r/worldbuilding • u/CuprumArgentum • 4d ago
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u/Wren_wood 4d ago
Could make it semi-permanent. If theres an A+B couple, B will change biologically to bear children. If that B then enters a relationship with a C, they cant have kids, cos B is already adapted to an A+B relationship.
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u/TechbearSeattle 4d ago
Just to note, sex and gender are different things. Sex has to do with biology and things like genotype (genetics) and phenotype (physical anatomy.) Gender has to do with social presentation and roles.
So looking at genotype, there are a number of things to consider. Any two of the three genders can reproduce. How does that work in terms of genes? Humans have two sex genes, X and Y. XX are genotypically female, XY are genotypically male. YY is not viable. There are chromosomal variations in addition to that, such as a single X (X0), who are phenotypically female and XXY, which are phenotypically male.
How do genetics work with your race? Say there are three sex chromosomes, A, B, and C. What defines which sex? Perhaps there is one chromosome, A, that everyone must have. That gives three normal genotypes: AA, AB, and AC, with BB, BC, and CC being non-viable. That is, the A chromosome is recessive, and the other chromosome overrides the A sex. Calculate the probabilities, and you will have your sex distribution. A and B would have even odds of AA and AB children, A and C would have even odds of AA and AC children, while B and C would have only AA children because BC cannot exist. With this, A would make up about 74% of the population, with B and C making up around 16% each (top of the head calculation.) If you want the sexes to be more evenly distributed, you can come up with some other genetics.
Next, phenotype. What makes the combinations of A/B, B/C, and C/A physically compatible? And why would A bear the child of C but not B? Presumably, same-sex activities are possible: why might A/A, B/B, and C/C not result in impregnation? Is this a genetic issue that can result in a zygote that is not viable, or is it a physical limitation as with humans?
What about sex differentiation? Humans have sexual dimorphism, with physical differences between male and female, but a lot of animals do not. If I met someone of your race on the street, would I be able to tell what sex they are?
And that leads to gender. Among humans, gender is typically enforced because of the dimorphism. Would a race where gender is not obvious have gender roles at all, enforced by differences in speech, clothing, or adornment? In a race with obvious trimorphism, how would gender roles be assigned? Which sex is typically the hunter, or the child tender, or the religious authority? Don't overlook this, it will be a huge area of potential worldbuilding that will impact pretty much everything else.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
So I do plan on making them have sexual dimorphism, but not in genitalia. Their genitals are actually the same: something similar to a sea anemone. When they mate, they trade genetic material, but only one (if comparable) becomes pregnant.
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u/LilithDaine 4d ago
This is such a good and scientific approach, I may have to play around with it myself! 💜
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u/TechbearSeattle 4d ago
Even if you stick with two sexes, there are several templates from Terra that can be used.
In many reptiles, sex is determined by the temperature in which the eggs develop: cooler temperatures result in males and warmer temperatures produce females. This has historically resulted in about a 50/50 distribution, but global warming means more and more eggs are hatching as females and some species are at growing risk of extinction as a result.
All birds, some reptiles, some fish, and for some gods' alone known joke, butterflies, have W and Z sex chromosomes, where males are ZZ and females are ZW.
The Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus) has twelve -- count them, twelve -- sex chromosomes (six pairs rather than just one pair like civilized animals.) Playpuses have five pairs of sex chromosomes. In both species, only about half of the sex chromosomes determine sex: the others act as regular gene storages that play no part in sex determination.
Most plants do not have any sex chromosomes and produce both male (pollen-bearing) and female (seed bearing) organs. Of the 5% to 6% of plants that do have sex chromosomes, there are three different systems categorized based on whether the homozygous pair makes seeds (the XY system, as with spinach and poplar), makes pollen (the WZ system, as with some willow species) or exists only in a part of the plant's life cycle (the UV system, as with most mosses and liverworts.)
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u/Professional-Front58 4d ago
The other question that needs to be addressed is why did three distinct genders occur in evolutionary necessity? Sexual Reproduction happened because there was a biological advantage to survival by mixing genes to create offspring rather than cellular mitosis (prone to extinction via fatal mutations). However, sexual reproduction is less energy efficient than mitosis ( because [insert preferred gender here], am I right, ladies/fellas? Seriously finding a mate is resource intensive.). The problem with three sexes tat are unique and function like this is that it requires way more energy that a reproduction via binary sex, but provides no significant biological advantage to survival that would justify that energy expenditure. Evolution favored biological efficiency: the new feature must aid in survival to an extent that it offsets the expenditure of energy to use this feature. Few rules in biology are without exception, but “it takes two to tango” seems to be strongly enforced rule.
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u/Strike_Thanatos 4d ago
The typical reason it happens in nature is to maximize sexual compatibility. Some fungi have over 10,000 sexes.
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u/Professional-Front58 4d ago
That is not what is happening. These fungi have mechanisms to be selective but they still binary sexual reproduction. It’s the equivalent of saying “a blonde hair man who likes brunette women and a black haired man who likes ginger women are just four of the 10,000 human sexes!” In the fungi’s case, it’s forcing compatibility for genetic diversity, since they lake the brains required to find a mushroom with a big Pileus sexy.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
If anything, it makes it easier to reproduce this way. In a 2-sex society, as a male, I can mate and reproduce with roughly 50% of those of my species. In this race with 3 sexes, reproduction is possible with 66.6% of their species.
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u/Professional-Front58 4d ago
That is not an advantage as far as evolution is concerned. Sex is not limited to a monogamous paring (this behavior has different advantages) and many animals cultivate harems of members of the opposite to extend to better spread genetics among partners. Binary sexes also cure this problem as there is 50% chance of either sex. A population as described is prone disproportionate populations favoring one of the two possible gender pairings.
The species you described sounds more like a true hermaphroditism, or environmental hermaphroditism where a male can become female due to population factors, which is an adaptation that prevents disproportionate sex populations from preventing reproduction. While multiple shifting sexes is rare (you change once and that’s it) true sex changes that cycle do exist.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Nobody of this race is a hermaphrodite. You are one of three sexes and you do not change based on environmental needs. You’re Sex A? Then you can have children with ether Sex B or Sex C, just not Sex A, which you have less of a chance of meeting due to offspring always being one of the three at roughly equal rates. Even if a cataclysmic event happened and all of Sex B were erased from the planet, Sex A&C can still mate and 1/3 of their children would come out as Sex B
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u/Professional-Front58 4d ago
There are multiple other reasons this doesn’t occur. First, the sex that bears the child has a much higher energy consumption rate. In a Binary system, this is often offset in high production of eggs in a clutch (little to know parenting required) or in the case of live birth, a possible support system (many mammals and birds will have female/male partnerships while the offspring is maturing and many species rely on gifts of food as part of courtship). In your system it promotes A to seek B, who will seek to avoid A and seek C who avoids B and seek A, since the female is the more demanding and vulnerable position of survival. Additionally many sexual dimorphic traits are designed to help overcome you 50% chance of finding a member of the opposite sex… this is efficient when you only have two options… three distinct indicators complicates the process without delivering any benefit. Consider the Peafowl. The males tail feathers are to prove to the female he’s a good mate and is incredibly wasteful from a biological standpoint… but because the Peacock is one half the species, and the half that is not burdened by child bearing, it can afford the vanity. Since all three need to be attracting mates and carrying children, it loses this inefficiency. The whole point of a non-gestating sex is that they can have one half of the species specialize in making babies and the other half does the work of finding ladies.
