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| Who are you calling a sequential hermaphrodite?! © Deviney | Dreamstime.com |
I know, I've been neglecting you lately.
My work has been mentally busy (appropriate I guess) and I've been a bit of a writerly tart, slutting about in online mags instead of here.
Fear not, I'm back blathering on about vaginas and nature and toilets again.
On the subject of vaginas and nature and toilets, did you know that some creatures can start life as one sex and then change into another? It's called dichogamy, and those creatures are referred to as sequential hermaphrodites.
No I'm not about to confess some major life-changing decision.
Sequential hermaphrodites can be born either sex and change to the other, or have both sets of gonads but perform either female or male functions during different stages of life. Thank you Wikipedia.
How terrific would it be if humans were sequential hermaphrodites?
What would the impact be?
Most sequential hermaphrodites can only change once, so it would probably be an all-or-nothing deal.
Would we all be men? Or all women?
What would be the advantages of changing?
Fellas, imagine how much more wardrobe space you'd need.
Gals, imagine not having to sit down to pee.
Imagine what a different movie Finding Nemo might have been if Marlin had behaved like a real male clownfish. Male clownfish stay in their anemone and change to female if a mate is lost, so they can attract another mate and continue making perfect little sequentially hermaphroditic offspring.
Nemo who?
Would you change your gender, if you could never change back again?
