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Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

sciencedaily.com

41–50 of 62 posts

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#41
post #33

"each sex can enter fertile pairings with 22,960 others" Imagine its Tinder profile :)

Or Twitter pronouns.

When defining by which pairs can reproduce, or at least "connect corresponding mating organs", humans are also still limited to 2 sexes, pronoun discussion (in American English) acknowledges 2 sexes and decouples gender from that. A one to many relationship, instead of a one to one relationship.

(I've found in other English variants, consensus is evolving differently with non-binary genders equalling additional sexes, this can make things confusing online - like on Twitter - if you aren't noticing that maybe Commonwealth countries are forming this conversation differently)

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#42
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends on how you define sex, or perhaps even gender would be more accurate? In any case, I think what's being proposed is there are still on 2 unique sexes. - some of the species have one - some of the species have the other - some have the ability of both. Technically, yes, that's still only two.

How do you define sex? Because what you just described sure sounds like a third sex to me. Your description is premised on the assumption that there are only two sexes to begin with, and define the third sex in terms of the two sexes you assume to be the only ones that exist. Instead you could describe them as sexes A, B, and C where any of following pairings are valid for reproducing: A and B, A and C, B and C, or C…

[deleted]

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#44
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or Twitter pronouns.

When defining by which pairs can reproduce, or at least "connect corresponding mating organs", humans are also still limited to 2 sexes, pronoun discussion (in American English) acknowledges 2 sexes and decouples gender from that. A one to many relationship, instead of a one to one relationship. (I've found in other English variants, consensus is evolving differently with non-binary genders equalling additional sexes…

> When defining by which pairs can reproduce, or at least "connect corresponding mating organs", humans are also still limited to 2 sexes

For ~98.3%, yes. About 1.7% [1] are... more difficult to answer that question for. For example, take a person with XX chromosomes but a penis and a person with XY chromosomes and a vagina. The "connect mating organs" step will work, but the pair will be infertile in almost all cases.

Even when one disregards social gender identity and purely focuses on "biological" attributes, nature has given humanity a lot of options - most people will fit into the "standard" model of hormones, chromosomes and the presence of naturally-grown genitalia, but a lot of people will not.

[1]: https://www.unfe.org/intersex-awareness/

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When defining by which pairs can reproduce, or at least "connect corresponding mating organs", humans are also still limited to 2 sexes, pronoun discussion (in American English) acknowledges 2 sexes and decouples gender from that. A one to many relationship, instead of a one to one relationship. (I've found in other English variants, consensus is evolving differently with non-binary genders equalling additional sexes…

> When defining by which pairs can reproduce, or at least "connect corresponding mating organs", humans are also still limited to 2 sexes For ~98.3%, yes. About 1.7% [1] are... more difficult to answer that question for. For example, take a person with XX chromosomes but a penis and a person with XY chromosomes and a vagina. The "connect mating organs" step will work, but the pair will be infertile in almost all case…

> About 1.7% are ...

According to https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12476264/ it is more like 0.018 % than 1.7 %.

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#46

So those aren't a third sex, it's individuals with both male and female reproductive cells.

Quoted post unavailable.

Sound the alarms!

Odd, my friend completed their sexual reassignment surgery because they identified so strongly as male-gendered.

I'm going to need to remind them they're actually trying to get rid of gender! Silly them! Let's hope they're never "normalized!"

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#48

Piers Anthony, Cluster series, Spicans. Some people say fact is stranger than fiction, but art and life have such parallels.

I was just thinking about this series the other day and am pleasantly surprised to run across someone else who has read it.

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#49
post #48

Piers Anthony, Cluster series, Spicans. Some people say fact is stranger than fiction, but art and life have such parallels.

I was just thinking about this series the other day and am pleasantly surprised to run across someone else who has read it.

Heh, I was just thinking about the Xanth and Cluster series and how I don't hear about them much these days. I devoured Piers Anthony's books in my teens.

Re: Algae with three sexes that mate in pairs identified in Japanese river (2021)

#50
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends on how you define sex, or perhaps even gender would be more accurate? In any case, I think what's being proposed is there are still on 2 unique sexes. - some of the species have one - some of the species have the other - some have the ability of both. Technically, yes, that's still only two.

How do you define sex? Because what you just described sure sounds like a third sex to me. Your description is premised on the assumption that there are only two sexes to begin with, and define the third sex in terms of the two sexes you assume to be the only ones that exist. Instead you could describe them as sexes A, B, and C where any of following pairings are valid for reproducing: A and B, A and C, B and C, or C…

Actually. No.

You need two differnt "widgets" to tango, not three.

Unless you say Sex A and Sex B together is a third sex Sex A+B. But that would only make sense if A+Bs were unique in the sense that they can only mate with other A+Bs. Then A+B would be a third sex. That's not the case, is it?

Put another way, sex is a property, not a class.

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