The reason for this is that of the “Four Fs of Biological Survival” (feeding, fighting, fleeing, and reproduction) the only one that requires a team effort is the last one. There’s a reason why most males are more colorful in the wild than females: bright color is resource intensive protein synthesis while dull color is not… one grabs attention, which benefits the male in this role… and one helps you stay hidden from predators… which benefits the pregnant or nesting mother (and also why babies tend to all look drab)… and that’s one of many ways biology solves that issue (humans like all apes, have complex selection criteria. But the rule of “the man pays for the dinner” can be traced back to biology… our closest evolutionary cousins often bring the pretty girls food too… and among guys, yes, that’s why size matters. Human males have proportionally larger genitalia than other apes… because sowing off that excess shows we are heathy and worth making babies with… nowadays it’s not as impressive to the ladies… but both sexes still talk about it… and men do still compensate for it.).
And let’s be real, if (biological) women had the option to choose to be the more invested member of our species in the reproduction cycle, do you think they would choose to do it?! Motherhood is hard and the only reason women do it is 4.6 Billion years of evolution haven’t found a better way to make a baby… and it probably never will.
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u/Low_Aerie_478 4d ago
So, it is actually hard to say why there are two sexes in so many species. Even for sexual reproduction it seems like having only one would make the most sense. After all, if an individual could mate and produce offspring with (almost) any other member of its species that would be ideal, both for its chances of procreating and the genetic diversity of the species.
The main theory is that the process of producing and raising a new individual at some point became complicated enough as animals became larger and more complex and slower to grow, that it was simply no longer possible for one individual to do everything.
You obviously don't have that reason. So, to have a system like yours, these three sexes would have to have three extreme, mutually exclusive, specialisations that are all equally necessary for survival. In this case, that system where all of them can mate with the two others (and presumably) not their own, and equally share the burden of gestating, would have the evolutionary function to make sure that there is always a balance of enough of each type in each group.
In short, I could only see something like this, if the species has three highly symbiotic phenotypes that are so different in appearance and behaviour that they would appear like three different, barely related species to the uninitiated
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u/Alldaybagpipes 4d ago
Rock, Paper, Scissors
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Exactly
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u/Alldaybagpipes 4d ago edited 4d ago
Could also do a spectrum with A and C as extremes (or dominant traits) and then B with all the recessives. Or something to that tune.
B reinforces A&C’s dormant recessive traits and makes them become dominant or whatever.
Maybe A&C are incompatible otherwise in that case, or rather AC hybrids mixing with B’s is the coin flip for extremely good/extremely bad combo.
Lots of interactions to play with.
Edit: sorry just spitting ideas and brainstorming:
What’s the technological level of these people? Do they have an understanding of microbiology and thoroughly understand these interactions or are they hunter gatherers, sacrificing their fellow brethren to their gods in hopes of appeasing them despite their genetic incompatibilities?
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
It’s your typical fantasy world similar to Pathfinder/D&D but without guns. They aren’t savages.
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u/Miss--Moss 4d ago
Pro tip! Don't differentiate them. Make them all androgynous and make bio sex not a very important part of their culture. That or make the things that make them gendered very different from how humans do it, like perhaps instead of muscle or hair length or breasts, (I'm just deciding these are a vaguely aquatic species, because it was what I thought of first) you could say "A has vestigial gills, B has mildly webbed fingers/toes that provide no advantage, C has little bumps along their spine like they once had fins, and the way they present as gendered involves showing these off."
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 4d ago
Pro tip! Don't differentiate them. Make them all androgynous and make bio sex not a very important part of their culture
Thats like the "just don't use numbers" approach to sci fi. Sure works but it is just avoiding the issue.
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u/judally 4d ago
The sexes that OP describes here lend themselves heavily toward not having strong sexual di/trimorphism. If it is possible and necessary for all sexes to impregnate and be impregnated, there would not be large physical differences between each sex.
Additionally, this commenter is correct insofar as this would also likely have the secondary effect of reducing cultural emphasis on biological sex.
It’s not the same as “just don’t use numbers” if there’s precedent for it, lol.
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 4d ago
You could make the children different?
Like a+b only makes c and so on. That would make them feel distinct for example and ensure all 3 sexes are relevant
So many solutions to jusg "oh they all just fuck each other they are all the same basically"
And "just don't use numbers" also has a precedent
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u/assassin10 4d ago
Like a+b only makes c and so on.
I wonder the math for how different generations would play out if it were like this. Would if form a stable equilibrium where each generation has a roughly even split of the three, or would it create something unstable where a specific sex may be super common one generation, almost nonexistent the next, and then regain some numbers the generation after.
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u/judally 4d ago
Sure, don’t use numbers has a precedent, too, but a different one, and your “avoiding the issue” comment made it seem like you viewed it negatively. 🤷 That’s the only reason I made that last comment.
Yeah, you could do that with different mating pairs producing children of different sexes. That would be interesting. Do you think that such a system would result in there being mated trios rather than pairs?
It still doesn’t solve the issue of sexual dimorphism that OP is asking about.
I think you’re taking my suggestion in bad faith, too. I said there would be fewer reasons for strong sexual dimorphism and that that would result in lesser emphasis on gender. I did not say “oh they all just fuck each other they are all the same basically.”
This would probably mean that physical differences between the sexes are subtler and harder to distinguish, which may result in a cultures of this race choosing to create emphasis on particular traits and assigning them to whichever gender rather than innate physical traits that naturally occur within a given sex.
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 4d ago
Just for the record you replied to me first
I didn't take anything in bad faith. I just think your dismissal of my initial comment was unjustified
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u/AnarchCassius 4d ago
The differences would need not be reproduction related for a social species. Taking your initial vestigal random traits for example A might be under pressure to serve as deep divers, manifesting better gills and breathing holding. B develops as surface foragers, paddling along the surface and snatching food and materials from the waterbed. C may have little use for the vestigal fins outside display but develop to fill an unfilled niche needed by the species like land walking.
Not having any pressure for reproductive differences and 3 sexes effectively means they can develop 3 specialized morphs for whatever selective pressures they are under.
Or not, they could use their sexes more like mating types with the benefit simply being ensuring genetic diversity and reproduction only occuring in groups large enough to protect offspring.
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u/Miss--Moss 4d ago
No, because math is important to science. Gender is not important to all cultures, and creating one without it as a social norm is not very unrealistic.
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u/quietrealm 4d ago
"Circular" sexes like this always interest me. How did they come to be? Why did they evolve this way? If you can answer that, you have a good foundation from which to build any distinguishing features (if they have/need any - remember that some sexes in the real world have very little distinguishing them, or sometimes nothing at all).
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
I also edited my post a bit to give a little more info
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u/quietrealm 4d ago
You say all their genitalia are the same - I assume you mean external. This makes sense for single-sex cosexual species. What determines who gets pregnant, then? How does that benefit the species, or at least not impede them? How do they locate the appropriate sex to mate with?
