Trip Wrong?

[Alelou]

Dare I ask what the third gender's role in Alien Nation was?

Guess I should go google it...

[Distracted]

It was very ceremonial and all, but basically the third gender went in first to prepare the way. Their semen had something in it which was necessary for conception but provided no genetic component, so the resulting child was the biologic child of the other two genders, but they couldn't get pregnant without the third gender. No preparation, no conception. Like built-in birth control. But on Alien Nation the third gender was respected. They were treated like priests... only they were definitely not celibate. Of course, on Alien Nation the male also finished gestating the child in a pouch after the female transferred the embryo to him in the second trimester, so gender roles were pretty mixed up all around.

[Asso]

A real "casino". Ahem, excuse the boldness. You know, originally in Italian language "casino" means "brothel", but from hand to hand it also took on the meaning of "tremendous mess".

[Alelou]

It's pretty hard for me to imagine an evolutionary scenario that would promote a species needing three contributors to procreate if only two actually have a genetic stake in the process. On the other hand, with cats and snakes and many other species, the female might carry the offspring of multiple males in one gestation. That presumably promotes competition that could contribute to the rise of good traits.

Of course, in evolutionary terms you could possibly argue that surgeons are becoming a third participant in Human reproduction, since Caesarean sections are allowing infant heads to get bigger than some women could have survived giving birth to in the past. And maybe fertility doctors fit into that change, too.

[Distracted]

I seem to recall that the explanation offered for three genders was that the species involved was genetically engineered to be slave labor aboard interstellar ships by an unidentified alien "master" race. The lack of an enzyme necessary for fertilization in all of the otherwise fertile males and the creation of a second sterile "male" gender that possessed the enzyme were mutations that prevented uncontrolled breeding within the confined space of an interstellar vessel by the simple expedient of isolating just a few members of the group from everyone else.

Dunno why the guys had the babies. Maybe the writers were trying to make a statement about the equality of the sexes. Or maybe they just thought it was a titillating idea.

[Silverbullet]

I believe that Natue likes to keep it simple

The third Gender was artifically engineered.

However, with th Vissians that was not te case. The third sex would not be in natures plan. she would wnat to keep it down to two sexes to help the species to survive. Having htree, one being in short supply, would increase the risk of the sepcies not surviving.

Actually, thinkthe Writers put that in and didn't think it out.

SB