Your appearance is determined by your genes. A mother contributes two X chromosomes, and a father contributes one X and one Y. Only the X chromosomes determine a person's traits, so more genetic information is passed on by one's mother.
In Biology we are studying genetics, and we have learned that some traits are dominant, and others are recessive. This means that if parents have two conflicting traits, like free earlobes and attached earlobes, the child will have free earlobes because it is the dominant trait, the one that shows itself when conflicting traits are present. Because a mother contributes more genetic information, her dominant traits are shown more often.
One of our worksheets showed. the image above. The focal point is the two people, and after that the viewer's eyes go to the heading above the people. Above the man is the word "dominant", and above the woman is the word "recessive". Another word for "dominant" is "superior", and this is what the worksheet seems to be saying about men, while "recessive" means "modest" or "introverted". It would make more sense to show the woman as the dominant one, since she contributes more genetic information.
Is this simply a coincidence, or did the creator of this worksheet consciously decide to place the man under the heading "dominant"? Is our society still sexist enough to say that the man is the dominant one?
I think that the image itself is a coincidence, but I am confused by your scientific logic (even if this comment will be rather irrelevant as a result)
ReplyDeletethe X chromosome doesn't determine all traits, and even though the X chromosome is larger than the Y chromosome, the difference in actual material is not that great. Since women are XX, how does that mean that the mother passes on more genetic information? Although some traits are sex determined, and are more likely for men (like hemophilia or red/green colorblindness), that is not a result of the mother passing on more genetic information, but as a result of the Y Chromosome being sort of incomplete. I also am confused by your logic that only the X Chromosome determines traits, because each parent contributes more than just their sex determining chromosomes, like down syndrome is caused by having 3 chromosome 21s, not from X or Y chromosomes.
Thank you for your insight. I was simply stating what we have learned in Biology class, and some of it very well could be wrong. My point was mainly about the picture on the worksheet, and I wanted to give some background information so that my point would be more understandable.
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