Questions about genders ... male/female

[Reader]

Greetings!

I'm new here, so I'll add a short reason why I am asking this question on this forum.

I teach worldviews classes to high schoolers. We cover Secularism, Postmodernism, Islam, New Spirituality, Christianity and Marxism. Within each worldview we cover each discipline of theology, philosophy, history, economics, sociology, ethics, biology, psychology, law and politics and how they differ across the board.

We are currently in the biology unit ... and I've pondered this question from an atheistic evolutionary viewpoint for a bit ... and I can't seem to find an answer.

So, I thought I would post here to see if you all could offer some insight.

Why do we only have two genders, male and female? [excluding asexual animal reproduction] ... just humans and almost all animals? Why only two? Why not ... say ... seven, or seven-thousand? If we have evolved over time from a single celled organism ... why did we only evolve into two genders and not more? Why did it stop at two? Thanks for your time.

[The Valkyrie]

Two genders because, since we're complex creatures, we need genetic diversity.

And, just a heads up, evolution isn't atheistic - it's scientific.

[abaris]

You're forgetting transgenders, my friend. The issue isn't as clear cut as it seems.

[Reader]

Thanks, Beccs! I call it atheistic, because God is taken out of the equation. But the question is ... why did we stop evolving after two genders? Why don't we have more now? Like 7 or 7,000 or something along those lines?

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[coldwx]

Thanks, Beccs! I call it atheistic, because God is taken out of the equation. But the question is ... why did we stop evolving after two genders? Why don't we have more now? Like 7 or 7,000 or something along those lines?

Whether there is a god or not has nothing to do with evolution. Here is a recent study on that exact question.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/c...31920.full

[Reader]

Thanks, abaris. I'm not referring to what an individual may identity with [LGBTQUIA]. I am referring to male and female ... as in born that way. Mankind needs male and female to reproduce. Why do we only have two genders and not more?

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Thanks, Beccs! I call it atheistic, because God is taken out of the equation. But the question is ... why did we stop evolving after two genders? Why don't we have more now? Like 7 or 7,000 or something along those lines?

Whether there is a god or not has nothing to do with evolution. Here is a recent study on that exact question.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/c...31920.full

Thanks, I'll check it out! Maybe that will help answer my question.

[abaris]

Thanks, Beccs! I call it atheistic, because God is taken out of the equation. But the question is ... why did we stop evolving after two genders? Why don't we have more now? Like 7 or 7,000 or something along those lines?

Why would nature need more than two genders for reproduction?

Fertilising an egg is probably the oldest way there is. Evolution isn't about changing things for change's sake. It's about making beings fit their environment.

[Jackalope]

Thanks, Beccs! I call it atheistic, because God is taken out of the equation. But the question is ... why did we stop evolving after two genders? Why don't we have more now? Like 7 or 7,000 or something along those lines?

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Probably because the reproductive disadvantages of such far overshadow any possible advantages.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Why do we only have two genders, male and female? [excluding asexual animal reproduction] ... just humans and almost all animals? Why only two? Why not ... say ... seven, or seven-thousand? If we have evolved over time from a single celled organism ... why did we only evolve into two genders and not more? Why did it stop at two? Thanks for your time.

It's easier to code for two genders than three or four, and the genetic recombination from two genders is sufficient to produce a broad array of varieties.
Also, you have a familiar style. Have you posted here or on other atheist forums before?

[The Valkyrie]

Thanks, Beccs! I call it atheistic, because God is taken out of the equation. But the question is ... why did we stop evolving after two genders? Why don't we have more now? Like 7 or 7,000 or something along those lines?

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Because two genders are all we need. If more were required we would have evolved that way.

Creationists have actually asked me why we haven't evolved with wings because we've always wanted to fly.

Well, wanting something doesn't affect evolution. We have never had the need to fly so we have not evolved that way.