Will men even be needed in the future with all of this technology?

That’s pretty harsh isn’t it?

Well if you considered a man to be nothing more than something you can use then yes, but I feel like that would never be possible for “womankind” considering we crave so much love and affection.

@Loried2008 Very Nice.

We have the basic technology right now to grow children in a test tube without a mother OR father.

@Loried2008 has it spot on!

Women will keep a few of us around as slaves to clean out the rain gutters, squish the bugs on the ceiling, take out the trash, empty the mouse traps, dump the wheel barrow, burn the brush pile out back, and replace the dryer motor.

The movie A Boy and His Dog addresses this where men in a post apocalyptic world were kidnapped by this group of underground survivalists and used to meets its need for exogamous reproduction by forcibly extracting sperm from men with machines and artificial insemination. Once they were done milking, these men were disposed of and sent to the Farm! The movie is a hoot!

Bear in mind that being necessary and being wanted are two different things. I’m fine with only being the latter. Strictly speaking, after all, none of us are necessary. The world would go on regardless.

Guys, let’s just move to another planet and we’ll have our revenge on the ladies when Skynet becomes self-aware!

I’m sure that men will be needed by a lot of women, even with all this technology. From what I understand, many women really want to have someone inside of them. Not just a manufactured item. Women are sexual beings, not just…. I don’t know. What would you call it? Some kind of social robot?

@SavoirFaire points out that needing is a choice that doesn’t have an absolute answer. We could all choose to kill ourselves. We don’t need to live, except that we want to. Very badly we want to.

The idea that women only want men for sperm… is patently ridiculous. I’m sure there are some women who think that way, but I bet the vast majority want and need men for so many other things that sperm is probably very low on the priority list.

@wundayatta I definitely agree I don’t just want sperm lol

I hardly believe that as thinking feeling humans this would ever occur.
What happens when those very sperm donors revolt to that concept? I guess womankind is allowed to seek out some other source or kind or sperm than from her fellow Homo Sapiens.
While there are many organisms that can reproduce asexually, I don’t feel humans are one.
Ridiculous question or concept.

Technology is supposed to serve humankind not replace it.

Gee, and I always thought men were people and not just sperm donors. And yes, I appreciate the irony of that remark, coming from me…

@JilltheTooth Coming from you that comment really made my day.

Ah @JilltheTooth. Ever the gullible one, ain’tcha? :-)

Men as an obsolete concept, is something i’m very comfortable with.

I think that could go both ways. That is why nature makes the sex drive so strong otherwise men wouldn’t want to procreate with all the complications involved with it.

I think it’s time for us blokes to burn our boxer shorts, what with women’s lib & gay rights!! Let men be men I say! Right lads, I’ll see ya down the pub! ;-)

No, it’s not possible. Now, I’m no expert on the subject, so this is just my personal opinion, but from my understanding of how things work it’s not possible.

Hypothetically you could, but you would run in to some very serious problems. For example, the sperm you harvest would contain the DNA of the donors, and that frozen/stored DNA would be unchanging. In effect, you would be putting a stop to evolution.

As time passes, some batches would run out, or be destroyed in disasters, further limiting the diversity of the DNA. Obviously you could breed more males when needed, but they would be several generations behind the female DNA. Eventually, you would see speciation, and the sperm would no longer work as females eventually evolve in to a different species than the males of today.

Again, I’m not an expert, but the more I think about it the more problems I think of that you would need to overcome.

* How long until there is speciation?
* How long until you see feemales refusing to use sperm from certain batches?
* How long until the entire human race had DNA so similar that any one virus could kill everyone?

I could go on asking more and more questions, probably more than we have answers for, and even if we answer all the questions, there is always the unexpected.

Seems possible. If there is some way to extract the RNA and combine two eggs, you could get a whole society of women. I always thought Wonder Woman should have stayed on Amazon Island. Seemed like a nice place.

Is anyone forgetting that what we deem as men would still be born regardless of how the child was conceived? Besides, if our society is such where men are nothing more than a means to a reproductive end, I wouldn’t want to be a part of it. Same goes for any gender.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir In my scenerio men would cease to exist. All eggs are X chromosones. So if we can scientifically combine the genetic material it will always be XX, female.

I’m struggling with the concept that human beings are necessary.

@6rant6 Why?

@Summum If we weren’t here, the world, the galaxy and the universe would get along without us don’t you think? Locally, the dogs would still chase the gophers, the crows would annoy the dogs and the starlings would torment the crows.

So, yes, I think in the future (starting now) men are not needed. Nor are women.

