Can an evolutionist explain male and female sexes as a part of evolution theory?

Biology texts illustrate amoebas evolving into intermediate organisms, which then give rise to amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and, eventually, humans. Yet, we never learn exactly when or how independent male and female sexes originated. Somewhere along this evolutionary path, both males and females were required in order to ensure the procreation that was necessary to further the existence of a particular species. But how do evolutionists explain this? When pressed to answer questions such as, “Where did males and females actually come from?,” “What is the evolutionary origin of sex?,” evolutionists become silent. How could nature evolve a female member of a species that produces eggs and is internally equipped to nourish a growing embryo, while at the same time evolving a male member that produces motile sperm cells? And, further, how is it that these gametes (eggs and sperm) conveniently “evolved” so that they each contain half the normal chromosome number of somatic (body) cells? [Somatic cells reproduce via the process of mitosis, which maintains the species’ standard chromosome number; gametes are produced via the process of meiosis, which halves that number. We will have more to say about both processes later.]

The evolution of sex (and its accompanying reproductive capability) is not a favorite topic of discussion in most evolutionary circles, because no matter how many theories evolutionists conjure up (and there are several), they still must surmount the enormous hurdle of explaining the origin of the first fully functional female and the first fully functional male necessary to begin the process

2011-03-14T19:10:13Z

Baby Mander, why would you bring up the Bible in a discussion about the flawed man-made insane theory of evolution. I didn't.

Did some one actually suggest that Biology should be left out of evolution? Are they saying that man evolved without any biological traits or what are you saying, Bub?

2011-03-14T19:18:56Z

Wow, are you people lazy or just evo sheep and since you are sheep what did you sheep evolve from? Sheep, dogs, ants, birds, cows, man, apes, worms, snakes, octopus, whales, and not one link alive between the species.

Some Einstein yesterday call mutating viruses a new species, and since no evolutionist checked him I attribute that to our F level education system. Not your fault.

2011-03-14T19:21:21Z

Hen Jun, we are talking about the ignorance inherent in the theory of evolution, not why you choose to reject of accept that you are going to hell if you don;t receive Christ.

ChildoftheKing2011-03-14T19:13:39Z

Favorite Answer

Now, you knew these "rational,logic hunters" couldn't come up with a rational or
logical answer,didn't you?

CuteAngel2011-03-14T19:16:09Z

Evolution theory cannot explain everything that is observable in nature because we simply don't know enough about nature to make a conclusive statement yet. But that doesn't mean creationism is correct!

For example, I find it funny that when I ask a theist "what makes your religion the right religion, and all other religions are wrong", they become silent. Why would a loving God allow suffering in this world? Why would innocent babies die? How do you know the Bible hasn't been altered over times?

I'm not saying evolution is the RIGHT answer. But given the data that we have, I think evolution is at best ON THE RIGHT TRACK to the right answer. And creationism isn't.

@added: I also want to draw your attention to the notion of species. That is an out-dated word that really should not be used anymore. How do you define a species? Lion and tiger can inter-mate and produce viable offspring, does that make them the same species? Scientists today use a genome threshold similarity to define species, but what threshold to use is subjective, and given the lack of concrete definition for a species that can be applied to all life forms on Earth, you really shouldn't use terms like species or speciation.

@added 2: i've already said above that there are many areas evolution can't address. That's why there are still tons of active research going on precisely trying to solve those answers! And if you're going to accept answers that are purely about evolution, then post in biology section. this is religion talk here. Scientists are perfectly aware of many phenomenon evolution can't address, this is why so many sub-variations of evolution come up years after years. So your choice of word "ignorance" should only be applied to the laymen people who don't have any training in science and take evolution as the ground truth. Scientists know very well that evolution is a theory that may one day be changed. The key point is given the data we have now, it's the best theory so far.

Simon T2011-03-14T19:08:59Z

Sexual reproduction is a big advantage as it produces genetic changes without the need for mutations.


The first life reproduced asexually. Hermaphroditic creatures would be able to reproduce sexually or asexually. Those would evolve into species with separate sexes.

Some species can still reproduce asexually. There are documented instances of 'virgin births' amongst sharks, as one example of this.


As for the rest of the details, get a better understanding of evolution and it will become clearer to you.


The only reason it is not a favorite topic is that it is usually a debate with someone who has no understanding of paleontology or evolution (which is O.K., but if you want to ask these sort of questions you should be willing to learn) and would rather go with the creationist straw men arguments. The sort of person who thinks an 'evolutionist' is different from a biologist.

M2011-03-14T18:59:28Z

variation in a species. organisms were both male and female. Some variants happened to be only one or the other, and they were able to reproduce later populations full of male or female individuals because for some reason these variants had some type of adaptation that gave them better reproductive rate in those populations over those variants with male and female individuals.

The fact that many species still today sometimes have individuals that happen to be both male and female helps provide evidence to this hypothesis that somewhere along the line we animals have an ancestor population that was mainly both (that and some species still survive today that are both, and even some that switch sexes when necessary meaning some species still carry within many of the individuals the ability to have both sexes). All the examples out there actually provide tons of evidence for evolution and evidence against Genesis and its male and female specifically story.

Vincent K, Atheati Mad Scientist2011-03-14T19:00:07Z

Actually, this was answered waaaaaay back in Darwin's time, so your copy-paste job is actually a flat-out lie. You don't start with a fully-formed male and a fully-formed female. Darwin himself found this one out by studying barnacles - y'know, those things that stick on to the bottom of ships? They're a type of animal. With them, there are a lot of species that are hermaphroditic, and then there are species which are single-sexed but where the male spends his entire life embedded within the female. In other words, there's a clear, gradual progression from asexual to sexual, no worries. And, if you want a simpler answer, look at plants; both male and female parts on the same organism.

In other words, this is not the 'gotcha!' question that you seem to think it is, merely another example of how often creationists recycle the same tired old questions and pretend they're new.

Show more answers (16)