Female – male – diverse: Is it that simple?

Abstract

The evolution of bisexual reproduction was and is the driving force behind evolution, as it generates the variability between individuals that is necessary for adaptation. Compared to asexual reproduction, however, it has the disadvantage that it only produces half as many offspring. It also leads to evolutionary conflicts between the sexes. These disadvantages can only be outweighed by the advantage of producing particularly high variability. Therefore, individuals arising from sexual reproduction show overlapping morphological characteristics and behaviour patterns, which are also influenced by the environment. Fluidity between the sexes is also a natural consequence of this variability. This continuum of differences is not reflected by a categorization into “male – female – diverse”.