Faith Gibson
Daughter, Mother, Midwife
February 3rd, 2025
Word count ~ 1,56
Sexual Identity begins with the story of the two Complimentary Genders
In the book of Genesis, the human species is described as two equal and cooperative genders made in the image of God – “male and female he created them … and he blessed them”. According to that passage, both genders were equally “created in the image of God”.
We don’t know how or why our human species came about, or who to thank for the gift of life – God? evolution? or something else? We don’t have that answer, but we do know that we are here now! Either way, the facts of the matter are exactly the same — human reproduction is a reliable biological process without which I would not be typing these words into my Apple laptop and you would not be reading them on yours!
The Story of Biological Reproduction from A to Z
Sexually mature or ‘adult’ males provide the biological trigger to the physiological process of human reproduction. They do this by releasing approximately 75 million microscopic sperm far too small to be seen with the human eye into the birth canal of a healthy sexually-mature female.
If by chance it happens to be approximately 14 days after the first day of the female’s last menstrual cycle, and she is less than 50 years old, it’s highly likely that she will be ovulating. That means an unfertilized ovum from one of her ovaries has risen to the surface, popped out, and begin its brief migratory journey of a few silly millimeters into the fluted open end of one of her fallopian tubes.
The other end of each fallopian tubes is attached on each side of her uterus near the top. The human uterus also has a natural opening at the very bottom called the “cervix”. These biological structures of human female anatomy are hollow and form a contiguous passage. The recently released ovum that now is inside in the woman’s fallopian tube in her abdomen, and the cervical opening at the upper end of the female vaginia, allows recently ejaculated sperm to swim into the uterus, where they can fertilize a recently released human ovum or ‘egg’.
Should our mythical female consent to having unprotected intercourse with a sexually mature and fertile male of the species, and he is invited to ejaculates in her vagina, 75 million sperm will swim madly upstream through the 2-inch long uterine passage, then dart into one of the openings at the top of her uterus that lead to her the two fallopian tubes in her abdomen.
Each of these millions of microscopic sperms are frantically searching for the ultimate prize — the raison d’etre of their entire being — by being the one and only sperm to successfully fertilize the waiting ovum. This will bestow endless bragging rights for that single special sperm that made a pregnancy biologically possible out of a pool of 75 million sperm who tried, but failed, to be the “special one” who passed their genes into the genetic pool of the humanity as a species that so far has been successful for at least 300,000 years.
But each time, only one sperm will win the race by being the very first to reach the far end of the fallopian tube, where a tiny biological tunnel fans out from the tip of the fallopian tube to provide the perfect circumstances for our hero of the day to be first to reach, and fertilize, that one waiting ovum.
However, the reproductive future of that fertilized ovum — whether or not it produces a viable pregnancy that precedes to term and results in the live birth of a physically healthy newborn — will be the result of that particular genetically-programed fertilized ovum. This is a combination of the 23 genes contributed by the male and the 23 female genes, which together make up the magic number of 46 functional genomes! These genes combine and recombine to make the blueprint for a viable nine-month incubation period that we describe as a healthy pregnancy, one that supports the growth of a microscopic fertilized ovum into a live born baby as the predictable culmination of a nine months of normal gestation.
However, none of this can happen without the on-going good health and ample biological resources of the woman’s healthy mind and body. In addition to overall good health, each pregnant girl or woman must have reliable access to all critical nutrients — a sufficient quantity and quality of calories provided by fresh, tasty and nutritionally-balanced meals on a daily basis.
This is why it’s so important that the female of our species be cared for responsibly by her social nexus, and that social structure rests on a reliably democratic foundation that values and protects human life. As the pregnant vessel of an unborn baby we owe her, as an individual willing to become a prospective mother to her unborn her fetus and newborn infant that this mother-baby unit are well-nourished and physically safe, even when that requires support from social and government entities.
The ‘role’ of “The People”, as a democratic country represented by elected officials who, as faithful employees with an ethical duty to our human species, see that childbearing women are supported in ways that provide a stable foundation for girls to grow into women that are physically and nutritionally able to “thrive”. At that point, they become autonomous humans who are legally able to determine what happens to their own minds and bodies. That includes decisions about if, and/or when they will have children.
For the continued propagation of a health human species, all pregnant women must be reliably well-fed, well-rested and protected from work-place critical levels of stress and related biological and phycological damage. This means not being repeatedly exposed to toxic substances.
Equally important is to protect working women from deleterious levels of stress that repeatedly trigger the release of adrenal hormones. When those critical parameters cannot be met, many childbearing women are unable to conceive, others have repeated miscarriages or they give birth prematurely to babies that are too tiny to survive outside of their mother’s womb or who as fragile premature babies require intensive medicalization that often costs million of dollars.