@6rant6 I guess I view it very differently than that. I think the world is here because of us and that it was set up for our lives. It was organized and we were brought here to learn and progress. But that is my view and I do see your view and understand it.

@Summum I can’t think of any better word that “arrogance” to describe the view that this is all for us. It entitles people to subjugate and destroy whatever makes them happy to subjugate and destroy. And then they break down into factions and claim greater entitlement and believe themselves justified in obliterating the other factions.

If you think about the history of the world, you can see how someone proclaiming “We are the masters because the world was made for us!” could gather a lot of followers. And it could also encourage horrible excess as with Nazis.

Look at this thread! I understand that it’s light hearted, but still. Or maybe I’m just hungry. Who can tell.

@6rant6

You look only at the negative. We have also done so many wonderful things. If we all could learn just a few things beyond being human. It is human to make judgements about everything that occurs in our lifes. I don’t view the world as you do. I view the world with an open heart and mind. A world that is beautiful and full of experiences so that I can learn and evolve into what I really am. I view the world as a place to make a difference because I am a difference. How do you think I treat others and the world with that kind of view? If you can only see what is wrong with the world how will you react and treat the world?

@troubleinharlem It’s nice to know we’re needed now, but in the future you might need us even more. You will never be able to work that new technology on your own.:-)

Well, we could just do the parthenogenesis thing, but that whole cloning issue would get a bit boring.

@JLeslie Ah, I see. But why?

I know we sometimes forget to put the seat down, don’t mind clutter, and a long list of other things, but jeez, are we really that bad? Some of this thread has been a little disturbing.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir But why what? Why would we want to do it? Or, why are all eggs X?

@JLeslie Why would we want to do it?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Well, I am not sure I personally would want to do it. It was more just to answer the OP if it seemed possible. Although an all female community would have some positives I think. I like hanging out with my girlfriends. That society I picture is much like Amazon Island though, paradise, tropical climate, without competition, a commune type of life.

@JLeslie Yeah, I don’t see it. Not ideal.

If a women decided on this would it mean there are no men that she would want a relationship with? Once gone they would be forever gone.

@Summum Wow, for someone who claims to look only at the positive and withhold judging, you should do a fine job of being critical and judging.

But i thank you for illustrating the point: that those who believe they are specially licensed can be hurtful and mean and credit themselves with being uplifting and “making a difference.”

Making the world the way you like it is not the same thing as making it a better place. Rebuking the people you don’t agree with is not the same as behaving morally or improving the world.

I laud your desire to make the world a better place, but without reflection and a willingness to consider the possibility that what benefits you doesn’t benefit the universe you will not make the world a better place.

You’re going to put up all those unicorn decals all over hell, aren’t you.

@6rant6 Did I rebuke someone? There are no judgements in my statements. I said would it mean this certain thing. Where did you get the critical judging thing you are talking about?

I just would think that if a woman thought about it they might decide that a father or another male in their life was worth keeping around. Smile

@6rant6

See how you are interpreting what I said for you and you are creating me the way you just described. You said that I only look at the positive. Where did I say that? That is what you interpreted from what I did say. Where did I say I was specially lincensed again it is what you are creating not what I said. I said that from your other statement that you were only looking at the negative but I never said that I only look at the positive.

@Summum Aren’t you the one who wrote, “I don’t view the world as you do.I view the world with an open heart and mind. ”

So…am I taking too much liberty when I read that to mean you think I don’t see the world with an open heart and mind?

There are many difficult issues in life. I don’t know the answers. But I believe that they are worthy of consideration. Whether the existence of human beings is a good thing is one of them. You have apparently made up your mind. That’s well and good. But it doesn’t make me close minded and it certainly doesn’t make you open minded.

@JLeslie No competition in a society of all women? Someone clearly has an over inflated ego and high opinion of her gender. You’re not perfect because you have a vag sweetie, sorry.

In the future society will be run by queen bees, rich, powerful women who have genetically modified themselves to be as beautiful as possible. They will keep males (also genetically engineered) around for breeding purposes and companionship.

Minority male dominated societies will still exist, ruled by rich genetically engineered males. In these societies women will be bred as sex slaves and breeding receptacles.

Most of humanity will be “ugly” (not genetically enhanced) people used in what is basically slave labor.

[mod says] This question has been moved to Social.

As far as I can tell nature doesn’t need either men or women. It would get along just fine without them.

