Many species of living things exist in two or more forms that combine genetic material in order to reproduce. This is called
sexual reproduction. Typically, a species will have two forms, called
male and
female (the female being the one that produces the larger
gamete).
Fungi and some other organisms exist in more than two sexes, but still reproduce in pairs (any two differing sexes may reproduce). The word
sex is also used to refer to
sexual intercourse, the physical acts related to
sexual reproduction. Some species are capable of both sexual and
asexual reproduction.
Increasingly, the term sex is distinguished from the term gender?. Sex is used to refer to the biological division into male and female, while gender is used to the division as a social and cultural construction. There is an increasing awareness that the two sexes are not discrete, but rather a continuum, along which lie many intermediate positions (see intersexuals). Many argue that the division of human beings into male and female is a social construction, and that in reality there are at least five sexes (male, female, merm, ferm and herm), although the first two are the most common.
You may also be interested in:
- Human sexuality
- Bisexuality
- Heterosexuality
- Homosexuality
- Sexology
- Paraphilias
- [Sex education]?
- Birth control
- Abortion
- Contraception
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome -- commonly referred to as AIDS
- Herpes?
- Syphilis
- Gonorrhea?
- [Artistic depictions of sex]?
- Erotica
- Pornography
- [Religious views on sex]?
- Fetish
- [Sex crime]?
- Rape or sexual assualt
- Child sexual abuse or molestation
- Incest
- [Lust murder]?
- [Sex humor]?
- Trysexual