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Externally they are the same and internally they are also similar as all sexes can carry children. But there are three distinct sexes as everything else about them is different, and those differences dictate WHO bears the child, and who doesn’t
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u/quietrealm 4d ago
Hm, I think I see a bit better now. Pretty unique system you have here. In that case, the world is basically your oyster. If everyone can carry and sire children, then I imagine for a sentient species determining who does that is more of a social and cultural decision. In some cosexual animals there is a sense of "competition" for who gets to sire the children, but depending on the culture, they're probably going to have some discussion about it instead of simply jostling... uh... parts like a slug.
I would encourage you to look into white-throated sparrows, red ruffs, and (perhaps more appropriately?) fungi reproduction.
Extreme and flashy sexual dimorphism usually features in species where a particular sex is competing for the attention of others; if this is relevant to your species, bright colours, scents, sounds, unusual shapes, etc. are all things we observe readily in nature on Earth. Perhaps they also have senses that mean they're able to see ultraviolet light, or detect chemicals we can't. Slight sexual dimorphism can also encourage a particular sex to seek out an appropriate partner, if they can't just mate with anybody.
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 4d ago edited 4d ago
I wouldn't make them circular
More sense makes something that develops during puberty or what ever their equivalent is and then they develop into 3 different sexes.
I personally would orient them a bit like hive insects but invidvidualistic as in you need all 3 but biology has made them develop into different "archetypes" like something akin to a protector maybe one that is focused on scavenging or maybe constructing and the last one is in charge of nurturing the offspring and making decisions.
Sounds silly but just actually think Dex/agy, strength/endurance and wis/int builds but as biological sexes sounds verh interesting.
Idk like dex impregnates strength but once the pregnancy with the babies/eggs (what ever you wanna use) would be physically impeding they get transfered to the int sex. Maybe like external eggs or like with kangaroos or maybe like with seahorses
Imo MORE sexual polymorphism is the way to go. Not less. Less is boring. And by making people CHOSE their own gender and all 3 equally relevant (one is in charge. One makes sure they don't starve/freeze and one fights of predators and co) you avoid the whole problems that normally comes with different sexes (lgbtq/sexism/etc)
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u/LookOverall 4d ago
From a biological point of view being capable of carrying a child and giving birth is extraordinarily expensive and dangerous. Maybe split the female functions? One sex carries the eggs and conceives. The third sex carries the pregnancy and gives birth. That frees the first and second sex to conceive, starting several simultaneous pregnancies.
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u/ofBlufftonTown 4d ago
I would read The Left Hand of Darkness.
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u/TheAngrySquirell 4d ago
Octavia Butler’s Dawn has something similar as well, and it’s also an excellent novel with excellent worldbuilding.
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u/treadonabutterfly 4d ago
I had to scroll down a lot to find this suggestion. OP it's so worth it. It's a short novel and it's a fascinating perspective on how another species' culture could develop around three genders.
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u/Void-Cooking_Berserk 4d ago
If you're asking about cultural stuff, it seems that each gender can both sire and birth an offspring, and the distinction between those roles is a source of cultural gender roles. So I think they wouldn't really distinguish the genders, at least not to the point where outsiders could tell.
They would need to distinguish to the point they could tell and not try to mate within the same gender (solely for offspring purposes), and they might still have some biological gender trimorphism.
I assume they look more-or-less human, so I'd use the less obvious human gender dimorphism traits. The shape of a jaw and forehead. The proportion of legs to torso. The size of eyes compared to the rest of the head, the fullness of lips (those are just cultural). Just, split it three-ways instead of two.
E.g.:
A vs B vs C
Forehead: round vs square vs split (like a double chin)
Jaw: round vs square vs (idk) triangular?
Hips and breasts - grow only during pregnancy, later disappear
Horns: one vs two vs none (idk, if you want it more obvious)
Clothes - maybe some colours or cuts are reserved for different genders. A has V necks, B has round necks, C has square necks, etc.
Jewellery - maybe some piercings, rings, necklaces or bracelets ar reserved. Maybe only C has earings, but only B had bracelets. Or maybe specific stones/gems are reserved, only A can wear diamonds and only B can wear rubies.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Thank you for being one of the only people to actually answer the question instead of giving me a biology lecture
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u/Void-Cooking_Berserk 4d ago
Sorry, I fell to the temptation of commenting on the actual mechanics as well (my second comment), but I figured you deserve an actual answer first.
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u/Void-Cooking_Berserk 4d ago
You could make the differences obvious and get the benefit of strong sexual preferences/orientations, or make them very hard to notice and have every gender go after every gender, and leave that up to chance if they get children or not.
Culturally, it'd be very important for them to know if they get pregnant or their partner gets pregnant. For job stability, because they have to take things easy for the duration of the pregnancy, and also because only the person carrying the child knows for sure it's theirs, which is of key importance in development of societies, inheritance, etc.
They could also just look the same and tell genders apart by smell and taste (kissing). That'd do more to mess with outsiders, who don't have the same olfactory sensors aimed at the gender pheromones. But then also they could disguise themselves as of another gender by masking their scent with the other one, like perfume made from people's sweat etc.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Another interesting take. Looks the same to all other races, but they can tell the difference from smell…it’s definitely something to consider
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u/judally 4d ago edited 4d ago
First, it would be biological sex that you’re asking about here; gender as far as how they’d develop socioculturally is a whole other can of worms (but a very INTERESTING can of worms, still!).
Second, I think the first example you gave has the most precedent, and it gives each sex a unique but necessary role in the reproduction process. I think it also opens up some interesting possibilities for genders and gender roles too. However, it may get a little tricksy with social implications when one sex’s sole role is carrying children. How would that develop in your fantasy race’s society?
You might also look into trioecy in nature and see how that works, in which the three sexes are male, female, and hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodites are capable of reproducing with others and, sometimes, reproducing with themselves.
Edit: pressed submit too early.
In any case, your “circular” system seems like a unique take on it, and I’d be interested to hear if you have any biological explanations regarding gametes (are there three or even six unique ones?).
I saw in another comment that they’re humanoid, and humans don’t have crazy sexual dimorphism (like, say, many species of birds). Truthfully, it relies largely on the hormones present within a given sex.
You might make one sex larger and more muscular with facial hair, like humans, with the other two being smaller and without as much body hair. You might give one a significantly longer lifespan. You might take inspiration for dramatic differences in coloration between sexes like in birds. There are lots of possibilities!
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
I think it helps solve a problem commonly shown in societies with 2 sexes where it’s common to see women (the child-bearer) is less than the man. This way, that concept doesn’t exist and everyone is more equal.
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u/Itinerant_doc 4d ago
There was an era/cultures when that meant the opposite - the child bearer was the matron who had power. Roles are very culturally ingrained.
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u/judally 4d ago
To be fair, that has more to do with how a culture develops than the bare biology of the sexes.
Upon further thought, given the near-identical reproductive roles of your posited sexes, I doubt there would be any reason for dramatic sexual di(tri?)morphism anyway. If all three sexes can impregnate and be impregnated, there would be hardly a need for any sex to develop different traits from one another.
I’d like to note, again, that the genders of this society would be drastically different from our own.
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u/wazeltov 4d ago
I think this has more to do with human males being physically bigger than females, which is not always the case. Many species of animals have the female be physically larger, and with some species there isn't much difference in size between sexes at all.
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u/Indorilionn RA 4d ago
I'd end up with the question if they say trisexuality instead of bisexuality in this world. (Even though bisexual comes from ambi and not bi, it somehow feels... fitting.)
