In most species, females are only sexually receptive when they are ovulating, but women are receptive all the time. Why? The answer seems to be to keep their partners coming back to the honey-pot, bearing gifts. But herein lies another problem: women are not the only thing men can penetrate. Throughout human history and still today, boys are used as a substitute for women, because they have a passage that is also available for penetration. So women, paradoxically, are in competition with boys for men’s sexual favours. This ‘ups the ante’. The reward given by the woman for the man’s support, must at least appear to be greater than any other. As a result, over tens of thousands of years, women have evolved the body shape they have — because it attracts men.

Reproduction is not just about physical appearance. It is about the act of penetration, placing sperm close to the ovum. Just as there is a morph adapted to be penetrated and one adapted to penetrate, there is a set of correlated desires. One is the desire to be penetrated and the other the desire to penetrate. These are separate. Sometimes the former is called ‘passive’ and the latter ‘active’ but better is ‘female sexuality’ and ‘male sexuality’. Female sexuality is that most commonly associated with the female morph and vice versa, but note that this is not always the case.

Ovulation

In most animals, female ovulation is detectable by males by scent. Any dog owner knows this. But humans have poor senses of small and cannot use this method. Another indicator is visual: a female in oestrus will have swollen and reddened genitalia. But when humans stood up, the female genitalia became difficult to see. This acted on women to increase their attractiveness to men in other ways: especially through the development of what are called ‘secondary sex characteristics’. These are breasts, fat deposits on the hips and buttocks, facial neoteny and generally, petiteness.

This is the foundation of gender and note: it is innate, not conditioned. Men do not grow boobs and hour-glass figures and women do not grow hairy chests and have deep voices. These are adaptations which evolved to attract partners but note, the system works the other way too: humans have evolved to find these adaptations attractive.

This occurs via the process of Selection that nobody ever talks about, although Darwin devoted much thought to it: Sexual Selection. The only issue with Darwin’s logic is the word ‘Sexual’ because the selection is actually made on the basis of gender traits. In other words, gender is the attractor. Put that yet another way: we are attracted to gender, not sex per se.

Since there are two sexes and two sexualities, then it follows that there must be two genders: one adapted to attract those with male sexuality and the other, those with female. We call these genders feminine and masculine respectively. There could be no others, unless there were multiple sexualities and multiple sexes, which there are not.

 

Sexual Inversion

The exception to this is Sexual Inversion. In this, during gestation, the developing baby is given doses of sex hormones that cause sex and sexuality to be at variance. As a result, gender is also at variance with sex, in these individuals. We have discussed this elsewhere and will again.

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