Winner in the genetic lottery: One supper-swimmer sperm, many millions of losers
Biologically speaking, the one male sperm who won the race out of the original 75 million suitors has successfully carried out Mother Nature’s biological plan for “survival of the fittest”. Mother Nature has an ancient but nonetheless brilliant plan with many intricate steps over so many generations that continues to produce our very successful human species. I do believe a that calls for a standing ovation!
New Life, New Possibilities, New Responsibilities, New Rules:
However, the story doesn’t end here, because the birth of each baby is just the beginning of a very long, but also very important, social contract that literally has been accepted and respected billions and billions of times over the last 300,000-plus years – while we can’t explain “creation”, we nonetheless can ignore the fact that we exist: the “I am that I am”. that the helpless infants pushed out of a woman’s body at the term her pregnancy will be respected, protected, cared for, treated tenderly, regularly fed, diapered, eventually taught how to walk and talk, dress themselves, tie their own shoes, lead to read and write and generally take care of themselves and to gradually take on the personal, ethical and social responsibilities of being a contributing adult.
In the very most practical way, this is the central reason that the human species inhabits our planet today. It all began in a very far-distant past when the two genders of our human species somehow magically “appeared” – a circumstance for which there is absolutely no factual explanation. We either have to describe humanity as a totally inexplicable “miracle” or explain our origins scientifically, that is, the result of a slow but inexorable “evolution” in which a branch of “primates” monkeys and gorillas (whose origins are also a total mystery) as having slowly “evolved” into our current homo-sapiens species.
Personally, I find both of these origin stories to be equally unsatisfactory. The idea that humans evolved from primates is merely a “cheap shot”. It just kicks the ticking time-ball backwards, to an earlier but equally unexplained time generally referred to as “the creation of the world” (i.e. planet earth). That still doesn’t answer the gazillion-dollar question of how and why primates were created, populated the world and somehow metamorphosized into the current homo-sapiens species.
If your preferred answer is “God created humanity” – equally unlikely but always a possibility — we just have to accept the cosmic joke (i.e. grand mystery) of “humanity” with grace and good humor. It’s extremely unlikely that we, as individuals or members of the human species, will ever know exactly how our species came about, or what the ultimate consequences of human habitation on Planet Earth will be.
Do we continue to “exist” as homo-sapiens species in which billions of people inhabit a vibrant world that honors “life” and mutually concludes that the best hope for humanity – the only hope that “ends well” is for us as individuals and countries with organized governments is to continue to work together for the ‘greater good’? The other “option” for our species is to keep blowing each other up, as currently acted out by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, only to devolve back into another stone age in which Planet Earth become just another uninhabited rock – a dead planet slowly revolving around a dying sun.
However, I believe the core fact of humanity’s existence is unchanged. We live. The world is alive with life. Whether you call these life-forms a “miracle” of the Gods, or the result of evolutionary science, the facts remain the same — inexplicable events and circumstances that have always been beyond our comprehension will, with 99.999% probability, remain inexplicable. The sun will continue to rise in the morning and set in the evening; we will sleep, and dream, and wake to each new day, blessed by the possibility that we can help that ‘new’ day also be a ‘good’ day.
My prayer is always that we, as a species, define “a good day” as one that includes the daily pleasure of being alive within a calm happiness that is sprinkled with occasional bursts of pure joy. This is the predictably product of getting our own humble but very essential human needs met most of the time, while also having the band-width and intention to honestly cooperate with others and provide help when needed. No man, woman or child, no person who is black, white or one of a thousand rainbow colors is an island!
My hope and prayer for our frequently beleaguered homo-sapiens species is that we would all live in a community in state in a country in a world that is has evolved enough that, with the exception of certain corrupt regimes beginning with the letter “R” (you know who you are and we not fooled!) no longer eats its young! I pray on behalf of our human species to live long enough to see the majority of the population in the majority of countries conclude that peaceful cooperation and mutual assistance is the only strategy that actually works!
I must note just how far this currently is from the constant political warfare of partisan politics as end-all and be-all of our very besieged democracy. It would be foolish for us sit back and just assume that our national political system will “take care of itself” and all will be well.
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It has to be OK for each of us to be “OK” on our own, and then use our skills as individuals to reach out to the people around us — family and friends and one hopes for our community, our country and a world populated by people that see wisdom – being wise — as a gift that helps us cooperate with others and work together. The goal is the greater good and the gift of hope for life on earth in which everyone has enough to eat, a safe place to sleep and the possibility that tomorrow will be at least as good, and one can hope, even better than today!
We will continue to accept these “stories” just as I accepted, as an indisputable fact, that the sun rose this morning, as evidenced by the sunlight streaming into my bedroom window on the east side of my home. It will continue to march across the Heavens and then as afternoon wanes, it will slowly “set” as darkness begins to descend and the fulness of the night covers this side of Planet Earth.
