Men Are Obsolete
Wolfram Donat
October 16, 2005
I am a male; therefore, I am obsolete.
At first blush that may seem a bit extreme, but with a little thought, one can see that it is nonetheless true. To paraphrase a famous quotation, man?s technology is rapidly outpacing his humanity, and every new advance in the biological sciences takes him farther away from his roots.
From the time that multi-celled organisms first took hold on this planet, life, for the most part, has required two sexes in order to propagate. Whether two-legged, four-legged or no-legged, there has always been a need for both an X chromosome and a Y chromosome. Some life can reproduce asexually, but the higher orders have needed the gene mix only attainable through sexual reproduction.
Until now. The arrival on the scene of Dolly the sheep spelled the beginning of the end for the human male. In the past, cloning had been accomplished, but only on the lower forms of life. Life forms such as mammals were deemed too complex to successfully clone. Then Dolly appeared, and since then rumors have spread that various groups across the globe are racing to be the first to clone a human.
No longer is sperm necessary. If a new life can be created using genetic material from one host, then it is a very small step to creating a new life using genetic material from two hosts of the same sex.
The male role has, until the past hundred years or so, been that of provider and protector. His larger physique has enabled him to fill that position. However, the invention of weapons - first the bow and arrow, and then the gun - has enabled the female to step into the traditionally male roles. One does not need to be burly and muscular to pull the trigger and kill a buffalo to feed the tribe. If one is attacked in wartime, a woman is just as able to mow down opposing forces as is a man.
The man has also been considered somewhat expendable, since he neither carries nor nurses the baby. Once he has donated the genetic material, his role in the growth of the young is effectively ended. In fact, this also contributes to his obsolescence. Two women can have a baby, since either one of them can carry it to term. Two men may also have a baby, but physical constraints would force them to use artificial incubation methods, methods that are more prone to failure.
The scenario now could go something like this. Jane and Mary decide to get together and have a baby. Each donates genetic material, which is mixed in the lab by a female doctor and inserted into a blank (generic) egg. The egg is then implanted into Mary?s uterus. The embryo, which is, of course, female, since there was no Y chromosome involved in its conception, grows to term and is delivered by Mary. The newborn is not a clone of either Jane or Mary, but is a fully unique human being with the distinction of not having or needing a father.
Gentlemen, I give us 20 years.
At first blush that may seem a bit extreme, but with a little thought, one can see that it is nonetheless true. To paraphrase a famous quotation, man?s technology is rapidly outpacing his humanity, and every new advance in the biological sciences takes him farther away from his roots.
From the time that multi-celled organisms first took hold on this planet, life, for the most part, has required two sexes in order to propagate. Whether two-legged, four-legged or no-legged, there has always been a need for both an X chromosome and a Y chromosome. Some life can reproduce asexually, but the higher orders have needed the gene mix only attainable through sexual reproduction.
Until now. The arrival on the scene of Dolly the sheep spelled the beginning of the end for the human male. In the past, cloning had been accomplished, but only on the lower forms of life. Life forms such as mammals were deemed too complex to successfully clone. Then Dolly appeared, and since then rumors have spread that various groups across the globe are racing to be the first to clone a human.
No longer is sperm necessary. If a new life can be created using genetic material from one host, then it is a very small step to creating a new life using genetic material from two hosts of the same sex.
The male role has, until the past hundred years or so, been that of provider and protector. His larger physique has enabled him to fill that position. However, the invention of weapons - first the bow and arrow, and then the gun - has enabled the female to step into the traditionally male roles. One does not need to be burly and muscular to pull the trigger and kill a buffalo to feed the tribe. If one is attacked in wartime, a woman is just as able to mow down opposing forces as is a man.
The man has also been considered somewhat expendable, since he neither carries nor nurses the baby. Once he has donated the genetic material, his role in the growth of the young is effectively ended. In fact, this also contributes to his obsolescence. Two women can have a baby, since either one of them can carry it to term. Two men may also have a baby, but physical constraints would force them to use artificial incubation methods, methods that are more prone to failure.
The scenario now could go something like this. Jane and Mary decide to get together and have a baby. Each donates genetic material, which is mixed in the lab by a female doctor and inserted into a blank (generic) egg. The egg is then implanted into Mary?s uterus. The embryo, which is, of course, female, since there was no Y chromosome involved in its conception, grows to term and is delivered by Mary. The newborn is not a clone of either Jane or Mary, but is a fully unique human being with the distinction of not having or needing a father.
Gentlemen, I give us 20 years.
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