Teaching about sex chromosomes...?

I understand your point and know what you mean about the complexities about gender identity.

If I were to nitpick, I’d still argue against saying the biological purpose is to carry offspring. Reproductive restraint is a thing (e.g. organisms that live in colonies). There are many species where individuals do not reproduce, and their efforts are solely directed at helping family members reproduce and raise offspring.

Individuals may have the capacity and instinctual drives to reproduce to continue the species. But the idea that everyone has to reproduce as much as possible is not necessarily true. If you reproduce too much, you deplete resources and make the environment very competitive. Reproductive success isn’t about quantity…it’s about genes getting passed down. If your family members reproduce, that is still indirectly contributing to the success of your genes. Also, in some species, males are the ones that get pregnant, and they invest in parental care more than females.

I guess the takeaway is biology and culture are complex, so people should always keep that in mind.

/r/Professors Thread Parent