Ideas about how the female body works are sometimes distorted by societal stereotypes about gender, despite scientific evidence. (Image courtesy of Christian Sontar via Shutterstock)
There is a common belief that sperm act like runners in a grand race, vying with each other to fertilize the egg at the finish line. The egg, in turn, patiently waits for a lucky sperm to break through its protective shell, which initiates the fertilization process. This metaphor of sperm racing and waiting eggs has been passed down through generations, but it is completely untrue. Scientific research has repeatedly disproved this concept.
In her new book, The Strong Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body (Seal Press/Hachette, 2025), author and science writer Starre Vartan deconstructs this and other common myths about the female body, focusing on what science actually tells us about biological differences between the sexes and where there are still gaps in our knowledge, in large part due to a historical lack of research on women.
Eggs are picky (but we keep forgetting)
Producing all of the eggs together, stress testing them, and discarding most of them, with only one ready to be fertilized, is an adaptive strategy in mammals. It represents an evolution of reproductive strategy, says Professor Lynnette Siewert, a biological anthropologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The shift is a departure from an earlier, or more primitive, way of reproducing that fish, amphibians, and most reptiles continue to use successfully.
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Sourse: www.livescience.com