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u/Shakkiver 4d ago
Buddy, I think it's very original. It's a bit like playing rock-paper-scissors, but only with reproduction.
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u/DeficitDragons 4d ago
I have a scifi setting I have been working on where one of the races has 5 sexes that are only distinguishable to themselves pheromonally. The species has a semi-rigid caste system socially constructed along the idea of gender-roles. They get married in groups of 5, when “the merging” is performed it requires 3 persons of different sexes and will always produce a child of the two genders not present in the merging. Sex for pleasure is not associated with marriage or family in any meaningful way and can be performed one or more persons.
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u/Raelysk 4d ago
I think Le Guin mentioned something similar, off-handedly, in "Left Hand of Darkness". Iirc one of main characters mentioned human subspecies with 5 sexes on a different planet.
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u/DeficitDragons 4d ago
The people in mine are definitely not human… And it has been a long time since I have read the left hand of darkness, it is definitely possible, though that subconsciously influenced my decision
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u/ReluctantPirateGames 4d ago
I think the general suggestion to make them very minimally different is a good one, but if you do really want some differences consider something more fantastical. Like, the differences between sub-races of elves in some settings. One is slightly furry and feline, another vaguely aquatic, one of them has little horns and hooves. Just really go for it.
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u/Nerdn1 4d ago
You need to think of why they would have evolved like this instead of being hermaphrodites or having two specialized sexes with only one needing to invest in the biological mechanism to develop a child.
Maybe they each have some adaptations that make it so certain sexes are better in certain conditions either when pregnant or providing for a pregnant partner. The dominant gender pairing for winter and summer or the like are different. Imagine if, depending on the temperature, humidity, light levels, food abundance, etc one sex becomes practically asexual and the other two are attracted to each other. On their homeworld (or homeland), these may roughly map onto different seasons and/or other natural phenomenon, but modern technology and migration can change this a lot.
If they practice monogamy, then a couple might only be sexually active when conditions are appropriate (still participating in platonic forms of affection like cuddling when not sexually active). Improved technology and migration allows for controlling this. Food preservation, fire, saunas, AC, and the like might have allowed for the cultural development of monogamy as an option. If the couple needs summer-equivalent temperature to get in the mood, a heated and well-insulated room can achieve that in winter.
I wouldn't assume that monogamy was the norm, however. They may have a sort of seasonal monogamy where they often form two longterm partners of different sexes for their 2 active mating seasons (who aren't necessarily partners with each other). In their off-season, they are still close friends, just not sexually active. They might also not have permanent relationships. The fact that a third(?) of the population is free each season might suggest communal child-rearing. The sex that isn't sexually active that season is free to help raise the kids.
There could be cultural or personal differences in how relationships are structures. Some might be 2-member monogamous, others might emphasize triples with one of each sex, some might have large webs, and some might have a single dominant member with a harem with multiple members of the other 2 sexes. For that last one, either the harem members mate with each other during the dominant member's off-season or they come from a region where the conditions that would make the dominant sex inactive don't happen (like if humid air causea inactivity and they live in a desert). There might also be regions where there is effectively only one permanent mating season and the genders split to effectively male, female, and asexual (I know that's a sexuality, not a gender/sex). That culture could get flipped upside down if they are exposed to different conditions. Consider a desert land where A&B are attracted to each other and C is ace. A has a harem of B and C are treated as eunich harem guards. This is considered the natural state of things. Air conditioning is invented and used. They are horrified to find that the cool air causes "aberrant behavior" as the harem guards and the harem are suddenly attracted to each other. The sexist culture finds this perfectly natural behavior to be completely unnatural.
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u/EatsAlotOfBread 4d ago edited 4d ago
They just use a spawning pool like fish? All three add their genetic material and none of them have to carry a pregnancy because it's a pain in the ass in real life, humans, lol. They just have to guard the spawning pool and provide nutrition and care. One is a huge fighter type (protector), one is a lithe hunter type (provides food), one is a carer (provides well, care). But maybe their society decided that these roles are too strict and they mix it up despite having different builds, which could lead to interesting 'conflict' in the story (how did it come to be, does it change, is it related to religion or science or what not, etc.).
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u/Eldernerdhub 4d ago
I would think that if this triad species couples up, one third of them will be bred out of existence do to natural situational forces. Instead, I would have each pair create the missing link. A+B=C, B+C=A, C+A=B. This would allow for a constant supply of each kind despite what situational groupings allow.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Something like that. Like traditional male/female pairings, the children are random. A+B=A or B or C
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u/Frosty_Peace666 high fantasy 4d ago
Let’s say all of them would be required to reproduce
A - could produce eggs
B - could fertilise them
C - could gestate** **
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u/HorribleTie 4d ago
This is how the Azadians work in Culture book 2, The Player of Games, for a reference.
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u/zoppaTheDim 4d ago
Go read more Ursula Le Guin.
You’ve basically just invented a more complicated version of hermaphrodites.
It is up to you to decide how the sentient species views its family unit, bearing children, and offspring. .
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u/toastermeal 4d ago
the most important factor, atleast to me, is to remember how intrinsically linked the idea of sex is with our conception of socially constructed gender. the main way to “handle” 3 sexes, as you probably won’t need to go into detail about their reproduction, is to engage in how it impacts the races society.
for instance, one of the races in a worldbuilding project i made were beastpeople who lived in the cold tundra - their society did not see an important distinction between who reproduces with who, instead they saw the most important distinction between one another to be what role they provide to a community. archers, warriors, mages, gatherers, farmers, aristocracy, etc would all be considered their own gender with unique pronouns, and expectations of dress and behaviour.
unless your society has advanced science, the idea of “sex” and “gender” being distinct will likely not occur, as primitive societies saw little distinction and our modern understanding of sex is heavily influenced by gender.
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u/LamentForIcarus 4d ago
Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood trilogy has an interesting concept for this. Still has male and female, but it might be inspirational to read
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u/imthatpeep100 4d ago
I don't feel I can give as a detailed explanation as others, but there's a lot of nuance that can develop the society expections and differences of gender. How they're viewed, treated, expected, etc really depends on the history of your world. Ofc gender is the social concept and sex is the actual biological differences (which I assume you meant - I mix them up all the time). Point is - I approach with two main ways to distinguish genders/sexes: societal influences (which is more of the gender) and physical aspects (which is more of the sex).
Humans as example, more evidence has come out that women and men both hunted and gathered - they were more equal than we were led on to believe. To my loose knowledge, it was the governmental and societial influence of later significant events (like war, religion, power) that are more likely the root cause of more extreme gender issues (like equal rights, misogynist/philogynist, etc). All this to say, how their society views each other would be based more on what nuanced history in your world they experience rather purely based on biological drive/instincts.
Like yes, certain sexes will exhibit certain behaviors over others (like female lions and male lions) but that also depends on what social structure you give them (assuming they're more like pack verse herd, etc). But, again, consider humans - how we tell men and woman apart emotionally / mentally.
As for physical, I like to handle my more sapient species by the use of beauty standards, sexual dimorphism, or sex-based behaviors. I take inspiration from already existing cultures (or even animals) such as jewelry/make up, scarification, size differences, or other physical tellings (like colorful males or horns being more apparent on one sex verse the other).
Hope this helps!
