Male and female social roles are largely predicated on the fact that male and female reproductive functions are separated in different individuals. This paper asks why gonochorism rather than hermaphroditism, is the rule among vertebrates. We argue that hermaphroditism may be unstable in the...

Why are we not hermaphrodites? This paper argues that while hermaphroditism is an e±cient means by which genes may propagate themselves, inherent tendencies towards polygyny undermine its stabil- ity. Understanding the forces that have established a segregation of sex functions between male and...