The Humphead wrasse, Chelinus undulatus, is the largest extant member of the family Labridae. Males are typically larger than females and can reach over 2 meters in length – weighing up to 190 kg. Females rarely grow larger than one meter.
There is something about nature, and how it organises itself that males within a species tend to be larger and stronger and with a different role within the population. Protection from predation is a real issue, at coral reef and also within, and between, populations of Homo sapiens – my species.
Historically, within populations of my species it is the men who go to war – and if they come back victorious, as the leader, they will stay the leader. There is a chance their daughter may take over from them – if not their wife or vice president.
Women tend to find power through proximity. There is a basis for this in our biological differences that are very significant.
Of course, cultural norms can change relatively quickly – but not biology. And to deny biology, like denying the rewriting of our historical temperature records, is dangerous. There will always be an evolutionary advantage in specialisation, and so successful families, communities and nations are those who look after their offspring and ensure their capacity to flourish and to reproduce. The is nothing more fundamental to the success of a civilization, or a population of fishes, than the capacity to reproduce.
That is not to say that kindness does not matter, but it needs to be understood within the real world that is replete with predation.
#sizematters #everyoneofmyancestorsreproduced
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
The natural hand-brakes on reproduction include the availability of food – and the attrition involved in acquiring it. If a species is at the head of the food-chain and proceeds to consume all available resources, without competition – it eventually ‘consumes’ itself.
Humans have the intelligence required to avoid self-destruction, by implementing conservation of available resources via self-imposed population control measures.
Unfortunately they have followed the ignorance of the Priests and Shamans and chosen
War amongst themselves as the desirable solution.
Let the Games continue….
My three daughters started out with tough boyfriends – leaders of the pack. I countered with good restaurants those boys would never choose. It worked so far, and the girls are all happy.
Here is a relevant podcast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9rynD9KlU0
As a very aware pre-puberty boy I did not know what I wanted. Puberty and male hormones later gave me no choice but to be male. just saying…
Fran
That’s a cool story Fran. Do you realise there are over a dozen ways that male/female chromosomes can be more complex than simple XX and XY. Generally referred to as differences in sex development, not all of them end up in an intersex person, and many only manifest at puberty. The Algerian boxer was born a girl, raised as a girl, competed in boxing as a girl. Her unusual biology has resulted in excessive testosterone and strength. It’s not her choice. Would you agree with throwing competitors out of the Olympics because they are too strong? For example the US mens basketball team?
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Karen you are just making stuff up, the reality is that we are not fishes. We have the capacity to organise to create a kinder and fairer world for our own species. But unlike fishes we can’t change sex. Fish gonads contain both male and female tissues, and sex change occurs when one outgrows the other. This happens with Humphead wrasses when the dominant terminal male dies; one of the females become male and grow to be larger. In contrast, humans and other mammals determine sex via a gene on the male-only Y chromosome.
It seems my previous post has disappeared for some reason.
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Hi Peter
I have found your comment in the backend of my blog with the comment ‘removed by Akismet’ that is a spam filter. Previously if your name and email were approved at this blog, you could more or less write anything. But now it seems WordPress/Akismet is providing an extra layer of censorship that I am not sure how to turn off. Because even after I found your comment in spam, and approved it, it would not go through and show, so I am now trying to post it here myself:
“Jennifer is absolutely right to be concerned and could do without ignorant comments.
For those who think that gender reassignment and other abuses of children is just a game I suggest you search for a recent report “The WPATH Files – pseudoscientific surgical and hormonal experiments on children, adolescents and young adults
by Mia Hughes. 5 March 2024”. This is a report compiled from a leaked video and text exchanges between medical practitioners belonging to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. WPATH is quoted as the leading authority on gender medicine in the world with considerable influence throughout the Anglo-sphere including in the UK via the NHS.
In a recent interview with Michael Shellenberg and Ms Hughes it was explained that these leaked materials have revealed that leading medical practitioners in the field of gender paediatric health care are all too aware that many of these procedures are experimental and most significantly, that they have been proceeding with irreversible surgery on patients who cannot possibly give informed consent, either because they are too young or that they suffer from some other psychological disorder.
The leaked discussions include doing potential surgeries and administering drugs for children including as young as 10, delaying their development, on people diagnosed as schizophrenic disorders, identity disorders and so on. People within WPATH, inside what is called Gender Affirming Medicine are reported to explicitly recognise that neither the children nor the parents (in some cases not even included in discussions) understand the consequences of these procedures that are experimental and which include life long sterilisation, and loss of sexual function. So this is extremely serious, competing with past medical scandals such as the infected blood for haemophiliacs and others. It is child abuse pure and simple, in fact it is abuse of anyone who is fed untruthful information about the consequences which often involve life-long pain and an inability to rectify the terrible mistake that was made. This is medical malpractice that contravenes the Hippocratic oath of ‘do no harm’.