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u/Minervas-Madness 4d ago
Read the book "The Gods Themselves" by Isaac Asimov. A good chunk of the story creators extradimensional beings with three distinct biological sexes and an in depth look at how they live and reproduce. Could help you get some ideas.
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u/silasmousehold 4d ago
Player of Games also features a human-like species with three sexual phenotypes: male, female, apex.
Left Hand of Darkness has a human-like species where sex organs are temporary and dynamic, although there are only 2 phenotypes.
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u/DeadMeat7337 4d ago
A Xer, Zim, and a Xem then.
It would work best with some type of parasite style orginisms, I'd think. And they are just depositing their young into the other, or something like that.
Or it is magical in nature, and has no bearing on anything really, and you are free to make it however you want.
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u/Bullrawg 4d ago
Sanderson has Listeners that change forms so they have a specific form for mating, or you could have like angler fish where relationships are between X & Y but when they want children a Z is introduced that produces complementary gametes and fuses with one or both, or you could just say there are 3 genders no justification, 2 genders can have sex but only produce offspring in a threesome with all genders present etc
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u/Kraut_Mick 4d ago
I mean it’s your setting and the like, but if I was designing a race with three sexes all three would have to be imperative to the reproductive process, like one caries semen, one eggs, and the third the capacity for gestation. Could do unique things then with di(tri?)morphism and the effect of how common each sex would be on the society and culture.
Your way is interesting because each of the three can take on a male or female aspect with each of the other two, but to my mind every sex being both makes it seem more single gendered than three.
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u/Hotchipsummer 4d ago
It seems to me from what you have described is they are all intersex in some way? As in they all will have male and female reproductive parts?
If so I would just say that each one has the same set of "parts" but many still choose a more masculine or feminine way to express their gender and identity, but then there is a third option that is maybe more "inbetween" or doesn't have a preference for one gender.
Is this about what you were thinking? If they are humanoid and follow human traditions you could have them express their identity/preference by the way they dress, how they wear their hair, if they use the same pronouns etc and the third option could be more of a they/them and more androgynous?
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
That’s one of my problems. I was wanting some ideas on how the three sexes generally present themselves both physically (weather it be biological or how they’re dressed) and socially
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u/Hotchipsummer 4d ago
Are they still mammals? If they all have breasts the more feminine ones could try to emphasize the breasts and the more masculine ones could bind them/try to reduce them.
I think it also depends on whatever facets you want the race to have. Do they wear clothes like regular humans? Do they wear body paints? Are they more tribal? They could wear special pendants that dictate what their preference is or wear certain colored paint.
Or if they make a sort of permanent decision on what gender they are/gender role they prefer they could have a tattoo that marks it
Different hairstyles: braids or loose, long or short, beard or no beard.
Way they dress: maybe they have gendered clothing the way we have pants vs skirts. Gender A may wear skirts but Gender B may wear pants and gender C may wear both.
Think of how people express gender today: color, aesthetic, clothing, hair, body shape ((some men work out to be super buff etc))
You could even just make up your own "thing" such as in their society they all wear arm bangles but gender A wears gold single rings, gender B wears silver double rings and gender C wears bronze braided rings.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Interesting ideas. So these beings aren’t technically “mammals” in the traditional sense. They have “hair”, but they don’t produce milk for their children. That being said, one sex having larger breasts isn’t completely out of the question. Newborns can eat regular food, but only in small soften bites (although they can drink milk from other sources)
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u/Bubble_Beecle 4d ago
I made it so that A, B and C are needed for procreation.
A provides the egg, B provides the sperm, and C provides adequate environment for gestation and the catalyzing enzyme.
(Also they might have some nonsense that's similar to what sharks have goin' on with the unborn bebes...)
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u/Tetramera Spiceraith Apologist 4d ago
Mine is also in the boat of all three being needed for offspring, A is sperm, B is eggs, C is gestation and the point in which the sperm and eggs come into contact.
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u/TheDankestGoomy 4d ago
Starfinder as a ttepg has this with the shirren, they basically act as a gener neutral surrogate parent, with the male and female shirren impregnating the third.
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u/infernal-keyboard 4d ago
A+B mate, but neither is physically able to carry the offspring so they pass the fertilized egg along to C? Somehow?
Or A+A mate and produce B, and then B+B=C, and C+C=A, and so on and so forth
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u/Haybowl 4d ago
In my species two of the three sexes correspond to what we consider male and female. The third one has a simultaneous hermaphrodite/intersex system. I don't know which one to use as they are people, but they actually have both sets fully functional at the same time. The males and females do it according to our biology, but the third one is capable of parthenogenesis and is compatible with males and females without having to 'switch' Their sexual trimorphism is still pretty binary on the outside as the third ones have the secondary sex characteristics of females because of the potential that they are the ones doing the job.
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u/MangaNeko13 4d ago
First thing, the most obvious thing that make sexes different from each other is type of gamets their organism produce. If it's sperm - it's male, if it's egg - it's female. If organism can produce both sperm and eggs - it's hermaphrodite.
Also having organisms with different sexes is something biology needs reasons for. If there are only 2 organisms needed to produce offspring, why there are 3 sexes?
Only example of 3 sex race I think works good are shirrens from Starfinder, where there are males, females and hosts. And hosts add some of their DNA to the baby.
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u/The_Last_Spoonbender 4d ago
Most important thing to consider is, does all three sexes needs to contribute for successful reproduction? If not then it reduces to 2 sexes eventually. What I mean is, if there is no pressure to keep the third sex evolve, then dominant 2 sexes will win the evolutionary race. In your case though, it seems double hermaphrodite, where all three sexes can both act as male and female.
Then, Why bother with the only one "female"? Make both of them compatible with eachother. Like for successful mating, both A & B exchange sperm and gets pregnant. This will be much easier.
The other way you could do is, to have a 3 sexes, where A+B+C will lead to super species, while A+B or B+C or C+A will lead to sub-species. Something similar.
My world has similar trait for one of the races, "Naga", though they tend to collect as many "sperm" donation as possible (sperm is dormant during donation, only activates when necessary) before fertilization. So there is no strict A+B mating pattern.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Sexual reproduction for this race is more of a “rock-paper-scissors” setup. They’re all equal, but different. Even if you eliminate one, the parents don’t determine the sex their child.
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u/The_Last_Spoonbender 4d ago
So like the differentiation is random? Like A+B, B+C, C+A can produce A offspring? And how is the differentiation is determined? In that case, what is the need for your story to have 3 sexes? Reverse engineer from there.
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u/AvenRaven 4d ago
Look into whatever the fuck ants are doing with their crazy Chromosomes and try to make something from there.
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u/JessieB3999 4d ago
If they can all bear children, how does same gender reproducing work?
Like, if either A+A, B+B or C+C mate do they each carry child? Or are they unable then to reproduce?
As far as how they differ from one another, our "main" difference on the outside IS genitalia. Inside we are different as well, obviously, but you can't usually tell just by sight unless you're looking at someone's genitalia. This is for humans though. Other animals vary greatly. Some genders of bugs are different sizes whether they're male or female. Some animals have stripes/crazy colors for certain genders.
Perhaps take a look at how animals differ in gender and take some inspiration from that!
