6. Population functions of gender

Differences in gametogenesis are necessary in nature to ensure the realization of the population functions of the sexes. According to our current understanding, the female sex represents 'long-term memory' and the male 'operating memory' (25, c.108). This idea helps to understand the phenomenon by which the level of stress in a population influences the rate of male births.

The idea of the population functions explains the difference in average life expectancy for males and females. More accurately, these differences are a consequence of the population functions.

A difference in the average life expectancy of males and females indicates a critical situation for a population, especially in cases where male life-expectancy is on the decline. This indicates that the population is under the influence of negative factors. The influence of these factors is even more apparent if the rate of male births increases.

The secondary sex ratio and the difference in average life expectancy provide the clearest evidence for the population functions of gender. The functions have an adaptive purpose and are responsible for the continued existence of a population and its adaptation to the environment.

Well known in the field of demographic statistics is the so-called 'war phenomenon,' whereby the rate of male births rises in the years during and after a war. One of the proposed explanations for this is the natural increase in marriages after wars and other social upheavals. Clearly the ratio of the sexes is dependant on specific human behavior.

It is well established that in the normal course of the reproductive process, neither male nor female embryos are selectively eliminated (the primary sex ration does not change). Therefore 'the change in the secondary sex ratio in favor of male births is conditioned by the selective fertilization of eggs by Y-carrying sperm' (28, c.38).

The sex ratio of a population is a typological characteristic, usually characterized by stability. Under the influence of extreme factors, however, it can shift significantly, returning to its normal level only after the disappearance of these factors. All this is evidence in favor of the theory that the mechanism for regulating the sex ratio is consistent and non-random. The hypothesis that males and females are conceived with equal probability was refuted long ago. The intensity of sexual life plays an important role in the mechanism of sex determination.