The Theory of Nothing

How is sex determined?

How is sex determined?

This may sound odd but there is little difference between a male and a female. The only real difference is in the formation of genitals, and this sex-determination process happens during conception. In other words it's your father' fault you are what you are so don't blame your mother.
The idea works like this. The egg cell in a female has an X-chromosome, and it waits on a suitor, the sperm from a male, which has either an X-chromosome or a Y-chromosome. The lonely sperm cell goes hunting for its mate, the female egg cell, but it has a lot of competition, millions of them. Every sperm cell wants to mate and will expend full effort to do so. If the X-chromosome containing sperm wins the race, the baby becomes a female. If the Y-chromosome sperm wins the baby is a male.
Actually, the main difference between a man and a woman is the fact that a man has outside plumbing and a woman's is inside. We all start out as an undifferentiated zygote, which is the cell that's crated just after conception (when the lonely sperm cell mates with the female egg cell). During early embryo development, both sexes have similar structures called ducts. It's at this point that the Y-chromosome, if present, begins to cause the development of testes from one of these ducts (the mesonephric) to make male gentiles. The other duct (Paramesonephric) regresses. The opposite takes place in the case of a female. The lesson to take away from this is the fact that an embryo has both structures to create a male and a female. One or the other is activated by the sex chromosomes. And guess what, this bisexual nature stays with both sexes. In other words, both sexes have male and female natures all the days of their lives.
Keep in mind that the X-chromosomes have much more genetic information and are the determining gene in sexual development. Females have two X-chromosomes, which give the female the edge in this process, but it's the male who ultimately makes the choice because of the fact that sperms cells can have either an X- or a Y-chromosome.
Now that we understand the how, we must investigate the why. In other words, what parameters affect this sex determination process? This is a highly debated question and much of the answers are based on myth.
There are many factors that have been proposed to decide a baby's sex such as diet, exercise, environment, racial differences, and so forth. Are any of these legitimate?
One such study indicates that if the mother-to-be eats breakfast cereal with lots of potassium, the chances improve to have a girl. Another theory is based on the fact that Y-sperm requires an alkaline environment while X-sperm likes acidic. In this case a boy baby would favor a mother's diet rich in sodium and potassium such as red meat, bananas, and peaches. To cause a female baby the mother needs calcium and magnesium in foods such as broccoli, apples and fish. Or so the adage goes.
The most proposed method to force the gender of a baby is timing sexual intercourse. This is based on theory that Y-sperms are faster swimmers and thus can reach the egg cell sooner than the X-sperms. If you want a girl, you should have sex two to three days before ovulation so that the Y-sperms die off and allow the slow swimming X-sperms to win the race.
The idea that makes me laugh is based on the same theory of the slow and fast swimming sperm. This involves the sexual position. If you want a boy, use the rear entry position because this releases the sperm much closer to the cervix to allow the Y-sperm to get their faster. If you want a girl, use the Missionary position, which releases the sperm further from the cervix, allowing the slower X-sperms to win. You can laugh now!
The reality is that there is no guaranteed method to force the sex of a baby, so just accept what God gives you and hope that the baby is healthy.

Thanks for reading.