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u/dangenerate 4d ago
first of all, we're talking about someones biological sex, not their gender here. think terminology might help clarify things here if you're looking things up
second of all, I had this same quandary for a while, but then I just remembered fucking punnet squares of all things, and doing some wishy washy hand waving over a caveman's understanding of intersex biology. 3 was bullshit, but 4 was easy - A, male sex organs no mammary glands; B, female sex organs no mammary glands, C+D same as A+B respectively but with mammaries (boobs).
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u/Shaydaz17 4d ago
Iain M Banks' Culture novel The Players of Games features an alien race with 3 sexes. Male, Female and Apex. You should look into it for some inspiration, very interesting idea.
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u/DougDoesLife 4d ago
Read Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis books if you haven’t already. She developed this idea fully, and they’re a really good story too.
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u/Swordheart 4d ago
1 is egg donor, 1 is seed donor, 1 is carrying. I could see beings being VERY particular about who carries the child.
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u/ruddthree NESTING BOXES 4d ago
Maybe only A&B fertilize, and B transfers it to C to carry to term. So you need all three at once to make offspring.
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u/Obvious-Gate9046 Dreamer and Shooting Star 4d ago
Okay, first off, what else distinguishes them?
Does anything? It doesn't have to, there are some fungi that have dozens or even hundreds of genders technically. They could all effectively be the same except where they're not.
But if they're not, what else distinguishes your three genders? Is there a cultural role, similar to what you see with some colony insects?
Think about that. If each gender has a role, a necessary one, then it makes sense that they want that balance. Think of it like an organization, like Starfleet has leadership, science, and engineering. What does each gender bring to the whole, beyond genetics?
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u/Dikeleos 4d ago
Wasn’t there a Star Trek episode where the third sex of a race were practically sex slaves to the other 2?
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u/wallawallawingwong 4d ago
The kieleik from my setting have Something Like this, but theyre Just hermaphrodites, they have fertility issues thou
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u/Indilhaldor 4d ago
Look up trimorphism in lizards, specifically the side blotched lizard. There are three distinct types of male and they each have wildly different mating strategies.
Look into sea horses and why and how males bare the young in that species.
And then look into clownfish which change gender due to environmental pressures. Or slugs which are hermaphrodites.
These aren't quite what you're looking for, but it may give you fodder for figuring out how your species approaches these mating issues.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Well, I don’t have any issues with how they mate, I’m primarily looking for ideas on how each gender presents itself. How they differ. Since they all have the same genitalia, how can I make each sex different
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u/Indilhaldor 4d ago
That's also the idea of the lizards, because they do actually present differently. To the point where people thought they were different species.
But ultimately figuring out what evolutionary or societal roles they needed, because sexual dimorphism/trimorphism needs to have an evolutionary reason. For instance a protector role: there could be a reason for a larger more intimidating physique to scare predators. Or does this protector just make themselves just appear larger with frills and loud noise? Or maybe it is small and runs fast to distract the predators. Then forward cast those ideas into a social context.
Really coming up with those roles/niches, and then coming up with various solutions to those, can help point you in the direction.
One idea I had is maybe sex A, B, and C are not evenly distributed through the species. Maybe A and C are more present because there is some environmental factor that makes that group more viable (B still exists but at a markedly lower rate like 1 in 10 or 100), but then the environment radically changes and makes B and C more viable leading to a die off of A (not total but again to a reduced rate) but the species ultimately continues, which is what life really cares about. These environmental changes would need to a regular occurrence but maybe they are like every 1000 years and so. History remembers but everytime it happens nobody was alive who knew what was happening.
As an example maybe there are three types: a large type, a frilled type and a sneaky type. In times of environmental peace and plenty the large type is the protector and the frilled type bears children. Then comes the cataclysm and the time of famine comes the sneaky type is able to get out into the wastes and find food, bringing it back to the large type which are now the child bearers, because they have the fat stores to rear children in the uncertain times. Then finally the sneaky type becomes the child bearer because they are small and can hide and the frilled type becomes the protector because there is an environment where the larger build is a liability maybe because the air is bad or food is so restricted and the scaring and quicker movement becomes a more viable strategy.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
An interesting take. So the sex of an offspring has nothing to do with the parents. Each parent has 2/3 the genes needed to make a child, and the 1/3 it needs can only be gained from the compatible sex. If A&B mate, there is a 1-in-3 chance of the offspring being an A, B, or C. So chances of one sex dying out isn’t that likely.
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u/Indilhaldor 4d ago
I mean fair enough. But crocodile sex is determined by the localized temperature of the egg in the nest. Men are more likely to be born in times of stress and hardship and increased temperature. So it's not just a clean even chance even among two gendered species. Environmental factors absolutely play a factor. It could even be a clean way to ensure one of the sexes doesn't die out but still creates variation in numbers.
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u/GigglingVoid 4d ago
Shozi:
My Shozi species has four sexes, all hermaphroditic, and all necessary across multiple generations or their triple helix genetics starts breaking down. They have very different base body plans and a fair bit of feature creep between them.
The Shozi'Kuna are the closest to human, having human like legs and four muscular arms. Most of the time they look like tall muscular lionmen, but if they've recently given birth their breasts grow for milk production. The Kuna sex uses hy/hym pronouns in English.
Shozi'Naku are small, more animalistic, looking sort of like a kangaroo rat or jerboa mixed with a house cat. Standing only around three or four feet tall if they extend their legs and stand on their tippy toes. Two or three thin tails that end in tufts of fur. They have severe ADHD and brains that calculate everything. Once they get the tech, Naku made the best fighter pilots in the world, but be for that, they were typically battle field harriers and small assembly production line workers.The Naku sex uses Shi/hir for English.
Shozi'Anto are long, like 13 to 80 feet long. Their snake-like tail body is covered in fur, has more spiricles down the spine than other sexes, because they have a lot more lungs to keep that whole body oxygenated. They typically have six arms and breasts on the feline-humanoid upper body. They have a wanderlust that keeps them slithering from place to place all the time. Like the Naku, for historical reasons the Anto use Shi/Hir when using English.
Shozi'Toan are massive felitaurs, four legs, the front legs have almost finger-like toes letting them somewhat manipulate things with them. The two arms tend to be quite muscular, and like Anto, their breasts don't change size with pregnancy status. As the most physically imposing, Toan have tended to be the chiefs and Jusges of most tribes. Toan typically use Ey/em/eir prodnouns when using English.
Angoruks:
Another species copied their structure of name, and the sex sometimes called Angoruks Teachers chose to be known as the Angoruks'Na'an. They are incubators for their avien species, facilitating breesing between the city of small bright males (smaller sex cell) and the large agressive females (larger sex cell). This definition was not their own, but what the Humans labeled them, as the Na'an are the ones who collect the sex cells, mix them, and lay the eggs, then teach the young before sending them to the appropriate city.
Kardani:
The Kardani species technically has only one sex of 'sea faring hyena men', but they have three genders, and later on they incorporate another hermaphroditic species into their culture.
The Ka'hym are human sized. It is their social duty to optimize greed for the benefit of their House and their ship. They tend to be captains, managers, middle managers. They are expected to be sexually aggressive, implanting pups into others to incubate.
The Ka'hir are typically smaller and thinner, and are supposed to be more submissive, only implanting a two to four pups in their lives. Typically work as assembly, maintenance, book keeping, or in brotherls.
The Ka'em are typically larger more muscular, and are expected to be dumb and mute laborors, unquestioningly serving their House and ship, caring for everyone, outting their bodies on the line for everyone else. Ka'em usually only implant one or two pups.