The NHS is now offering surgery to these abused unfortunates, some of whom may be so desperately unhappy as to be contemplating suicide (and some have already taken this final step) to return to their original biological sex, even though it can only be a partial return. Some critical functions can never be restored.
You are free to make up your own minds about this report, but it is not the only one with similar examples of medical malpractice for which there is more and more evidence. Lack of informed consent is critical here and it is something lacking in many other situations which come under criminal law – though not all unfortunately.
Almost all children and teenagers go through periods of uncertainty, self-doubt etc., and most grow out of it. They do not need irrevocable surgery, just thoughtful understanding and a confidence boost. So please let’s get real about this threat and stop the nonsense about fishes and anything goes.]] ends quote from Peter.
Jenn’s comment are ill-informed. Peter Etherington-Smith’s interest in genital surgery is just… creepy.
He and Jenn should look at the following conditions. Conditions that affect humans, not fish.
De la Chapelle syndrome (46,XX Male) occurs when the SRY gene from the sperm parent crosses over into a non-Y-bearing sperm during spermatogenesis. When the egg and sperm merge, it results in an XX embryo with an SRY gene, creating a phenotypically-male child with two X chromosomes.
Swyer syndrome (46,XY Female) produces a phenotypically-female child with an XY chromosome. This results from a dozen different genetic conditions, including:
XX gonadal dysgenesis is very similar to Swyer syndrome, except it occurs in XX children and results in nonfunctional ovaries.
Turner syndrome (45,X) produces a phenotypically-female child with numerous abnormalities. It occurs when neither an X or Y chromosome crosses over from the sperm.
Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) results in a phenotypically-male child with more feminine traits. In extremely rare cases it appears in female-assigned children as well, resulting in feminized testicles instead of ovaries.
48,XXXY Klinefelter syndrome has similar results to 47,XXY Klinefelter syndrome, but with more intense health issues.
49,XXXXY Klinefelter syndrome is often fatal, but when it isn’t, it often results in a sterile child.
Trisomy X (47,XXX), Tetrasomy X (48,XXXX), and Pentasomy X (49,XXXXX) all result in a female child, but with progressively more intense health issues.
XXYY Syndrome results in male children (due to two SRY genes) who often experience hypogonadism, needing testosterone supplements, but otherwise seeming like a typical male.
Mosaicism results when some cells in the body have one set of chromosomes and other cells have another due to a mutation of the genome during gestation. This may be XX/XY (resulting in a dual set of genitalia), X/XY (a milder form of Swyer or Turner syndromes) or XX/XXY (a milder form of Klinefelter syndrome).
Chimerism occurs when two fertilized embryos merge together into one zygote, causing half of the child to contain one set of DNA and the other half to contain another. This can result in an otherwise completely typical human being of either male or female phenotype, even capable of producing offspring, but which comes back on a karyotype test as not matching their phenotype based on where the sample was taken on their body. In extremely rare cases this can result in two full sets of reproductive organs.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is masculinization of the female genitals in an XX child due to overactive adrenal glands.
Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a total or partial resistance to all androgens, preventing masculinization of all organs, save for the testicles, in an XY child. AIS subjects typically develop a female gender identity, but some partial cases may be male.
5-alpha-reductase deficiency (5ARD) is a failure in the body’s ability to metabolize testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), preventing masculinization of the genitalia until the onset of puberty, when the child suddenly grows a penis.
Aromatase deficiency causes masculinization of an otherwise female child due to excess levels of testosterone (and can bleed over into the mother during gestation).
Aromatase excess causes feminisation in an otherwise male child, as all testosterone is converted into estrogen.
My story above is not about genetic outliers. Most of us are governed by conventional genetics.
I for one would like to see boxing eliminated as a ‘sport’ because the intention is to disturb the opponent’s central nervous system. The human brain is a magical tool given to us to use in a positive way..
I agree Fran, I feel like they must be able to design gloves and helmets so that the skill can be judged as a sport but without injury. Much like shooting and archery.
Why ? Again Why? They already exist bu damage still occurs. It’s a stone age carryover.
“It is important to note that Khelif had previously competed at the Tokyo Olympics, where she reached the quarterfinal stage without incident. The only time her identity as a woman has been questioned was when the IBA performed an unspecified gender eligibility test shortly after Khelif defeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva, who was previously undefeated, at the 2023 world championships. At the time, Khelif referred to her disqualification as a “conspiracy.”
The suspicious timing of the test, combined with the lack of transparency around the results, should have raised immediate concerns, especially since the IBA is the only source of the allegations against Khelif. The IOC has also long been at odds with the IBA over a series of corruption scandals, accusations of poor governance, and worries about the organization’s president, Umar Kremlev, and his ties to the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin—conflicts that led to the IBA being stripped of its authority to regulate Olympic boxing.”