Are we all female at the start of life ?

[jarthy95]

Heard something i never heard before today.And as this is a very knowligiable forum.Can all you medical people out there confirm as to wether all people start off as female in the womb.

[Daven]

Heard something i never heard before today.And as this is a very knowligiable forum.Can all you medical people out there confirm as to wether all people start off as female in the womb.

 

The answer to the question is.............no - unless you mean at conception.

[Sheff Laser]

This is a misunderstanding of the true facts. When a baby is conceived, it receives its genes from both parents. There are 23 pairs of chromosomes; pair #23 is called the sex chromosomes because they determine whether a baby will be a boy or a girl.

 

Chromosomes are typically shaped like an "X". However, sex chromosomes come in 2 types--"X" and "Y". (The "Y" is just an "X" with one leg missing.) If a baby inherits an XY pair of sex chromosomes, he will be a boy. If a baby gets an XX, she will be a girl.

 

But...the sex chromosomes don't actually affect development of the fertilized egg at the very beginning. When organs start to form, *all* babies develop female reproductive organs. Later on, the "Y" chromosome kicks into action, causing a release of testosterone (a male sex hormone) which then changes the female organs into male ones. What started out as a clitoris, for example, will grow larger and become a penis. If something interferes with that testosterone surge, even a baby who has "XY" chromosomes will *not* develop into a boy.

So it says here anyway

[dawny1970]

we start off asexual, hen at about 10-12 weeks the chromosomes kick in and tell us if we are to be male or female

[medusa]

No, we don't all start out genotypically female, but humans are all phenotypically female without hormones to alter our appearance.

 

So a baby developing without testosterone will always appear to be female, whether it is genotypically female or not.

 

There are also syndromes and illnesses which stop genotypical boys from developing as apparent boys even when testosterone is present and babies which have the genetic abnormality called Turners Syndrome (where they have a missing sex chromosome, usually the Y chromosome missing, so they are XO rather than XX or XY) appear female whether they have ovaries or not.

[JFKvsNixon]

In all appearances female but I think that neutral is the best description, it's why men have nipples.

[jarthy95]

wow! thank god i live in sheffield,with all you wonderfull people.Thank you for your answers there great.

[Tony Erikson]

I once watched a wildlife that suggested that malnourished mammals were more likely to produce a female offsspring as it required less energy. In a way it makes sense. If you consider a dying breed due to famine then surely it would be more productive to produce a female as one male can breed with many females whereas one female would naturally struggle to breed with many males.

[Dozy]

I don't know about that, but all the best people are definitely female for the whole of their lives!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*scarpers*

[taxman]

Everyone starts off female......crying, tantrums, wetting themselves etc..The more advanced go on to become male, sensible, rational, intelligent etc...

 

 

I think you'll find I'm right

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm going to get such a kicking for that