Male Or Female?

“Suppose a mother invested all her resources in sons, and therefore had none left to invest in daughters: would she on average contribute more to the gene pool of the future than a rival mother who invested in daughters?” (Dawkins, pg.143)When I read this question I decided to stop reading for a minute and discuss this question and my prediction of the answer. What it seems to me is that Dawkins is asking whether it pays off more to have son or daughters. Basically it is asking which is more important for a population. My instinct and my knowledge would tell me to not even regard this question as one that has any validity: of course, both are equally important. And as the author has mentioned many times this is my perspective thinking in the conscientious way humans do. The morality of this question is insulting because I have always been a strong supporter of equality, not only in the gender issue but in every other one there is. However, when I apply my slightly scientifically thinking there has to be a difference in whether a couples offspring are male or female, and I think that the answer will be different to each population based on some specific traits they have or do not have. In the case of populations and species where the females chose the mate out of various who are trying to get the position, then I think it would be a safer and more useful bet to have females. In this population the males have to go from female to female, fighting other prospective mates to get the position, risking their health or the chance to copulate. Females in this specific group are less at risk and almost assured to reproduce, so having females would be a better way to assure that the genes will be passed on. In contrast, when a population demands that the female follows the male, then the various possible mates have to put their lives and energy at risk, and they are not sure they will find a male to copulate with while the male is almost positive that he will find a female and using fewer resources. In this case, the, it would be more productive to have a male than a female. In populations where both parents must include equal resources to have a child then it is equally productive and useful to have a male or a female. I do not know if this is the correct answer, but I do think that it makes sense and that if my answer is wrong the real explanation is not very far from it.