Exclusive online articles

Browse through library of exclusive online articles below - produced to complement the print issue of 'Big Picture on Sex and Gender' - to find out more about sex and gender.

The nature of sex

"The animals went in two by two": the Noah's Ark story reminds us that animals come in two sorts - males and females. And to create new ones, you usually need to start with one of each.

XYY - Stereotype of the karyotype
It's not only people with intersex conditions who experience gender-related stereotyping by society. Men with an extra Y chromosome - XYY - have been characterised as potentially violent…

The evolution of sex

Humans, like all mammals reproduce sexually. Sexual reproduction increases genetic variability. If one form is susceptible to disease, others will survive. In an asexual population, all would be doomed.

Gay times
Find out what biology, evolutionary theory and studies of sheep have revealed about homosexuality.

Theories of sex
Why is sexual reproduction so important?

Lost in love
Is being in love a pathological condition? It certainly has some profound effects on our behaviour - and our physiology.

Vive la difference

Physical differences between the sexes are fairly obvious. But how different are their brains and behaviour?

Upbringing versus biology
Do gender-specific behaviours arise in children because of biological factors or because infants are encouraged (consciously or sub-consciously) to conform to particular gender roles?

The brain game
Are men's brains bigger than women's? Are women's better connected? How important are the left and right hemispheres?

An academic storm
Is there evidence to suggest that there are intrinsic differences in ability between men and women?

Medical differences

Many diseases affect men and women equally. Some show a bias for obvious biological reasons - women don't get testicular cancer (though men can get breast cancer) - but there are some differences with less obvious causes.

Blue genes
Very little is known about differences in gene activity between males and females, or what the implications of differences might be.

Doing without sex
Will we ever take the human out of human reproduction?

Sex and society

How does society view males and females? Find out below.

High fidelity
We expect sexual partners to be loyal. But does this conflict with basic urges to spread our genes? Are male and female animals naturally loyal or born to be promiscuous? The answers are surprising.

Women’s rights
Sexual equality is enshrined in UK law. But it took hundreds of years of struggle for women to achieve equal status.

Being positive
If we think sexual equality is a good principle, should we be more active in enabling women to advance?

Are men redundant?

Things don't look good for British men. The Y chromosome seems to be fading away. There's no heavy industry left for hefty young males to work in.

Gender threats
Feminised fish and saggy sperm - are sperm counts in terminal decline? Are all our male fish being turned into females?