Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Kuu · 11-30-2002, 04:04 AM

I work in a mining department library and the other day one of the geologists mentioned he had read that geologists father many more girls than boys. When we tallied up the occurence of boys vs girls among our geologists it wasn't much help as many of them are unmarried and the others only had a handful of children between them.

However someone said that they had heard that this also occurs in the families of sailors and pilots that are overseas a lot so I guess it might have something to do with being away from their wives. It would seem that the more often one has sex the more often boys are born, I think

What I would like to know is would there be any evolutionary benefit for fathers that are away a fair bit to father girls instead of boys? To me it would seem that the opposite should happen.

semyaza · 11-30-2002, 05:26 AM

Sounds like bollocks to me. For one thing, I'm not sure that spermatazoa have the wits to figure out what geographic location thay happen to be in

For another thing, I'm not sure that there is any mechanism in the male body that can select sperm based on which chromosome they carry.

SULPHUR · 11-30-2002, 05:54 AM

I started to be a geologist in tassie and had two boys.Could this be supernatural?

Kuu · 11-30-2002, 01:24 PM

Is there any evidence that having sex more or less often changes sex selection? Don't female sperm live longer than male sperm. If female sperm lives longer wouldn't it mean that those sperms have a greater chance of impregnanting a woman if sex was a little less infrequent?

I think the question only concerned geologists who undertake regular field trips and it seems to have been asked as a question from a British geologist in The New Scientist (he had only daughters). As I said our geologists don't seem to be a good bunch to do a sample on.

Kuu · 11-30-2002, 01:35 PM

I have been looking for an answer on the web and though I cannot find anything relaying to the occupation of the father I have found this theory

Quote:

Hazel Phillips in her book (Choosing the Sex of Your Baby - the Natural Way) refined the timing method further by asking couples to take into account the husband's sperm count. For conceiving a boy, she recommends the husband to abstain from sex for at least a week or more so that at ovulation, the sperm count will be high making it more likely that a male sperm will reach the egg first. For conceiving girls, she advises the husband to have frequent ejaculations until several days before ovulation and then the couple should have intercourse 2-5 days before ovulation. By doing this, the sperm count will be low and the chances of the male sperm surviving in acidic conditions and fertilising the egg will be lower still. She claims in her book that couples who follow her methods for conceiving a boy or girl are successful over 80% of the time

The Lone Ranger · 11-30-2002, 04:57 PM

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1937690.stm" target="_blank">Smokers produce more baby girls.</a>

Quote:

Parents who smoke both before and around the time of conception are more likely to have female babies, it is claimed.

The male to female ratio of children has declined substantially over the past few decades and it has been suggested environmental pollution may be to blame.

It is claimed toxic environmental agents could affect males and the male reproductive system.

The latest study suggests smoking may either damage male sperm cells or jeopardise the chance of the male foetus implanting in the uterus, or both.

***

According to Robin Baker, a British researcher of human sexuality, there can be adaptive advantages to altering the sex ratio from the expected 50/50.

The logic goes something like this: high-status males tend to have access to more sexual partners than do low-status males, therefore, if you're a high-status couple, you'll probably have more grandchildren from a son than from a daughter.

Baker has looked at the incidence of sons vs. daughters in people who hold high political office (U.S. presidents, for instance). It has been a while since I read his work, but as I recall, he claimed that there is a small, but statistically significant tendency for people holding such high-status positions to have more sons than daughters.

Cheers,

Michael

Amen-Moses · 11-30-2002, 05:45 PM

On average young males produce male offspring and older males produce female offspring.

Makes perfect sense if you think about it.

Amen-Moses

Shake · 12-01-2002, 06:23 AM

I seem to remember when the wife and I were trying for our first child, that there was something about the effect of the woman having an orgasm affecting the sex of the child. Unfortunately, I can't remember right now which it favored. It might have had something to do with physically where the sperm were deposited, since the male ones are faster, but the female ones are stronger. So, if they're further away from the egg, more of the male sperm will get there first, but if they're fairly close, the chances will be more even and may even favor the female.

11-30-2002, 04:04 AM	#1
Kuu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tasmania Posts: 710	This might seem to be a silly question I work in a mining department library and the other day one of the geologists mentioned he had read that geologists father many more girls than boys. When we tallied up the occurence of boys vs girls among our geologists it wasn't much help as many of them are unmarried and the others only had a handful of children between them. However someone said that they had heard that this also occurs in the families of sailors and pilots that are overseas a lot so I guess it might have something to do with being away from their wives. It would seem that the more often one has sex the more often boys are born, I think What I would like to know is would there be any evolutionary benefit for fathers that are away a fair bit to father girls instead of boys? To me it would seem that the opposite should happen.

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11-30-2002, 05:26 AM	#2
semyaza Regular Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 104	Sounds like bollocks to me. For one thing, I'm not sure that spermatazoa have the wits to figure out what geographic location thay happen to be in For another thing, I'm not sure that there is any mechanism in the male body that can select sperm based on which chromosome they carry.

11-30-2002, 05:54 AM	#3
SULPHUR Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: hobart,tasmania Posts: 551	I started to be a geologist in tassie and had two boys.Could this be supernatural?

11-30-2002, 01:24 PM	#4
Kuu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tasmania Posts: 710	Is there any evidence that having sex more or less often changes sex selection? Don't female sperm live longer than male sperm. If female sperm lives longer wouldn't it mean that those sperms have a greater chance of impregnanting a woman if sex was a little less infrequent? I think the question only concerned geologists who undertake regular field trips and it seems to have been asked as a question from a British geologist in The New Scientist (he had only daughters). As I said our geologists don't seem to be a good bunch to do a sample on.

11-30-2002, 05:45 PM	#7
Amen-Moses Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Portsmouth, England Posts: 4,652	On average young males produce male offspring and older males produce female offspring. Makes perfect sense if you think about it. Amen-Moses

12-01-2002, 06:23 AM	#8
Shake Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Folding@Home in upstate NY Posts: 14,394	I seem to remember when the wife and I were trying for our first child, that there was something about the effect of the woman having an orgasm affecting the sex of the child. Unfortunately, I can't remember right now which it favored. It might have had something to do with physically where the sperm were deposited, since the male ones are faster, but the female ones are stronger. So, if they're further away from the egg, more of the male sperm will get there first, but if they're fairly close, the chances will be more even and may even favor the female.

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