Are Men Really a Rare Species? - Chapter 7: Men Have Declined

While being held by Mom, we watch TV together.

“Genes, they are the blueprint of life──”

The gentle narration flows from the television.

I see, so we’re studying biology today.

“──Genes, also known as DNA, are important life structures that shape living organisms──”

Oh.

The explanation of the double helix structure is quite detailed.

I think this content might be a bit difficult for a 6-year-old… What do you think, Mom?

Thinking about such things, when I looked back, Mama, who was holding me, had the same smile as always.

Apparently, this show is good.

Well, if you say it’s typical of Mom, then it is.

Maybe that’s why she uses even difficult books as teaching materials without hesitation.

Thanks to her, my studies have progressed quite a bit.

Well, on the inside, I’m just a college-educated guy.

On the contrary, it’s more painful to be limited to reading picture books.

“──The genes of living organisms are recorded in structures called chromosomes, which are located within the cells──”

Yeah.

I learned about this in middle school science.

I listen through to the next topic while reviewing it in my mind.

“──There are two types of sex chromosomes. One is the X chromosome, and the other is the Y chromosome──”

When the conversation progressed to sex chromosomes, Mom opened her mouth with a pleased expression.

“See~, Yuu-chan, these sex chromosomes are present in both you and Mama.”

Yeah, I know.

I know, but I’ll pretend to just have found out by saying, “Oh, right.”

I think it’s questionable for a 6-year-old to understand this, but I also think it’s questionable for my mom to dismiss such a 6-year-old with just the word “genius.”

“──Our human sex is determined by the combination of these X and Y chromosomes──”

In my ear, Mama whispers, “This is the important part, Yuu-chan, listen carefully.”

Ah, I guess the gender part is important here after all.

“──Humans inherit an X chromosome from their mother and either an X or Y chromosome from their father.

If the child inherits the X chromosome from the father, the child’s sex chromosomes will be ‘XX,’ resulting in a female.

Conversely, if the Y chromosome is inherited from the father, the child’s sex chromosomes will be ‘XY,’ resulting in a male──”

“Yuu-chan~, because this sex chromosome is ‘XY’~, is a boy~.”

Mom says that with a really happy voice.

It’s like the voice of a gacha player boasting about pulling a UR Ultra Rare in one shot without a pity system.

Yeah, I get it, Mom.

Because, on this Earth, inheriting the Y chromosome itself is super, super, super rare, right?

So they unravel the history of the Earth, and they find that women have always outnumbered men since ancient times.

However, that ratio was approximately 1:1.2 for men to women, and it wasn’t as extremely skewed as it is now.

It started to go crazy around the 5th century BC.

Until now, murals and ancient texts that featured an equal ratio of men and women gradually saw the disappearance of male figures.

About 3 to 4 centuries later, 90% of the mentions in books and paintings were of women.

Descriptions and portraits of important figures and events are mostly of women, with mentions of men being more like side notes.

From these facts, it can be understood that the society, which was evenly split between men and women until before the Common Era, transformed into a female-centered society around the beginning of the Common Era.

In terms of imagery, it is a societal structure that is the complete opposite of pre-Earth.

The ones who fundamentally supported and moved society were all women.

Women became lords and kings, driving politics, becoming merchants, managing the economy, and becoming soldiers, charging into battle.

On the contrary, men are accessories without human rights.

They would accompany women, sometimes becoming objects of plunder as spoils of war, and at other times being bestowed as rewards, thus strengthening their aspect as “flowers.”

In modern times, instead of the “women’s liberation feminist movement,” the “men’s liberation masculism movement” emerged, and the status of men improved.

As a result, men were able to re-enter society.

However, by this time, the number of men had already dwindled to an unmanageable level, and furthermore, the men themselves had become reluctant to enter society.

Why this situation came to be has long remained a mystery.

However, in modern times, the discovery of sex chromosomes has clarified the cause.

The reason for the extremely unbalanced gender ratio on Earth.

That is because the Y chromosome in men has significantly deteriorated.

Yeah, this was on Earth before too.

I don’t know the details, but apparently, even on the previous Earth, the Y chromosome carried by men was deteriorating.

Apparently, the X chromosome is inherited from both the father and the mother, so it gets repaired even if it deteriorates or something like that.

Conversely, the Y chromosome is inherited only from the father, so even if it deteriorates, it can’t be repaired or something like that.

The decline of the Y chromosome is supposedly the reason why men on Earth have been becoming herbivorous or even abstinent in recent years.

I remember a scientist or expert saying something like that.

So.

Apparently, the same thing seems to be happening on Earth as well.

However, long before the previous Earth.

In the previous Earth, the degradation of the Y chromosome began to become noticeable around modern times, but in the current Earth, it seems to have already started manifesting as far back as the 25th century.

Due to the degradation of this Y chromosome, it seems that men on Earth are becoming “weaker” in various ways.

Since I am physically weak, I have poor athletic ability and need to pay attention to my health.

Since I am mentally fragile, mental care is essential.

Regarding the crucial reproductive ability, a significant decline in function is also observed.

Due to all these various factors, the men of present-day Earth are quite negative about reproduction.

Apparently, in modern times, even “herbivore men” are now a minority, and recently “fasting men” and “plant men” have become the norm.

According to online information, in recent years, there has been a rapid increase in “cannibalistic men” who even surpass those.

How terrifying…

Unfortunately, the degradation of the Y chromosome has not only led to the extinction of men.

The biggest problem is that it can no longer even satisfactorily perform its basic function as a gene, which is the “transmission of genetic information.”

Apparently, the Y chromosome has weakened so much that it is becoming difficult for it to be passed on at all.

Therefore, even with artificial insemination, it is extremely difficult for the fertilized egg to become an “XY male.”

This is the fundamental reason for the low birth rate of boys.

On Earth, in vitro fertilization technology has advanced, so it is possible to choose the sex of the baby.

It’s just that it’s technically possible.

In practice, if one were to attempt it, it would result in an incredible amount of wasted sperm and eggs, so artificial sex selection is banned on a global scale.

Whether a boy is born or not is something that can only be left to fate.

That’s why the number of men doesn’t increase at all.

Rather, due to the degradation of the Y chromosome, it is on a continuous decline.

…Huh?

Isn’t humanity doomed… with this…?

Well, it’s not something I can handle on my own, so there’s no point in getting worked up about it.

It seems that scientists are also working hard on various research projects, so let’s leave all the difficult things to the experts.

So far, it seems like there are no real results to speak of…

Anyway, things will work out somehow.

Humans are quite resilient creatures.

If things get bad, it will evolve on its own.

In fact, while the Y chromosome has weakened, the X chromosome has become significantly stronger.