do males start out as females

Introduction

The question of whether males start out as females touches on the complex interplay of genetics, development, and evolutionary biology. This topic is often explored through the lens of sexual differentiation, sexual selection, and gender identity development.

Key Insights

Sexual Differentiation and Gender Identity:
- Genetic males with severe phallic inadequacy assigned female at birth often exhibit male-typical behaviors and interests, with many eventually identifying as male.
- Those reared as females but later converting to male tend to have more successful psychosocial developmental trajectories compared to those who remain female.
Sexual Selection and Evolution:
- Across the animal kingdom, males experience stronger sexual selection pressures than females, which drives the evolution of conventional sex roles, such as female-biased parental care and male-biased sexual dimorphism.
- Sexual selection in females, although less studied, also plays a significant role, with intrasexual competition and male choice influencing female behavior and morphology.

Conclusion

The research indicates that while genetic males with severe phallic inadequacy may be assigned female at birth, many exhibit male-typical behaviors and often identify as male later in life. This suggests that gender identity can be fluid and influenced by both biological and social factors. Additionally, sexual selection pressures differ between males and females, shaping their evolutionary roles and behaviors.

Do males start out as females

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

A 7-year experience of genetic males with severe phallic inadequacy assigned female.

Genetic males with severe phallic inadequacy can have functional psychosocial development, with those reared female having a realistic likelihood of recognizing male sexual identity and converting to male.

Evolution of Female Preference for Younger Males

Females evolve a preference for younger males due to increased mutation load in their germ-line, rather than somatic quality, suggesting that germ-line quality should focus on female preference in good genes models.

Darwinian sex roles confirmed across the animal kingdom

Males experience stronger sexual selection than females across the animal kingdom, driving the evolution of conventional sex roles like female-biased parental care and male-biased sexual dimorphism.

Sexual Selection in Males and Females

Sexual selection in females is driven by intrasexual competition and male choice of mating partners, leading to strong evolution and reversals in sex differences in behavior and morphology.

Discordant sexual identity in some genetic males with cloacal exstrophy assigned to female sex at birth.

Neonatal assignment to female sex in genetic males with severe phallic inadequacy can result in unpredictable sexual identification, requiring reevaluation of clinical interventions.

Language and Gender

Men and women are genetically different, with females having two X chromosomes and males having an X and Y, and the book Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus asserts that men and women are as different as beings from other planets.

Female age: Male preference and reproductive success in primates

Males prefer older females with higher parity and have higher reproductive success with older females, regardless of age or parity.

Constraints on the coevolution of contemporary human males and females

Intralocus sexual conflict constrains the joint evolutionary responses of males and females in a contemporary human population, affecting traits like height, weight, blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol, and age at first birth.

Do females preferentially associate with males given a better start in life?

Females prefer larger males, but they spend less time with males that developed normally than those that underwent compensatory growth.

Why do males emerge before females?

Protandry in butterflies and other insects is a reproductive strategy resulting from competition for mates, primarily occurring in species maintaining female monogamy.

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