A child carries the family name of the father, and not the mother – is there a biological basis?

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday [www.pbs.gov.ph]


Sperm cells carry either the X or the Y chromosome, while the ovum or egg carries only the X chromosomes. In this simple matrix we can see how the sex of the offspring is determined.

Male (sperm) Female (ova)

Y - X

X - X

The possible combinations obtained during fertilization are XY and XX, thus the ratio or possibility of producing a boy or a girl is 50:50. This formula is universal in nature and applies in higher animals and dioecious plants. Exceptions are those in the lower forms of living things.

This biological basis is unknown to man in the past, yet early civilizations and cultures were principally patriarchal. Could it be possible that the Y chromosome in man also dictates his superiority over women? Is this nature’s way of setting the functions of man and woman apart but compatible? If it is so, then it is man’s superiority that is designed to protect the woman and sustain their family, and woman’s submissiveness to give him offspring and home. ~