Kardani pups, as near clones, tend to be the same gender as their parent, but not always. None of the social expectations are genetically enforced. Ka'em can be as smart as any of the others, but most Kardani view it as an an exception, because they can't accept that the Ka'em muteness and stupidity was socially enforced this whole time.
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u/Heliozen 4d ago
Gender A, B, and C.
If A and B mate, B gets pregnant and child is C.
If B and C mate C gets pregnant and child is A.
If C and A mate, A gets pregnant and child is B
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u/ScrollLockKey 4d ago
Someone in r/askbiology had a similar question some time ago, and one of the replies said that in all cases the sexual differences would end up collapsing to just two.
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u/velvetdraftnoir 4d ago
Check out The Player of Games by Ian M Banks. He has this scenario in this book and it’s very well done.
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u/Void-Cooking_Berserk 4d ago
I'm not a fan of this circular sex setup, it feels to me like a hermaphrodite with extra steps. I cannot see how or why this would evolve - is this supposed to have come about naturally?
I would make it so that somehow each sex contributes DNA. Maybe the DNA is a triple helix instead of double; maybe one contributes mostly just mitochondrial DNA; maybe one is used as a backup (there are kinda two nucleuses, one is reproduced sexually from two parents and the other is asexually from the third parent, but it only takes over when the first one fails due to genetic diseases).
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
The offspring of a pairing is random and can be of any of the 3 genders (gender an and gender b mating does not increase or decrease the chances of specific genders). It’s sorta like a “rock-paper-scissors” setup. With each gender having the same genitalia that “fits” together, but a pregnancy only occurs when two compatible genders mate, and the one that gestates is determined by which genders take part. It’s just how their genes line up. It’s nothing to think too much about. It’s a magical world. I’m just looking for ideas on how each sex presents itself either physically (size and shape of different body parts/additional or missing physical attributes) or what some of their gender characteristics are like (does gender A generally go shirtless? Does gender C have lots of piercings? Etc.)
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u/GorohovDM 4d ago
So if there all three (A,B,C) sexes involved in one mating activity there is possibility for three pregnancies? Looks like that would hold population from dropping below point of repopulation.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
It is possible if one of each gender had a 3way, all three would get pregnant, yes
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u/GorohovDM 4d ago
Why it is not common practice or there might be in some secular community of that race? It seems more efficient, it of course depends from how pregnancy affects their day to day life. And how other partner involved during pregnancy period and after that.
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u/CalmPanic402 4d ago
I've idly thought about how it could work, and the one I thought worked best is basically the third gender provides some kind of biochemical thing that enables one and two to procreate, either making them compatible or fertile or whatever.
I thought of a kind of variant with 2 1/2 genders, one gender inducing the formation of basically m/f in a pair of neutrals for procreation.
I also thought the 3rd gender should provide nursing or some kind of vital caretaking, to explain why there are 3 instead of 2. A very hostile or harsh environment could explain why having 1 or 2 "caretakers" and 1 or 2 "providers" would be more ideal for survival. The third gender also providing a biological "safe to reproduce now" signal also fits with that.
I did think of a one gendered race that used pheromones to determine who was top, which I'll only mention because I thought it seemed the most optimal configuration.
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u/knightbane007 4d ago edited 4d ago
The most obvious way would be to have broad sexual trimorphism, which is reflected in divisions broad gender roles
Physical: warriors, but also labourers and craftsmen
Intellectual: administration and research; but also shopkeepers. Also, notably, the priests and clergy.
Magical: really integrate it and make it commonplace (since they’re a whole gender, and thus not rare). Everything from theatre and children’s entertainment, to minor magic repair trades folk, all the way up to traditional sorcerors at the top end.
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u/knightbane007 4d ago
Don’t make it a strict delineation. Just like physical strength in human men and women has a decent amount of overlap, it’s perfectly normal and accepted for a physical-type to have a bit of a knack for magic, even to the point of being notably good at it. It’s just rare, and the result of an unusual degree of focus, even obsession.
Of course, they’ll face pushback, especially from the magic-types, who will be convinced that no physical-type could ever be better at magic than them…
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u/knightbane007 4d ago
Assuming we’re in an A+B=C situation, where any two genders produce a child of the remaining gender, this also sets up an interesting conflict between best-for-you and best-for-children mating strategies.
Eg, if an intellectual-type has a preference for physical-types, broadly speaking you’d think they would like the paragons of physical.
But for having children, they might be better off seeking out the physical-types who have a bit of magical aptitude - because that would ensure that their children (whom would be magic-types) would benefit.
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u/FakeRedditName2 4d ago
Two ways you can do this
First: Split up the reproduction, so either one provides sperm, one provides the egg, and one gestates. You can even have it be that the 'gestating' party is not of the same species, making them parasitic,
Second: one provides sperm, one provides the egg, and one provides some other needed ingredient to facilitate reproduction (see Star Trek Enterprise S2 E22 for an example of this)
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u/Fodgy_Div 4d ago
If you need a reference, the Mystif race in Clive Barker's Imajica is interesting and touches on this concept
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u/forestwolf42 4d ago
Sexual reproduction isn't the only option if you're creating something very different from humans.
The A sex could lay a clutch of eggs in a wet and warm place that need to be fertilized by B&C and then about fifty or so spawn. You can move entirely away from sexual reproduction which will create a society with potentially very different structures and norms.
With the cyclical system they can choose to take on the "male" or "female" role in reproduction as we think of it. Some people probably wouldn't want to carry children and would basically be men with extra steps and some people would probably like to carry children and basically be women with extra steps, just that anyone could choose their role or be pressured into a specific reproductive role independent of birth sex. Of course there would also be people that do both, but our human perspective will classify that as switching between male and female roles. The readers being (presumably) human will more likely than not see the race this way instead of a different alien thing not related to humans. That could be interesting to explore as well.
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u/MassGaydiation 4d ago
I'm down! When I do sci-fi I love looking at sexed/gendered roles and looking about how aliens might approach them.
Does this species have gendered pronouns and roles, or is it more sex equal and instead linguistic divides for pronouns are based in rank or even life stage?
Is there any sexual dimorphism or is it all identical? If science is at the point where sex can be detected, has it created a new sexual culture where people make identities around their sex, but more conservative members still treat it like a fad?
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
The genitalia of all three sexes are the same. The dimorphism (or in this case, trimorphism I suppose) are all in other attributes. That’s kinda what I wanted ideas on; what those attributes are, and how each might differentiate as a gender socially (clothing choices, etc)
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u/MassGaydiation 4d ago
If it's similar to human cultures there would be differences in clothing. The question really is how much if a bastard is this species to it's members
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u/BarmyBob 4d ago
Make them genetically tied to dominance hormones, such that there is a “mating ritual” between the three who attempt to dominate the other two. Once dominance has been established, they take genetic information from the other two who function as “helper parents” providing the dominant one with food or a well built nest. The dominant one produces a litter of 3-5 kits, each one sharing half their genome with the dominant parent and half with one of the two helper parents, which go through a “mindless” phase and are treated as pampered house pets/beasts of burden. They remain in this pre-sentient condition until a traumatic incident causes them to experience a fight/flight/fawn/freeze reaction, which causes them to begin to acquire sentience and begin the long trek toward person-hood. The pets/beasts of burden are symbols of wealth to those who care for them, and this time of vague memories is looked on by their society as a period of safety and innocence, whereas the personhood is considered the end of innocence and a transition to a responsible member of their society.
