• Question: when we are in are mums stomach why do we all start off as women

    Asked by botter7r2 to Amy, Drew, Julia, Sara on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Drew Rae

      Drew Rae answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hi Botter. I’m not sure what you mean by that. Maybe one of the others can help out here.

    • Photo: Amy MacQueen

      Amy MacQueen answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hi botter! Great question,

      Human gender is decided at conception – i.e. when the sperm and the egg meet from that point it is known what the baby will be. If the sperm carried a Y chromosome it will be a boy ..and if it had an X it will be a girl. So its your Dad who technically determines your sex!

      Anyhow your gender isn’t physically apparent until after 7/8 weeks of growth in the womb – after this it becomes pretty clear whether you are a boy or a girl. But before this time the embryo appears to be neutral and is though of as “female”. This is because, although they aren’t female, they do have reproductive organs more like a girl than a boy. These will continue to develop as a girls would until they receive a signal from genes expressed on the Y chromosome (which boys have). The chemicals which are released will cause the male organs to form.

      So no you are not female in your mum’s womb! From the moment your existence started it was known that you would be a boy or a girl…it’s just that your reproductive organs look female initially! Its more a neutral state rather than anything else!

    • Photo: Sara Imari Walker

      Sara Imari Walker answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hello botter! Another great question from you! And, I’ve learned a lot from Amy’s answer. I really had no idea on this one. But it’s pretty neat!

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