Since I am unable to actually “understand” this grand but inexplicable process, I have chosen to simply “accept” the miracle of life for the miracle it is obviously is! Whether this is trees or bees or newborn babies, “biological LIFE” is an inexplicable blessing that should trigger an “attitude of gratitude” in us hundreds of times a day!
Metaphorically “Adam” and “Eve” are identified as the origin of our homo-sapiens species – healthy young males who deposited 75 million invisible sperm in the female birth canal. Since it only take one out of the 75,000 to successfully impregnated healthy young women, the odds greatly favor with a tiny undeveloped human living inside its “mother’s” body.
We describe these unborn “babies” or ‘fetus’. This biological entity is that has to gestate for approximately nine months be born, gave birth to and raised each human infant as an especially valuable aspect of our species.
In the modern world, countries with binding social systems safeguard human life within a legal system that hold parents responsible for the life and wellbeing of their off-spring. The mother and fathers of each newborn are ethically and legally bound to love and care for this tiny infant, day and night, in “sickness and in health, til’ death do they part”, for the first 18 years of the child’s life. That includes calling for help if your infant or child is having a life-threatening health problem.
DRAFT state-sanctioned legal marriage is the obvious origin of , wither this is extension of the vows exchanged by marital partners – whether this is a or a private and personal commitment to love and cherish – that all minor children, however they are and however this became one’s personal responsibility will be tenderly cared for based on the most basic foundation of our human species – to love one another.
If a man or older adolescent boy does not want to be, or for other reasons cannot be responsible for the consequences of his having ejaculated in the birth canal without using a condom or other reliable method to prevent conception, and the female becomes pregnant as a result, then this adult male has a responsibility to feed, cloth, house, and educate the child to the age of majority.
“Thou Shalt Not Ejaculate unprotected into the Vagina of a Woman of Childbearing Age unless Thee is able and Willing to Pay the Full Price for Resulting Pregnancy and the first 18 years of that Child’s Life!”
Henceforth, he must, a priori, refrain from ever again ejaculating in the birth canal in the birth canal of a potentially fertile female with using a condom or other reliable contraception.
No exceptions, no excuses!
Not ejaculating unprotected into the birth canal of potentially fertile women eliminates the divisive political controversy over the termination of problematic pregnancies, whether that is a young woman who is unable, for whatever reason, to raise a child, the expectant mother’s chronic ill health, or a women who already has a sizable family, has to work one or more jobs outside her home to support her family, and/or is already at the breaking point because she does not have the resources to adequately feed, clothe, house and provide adequate personal attention the children she already has, much less be able to properly care for newborn and raise another child while continuing to work outside her home to feed her family.
The reason for this intergenerational deprivation — a perverse gift that “keeps on giving”– for childbearing women is inadequate income. They often need to care for a family member with a serious illness or permanent disability, or other factors that deprives women with families of the help they so badly need. Without assistance and more resources, they will never have the means to feed and house their older children and at the same time to love and care for a tiny new infant, day and night, in sickness and in health, for the first 18 years of the child’s life. While this lose-lose situation is hardest on the older children, it inevitably affects our whole society in a variety of negative ways.
Giving back for the Gift of Life given to us
As members of something as special as the human species, graced with life and gifted by a native intelligence that literally rocketed humankind to the moon and back, we are smart enough, economically well-off enough, creative enough to “man-up” and take care of one another through this metaphoric blizzard of difficulties, poetically described by the US Postal Service as pledging that “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” would keep them from doing their job.
Very few of us work for the USPS, but millions of us are capable and responsible adults. We can express our gratitude for life, reasonably good health, the love of family and friends, having enough to eat every day and being able to live indoors, by acknowledging that we have a responsibility to give back to others who are not so fortunate as we.
With some regularly we can say “thank you” to whatever or whoever gave us life by providing help to the hungry, shelter for the unhoused, and financially supporting community-run program that are working to ameliorate suffering where possible and if not, at least reduce the physical and psychological deprivations of poverty and mental illness.
All that’s left to say is that is time for EVERYBODY who isn’t too ill, injured or ancient-of-days to collectively put on our Big Boy Pants and go out outside of our personal comfort zone. That means being grateful for the gift of life and giving back as an act of appreciation for what we have received by doing what we can, when we can, If a man or older adolescent boy does not want to be, or for other reasons cannot be responsible for the consequences of his having ejaculated in the birth canal of a potentially fertile female who becomes pregnant as a result, then it is the responsibility of this adult male to feed, cloth, house, and educate the child to the age of majority.
Faith ^0^
PS: So far have been blessed with “long life”, as I am celebrating my 82nd birthday today
:etting it be OK to be where we are, with what we’ve got.