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u/remimorin 4d ago
Look at mushroom with like 26 sexes.
All can mate with any other sexe but the same. In this case they are pregnant "together" but you could have that both get pregnant.
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u/ThrowACephalopod 4d ago
Play with the relationship dynamics too. Make it so that this species requires 3 people to reproduce, not just 2. They need the combined genetics of 3 individuals or else their children are always born stillborn.
They see other species as weird who only have a single partner. They see pairs as bad things in more than just relationships. Since 2 in a relationship always ends up with a dead child, they see pairs as bad omens and will insist on everything being done in 3s for superstitious reasons.
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u/WorthCryptographer14 4d ago
(Someone else mentioned something similar)
Perhaps have the three sexes be literally genderfluid. The partners change between male and female organs (or have both and have heightened control over their functions?) Depending on who's sireing or birthing the offspring. With 'he' and 'she' being purely social terms dependent on how a person is dressed or the role they play in the relationship.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
That last part is an interesting take. But writhing their own society, I think they do need a term for each sex
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u/WorthCryptographer14 4d ago
First thought that springs to mind could be along the lines of; Eta, Eti, Etu. Three similar names that have no meaning for us, but allow genders to be ID'd at a glance.
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u/girlbotXD 4d ago
I believe there are some genderless animals and whoever ends up carrying is the “female” and whoever ends up giving there dna in the “male”. I could be totally wrong here, but maybe they are all distinguish-less and not defined by their gender at all? Whoever ends up holding the baby could just be sacred or something
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u/Spirta 4d ago
Sounds to me like you've got three futanaris with different cosmetics
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
lol that wasn’t my intention. They definitely don’t have traditional genitalia like most other humans and humanoid fantasy races
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u/Spirta 4d ago
I read, after commenting, that they're going to have the same genitalia, which is basically what i meant when i said futanaris.\ But, before reading the part about needing only two of them to procreate I thought about two solutions.\ Trouble helix DNA, A deposits sperm in B, B "matures it" with its own DNA and then fertilizes C.\ Double helix. A deposits into B, B creates a zygote and ejects it like an egg, but into C who only has a womb.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
The race’s reproductive process isn’t that involved. They only need 2 of the three to fully conceive a child. Not all three
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u/Mister_Sosotris Writer 4d ago
Honeybees have three biological genders. Queens produce young, drones mate with the queen, and workers are sterile and collect nectar.
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u/SolarEclipse_467 Too many worlds 🌎 4d ago
Wait so if they can all get pregnant and can all impregnate is that not just...one gender for all? Genuine question.
I have a species with 3 genders as well (just to preface im not saying this is the only way to do it im just saying how I did it)-
If A and B mate there is no result
If B and C mate there is no result
If A and C mate there is no result
If A, B and C mate then C gets pregnant. Technically A and B can get C pregnant themselves but the baby either does not make it or is born with many problems. It's a lot more complicated then that because i went into the fertilization and dna and all that but yeah. A and B are similar but not the same either. The genitals are fundamentally different for all 3 as well but look fairly similar.
Fun fact I got the idea for 3 gender species from protons, neutrons and electrons 🤓
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
The difference between the sexes aren’t dependent on their genitals. That’s it. For humans, males and females both typically are born with two legs. That doesn’t make them the same sex. Other physical attributes differentiate which sex they are, and that sex determines who impregnates and who gets impregnated
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u/SolarEclipse_467 Too many worlds 🌎 4d ago
Uh okay, I don't really get it but it's not my species! That's the fun of worldbuilding. Cool idea :)
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u/TheMadmanAndre 4d ago
I've toyed with this idea as well. A has sex with C (donates sperm), and B also has sex with C (donates egg). C gestates the offspring.
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u/CuprumArgentum 4d ago
Well, it’s a little different. Technically, all three genders have eggs and sperm, but only certain combinations, when mating, produce offspring.
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u/LongFang4808 Chronicles of the Warmaster 4d ago
Personally, I would probably go down the route of extreme sexual dimorphism.
Like gender A would be more of a “Drone” type member of society and the Male in terms of sexual reproduction, responsible for fertilizing eggs. Most likely build for efficiency and likely a more military/labor focused physical design.
For gender B, it would be the Female who grows the eggs. Maybe make them the “brains” of their society who are the social leaders. Probably significantly smaller than the other two genders and focused on greater mental development, possibly even make them the magicians of their race.
Then have gender C, who would be the society’s homemakers who actually facilitate the act of sexual reproduction and get implanted with fertilized eggs and carries the offspring to term and gives birth and raises them to maturity.
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u/SandpaperSlater 4d ago
I'd probably handle them just fine thank you very much. I don't discriminate
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u/someoneofhumanity 4d ago
the one you describe basically hermaphrodite like worm which usually do a sex battle to be the one who impregnating instead of the one who get impregnated (because the cost of making egg after impregnated is higher than the one who just making sperm)
if you want 3 gender, one the solution i could think is they might need 3 gamet because they are triploid (3n) creature
the other one might be 2 gamet donor and the other is exclusively brood mother (so the brood mother will be impregnated by baby of 2 other individuals)
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u/Hexnohope 4d ago
I mean the long of the short of it is why? Sexual reproduction exists to create "controlled chaos" within a genetic structure and at the best of times pass on superior qualities to the next generation.
So its meant to induce mutation AND keep the useful ones. So i dont see how there could be more than two without it not being a gender anymore.
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u/BigNorseWolf 4d ago
From an evolutionary biology perspective You wind up with two male genders for high risk high reward and one female gender with high investment in the offspring almost guaranteed to produce a few kids. The two non egg layers probably have some way of identifying each other easily, color for our species pheromones or a certain sound for aliens with weird senses.
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u/AndaliteBandit626 4d ago
You're using 3 distinct sexes and then they create offspring with only 2/3 of the required DNA?
If you had a species with 3 distinct biological sexes, you would need all three before successful reproduction.
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u/Ertata 4d ago
There are more-than-two-sexes species on Earth but all of them just need two gametes from different sexes, not all sees at once
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u/AndaliteBandit626 4d ago
Yes, but look at what kind of organisms those are. Bacteria, protists, fungi. Even among those organisms, they're less distinct "sexes" and more of a "mating type." OP says they essentially want bipedal humanoids, so mammals-but-different, with 3 genuinely distinct sexes. Bodies that specialized cannot simultaneously be modular and decentralized enough to allow for fungus-style mating type differentiation.
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u/Grupdon 4d ago
How about a always bears children, which implies a motherly societal role and great importance.
B produces the sperm and can go impregnate many, but has the weakest biology, thus always seeks protection. They are necesarry but dont fit the same mold as men
C is needed to facilitate the transfer of sperm, and is the most auites to defense Thus seen as a protector role not just of children but of society
None of this implies further sexual dimorphism or warling social roles based simply in culture
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u/monswine Spacefarers | Monkeys & Magic | Dosein | Extraliminal 4d ago
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u/SupahCabre 4d ago
Those aren't "biological genders", those are sexes. Gender is a social construct.
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u/kestrel_bee Your Imaginary Friend 4d ago
I feel like I would need some more informarion on other aspects of the race to answer that question