@syzygy2600 No, you misunderstood, or rather I was not clear. It is not that I think an all female society woud necessarily be as I described, it is that I have this fantasy of an island in a tropical setting, with no competition, where food is plentiful, no one wants for anything, everyone is healthy. It was just a fantasy really. Amazon Island wasn’t real. :)

@JLeslie Oh ok my mistake then. You’d be surprised at the number of people who actually do believe that.

@syzygy2600 I reread what I had written, and really it is my mistake. :)

I detect some resentment here toward men. We are not that bad. Male behavior patterns are complementary to, not necessarily antagonistic to, those of females. Being brought up by two parents of different gender, while not the only game in town, has proven to be mutually satisfactory in a large number of cases.

@6rant6 Again you are trying to interpret what I said to fit the view that you have created for me. On this particular subject you were only looking at the negative side of human kind and all I did was to point out a different view. I asked you why you felt the way you did and you went off track and made it personal which it is not.

@Summum Please take a look at what we’ve exchanged. I have not said anything negative about human kind. I’ve posed a question: is humankind necessary? I have not taken sides. How is that negative?

I still disagree with your assertion that “the world is here because of us and that it was set up for our lives.” Let’s see if we can’t discuss that without asserting moral authority can we?

There are an estimated 600 sextillion stars in the universe. Human beings are able to live on the surface of one planet in one solar system. I am baffled at how you can draw from that evidence the conclusion you have presented.

I understand: you like it here. But that hardly is evidence that the universe was created for us (and not for the krill, and the whales, and the rats, and the dodos.) Maybe you’re taking umbrage at my use of “arrogant” to describe that thinking. I’m still at a loss to come up with a word that describes it better and not more unkind.

I can’t think of any better word that “arrogance” to describe the view that this is all for us. It entitles people to subjugate and destroy whatever makes them happy to subjugate and destroy. And then they break down into factions and claim greater entitlement and believe themselves justified in obliterating the other factions.

If you think about the history of the world, you can see how someone proclaiming “We are the masters because the world was made for us!” could gather a lot of followers. And it could also encourage horrible excess as with Nazis.

Look at this thread! I understand that it’s light hearted, but still. Or maybe I’m just hungry. Who can tell.

@6rant6 Above is your statement and you don’t find that negative. I guess it is my view but I find you neither right nor wrong just with a view. You can adjust a view and look at things different and that is your choice.

I say that there are billions of planets with life like ours on them and there are billions of other beings just as we are and more even higher advanced. That is my view from my own experiences and they are my reallity. I have never nor do I ever think I am superior to anyone morally nor with greater authority. I just want to help everyone find peace and happiness in this world and life. This world was organized for us to learn and evolve into a higher form and many will be ready when it comes and many will not and those not ready will have to do it over again. That is my view and it comes from my own experiences.

And by the way I answered your question.

Some people do good. Some people do harm.

The thought that “we are god’s people” many people take as license to do whatever they want for themselves. I think that warrants consideration. Obviously, thinking that way doesn’t make it so. And I wouldn’t be so quick to take up the gauntlet if if didn’t seem that people who use that rationale often do themselves good and others harm. So we have to do our best to look at the sum of mankind’s effect on the world and to project what it will be in the future. Judging by intentions is a murky business.

Also obvious is that if you are going to claim personal knowledge of civilizations on billions of other planets – and that you feel can also speak for their benevolence – then we come from very different ends of the “rational thinking” spectrum, and probably we won’t find any middle ground soon… other than that “just help everyone find peace and happiness in that world” thing. It’s not perfect, but I’ll admit, I like it a lot.

I think life is difficult enough than to try and create things from the past. Lets get on with NOW and make it a better place. Who can YOU be with making the world a better place. You can only be you and how you view the world in general. You will treat the world how you view it. So I created my view that the world is amazing. Thanks for your last message 6rant6. I agree there have been some awful things take place and often in the name of God but that was then and we are Now. :) For the time being we don’t have to worry about other life we need to concentrate on our own life and in the here and now.

@Summum Hm. I conflicted. On the one hand, I know that “Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it’s mistakes.” But on the other hand, I’d rather just get along.

So next time you go Astral traveling,or whatever it is to get you to Zeta Alpha 3143, save me a seat!

You got it but the seats fill very fast.

I can share. I’m big on coexistence.

Many women want men for what they are or what they can be. Kind and supportive human beings. I never heard of a good conversation between a woman and frozen testicular sperm. Have you?

@mattbrowne : I used to have fascinating converations with the little vials on the way to the doctor’s office. Granted they were a bit one-sided… ;-)

@JilltheTooth – Well, I guess they couldn’t disagree with you. Unless they looked like

http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/woody-sex.jpg