Men and women are so different, and the sexual analogy book, ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ has never seemed more true. It may lead some to wonder why we even have males and females, in this evolved state of biological wellbeing. Wouldn’t our wellness be better off if we were just one biological sex?
Not all species need male and females in order to reproduce. A number of organisms can be asexual, meaning that they are capable of reproducing without the act of mating. Protozoa, for example, divide themselves into two totally identical copies. On the other hand, some kinds of mushrooms have more than 36,000 different sexes, meaning that they are able to reproduce far more easily with humans.
Many studies have been done on species that are able to reproduce asexually and sexually, in order to find out what the benefits of each method are. Whilst asexual reproduction has its benefits – such as being much quicker, making more offspring and taking up less energy – it is not a suitable method for any species with complicated DNA. DNA can mutate in reaction to the environment, and freshwater snails, which reproduce asexually, have a really high number of genetic mutations – around half the species in fact.
To put it another way, it is very important that both men and women exist, and that they are very different. Reproduction provides a different set of genes to the offspring, and allows minimal mutations to occur when a new set of DNA is formed. This keeps the human species young and healthy, eliminating the possibility of the human race dying out due to dangerous mutations.
So, whilst it might seem crazy that men and women are meant to co-exist, it is very important for the survival of the species that each gender brings its genetic code to the table, for the ongoing future of the human race.