analogous structures like these helped me break down the false barrier in my mind about men and women being fundamentally different as if the two reproductive castes are monoliths. they aren’t. they are staggeringly similar. Especially mind-blowing was learning that the default structure is what we classify as “female”.

Every mammalian fetus starts development along the female bodyplan, and unless acted upon by the external impulses of a y-chromosome, the mammal’s bodyplan will continue to develop in a way that appears entirely female, EVEN IF the y-chromosome is actually present.

Such as: If it’s there but it doesn’t work (if it’s malformed or partially missing), or if it’s there AND it works but the REST of the cells aren’t responding to the androgens. Turns out the X “set” contains all the instructions needed to make a sentient being, even if it’s very likely that this being will not be capable of reproduction through traditional means.

The point is, everything you can point to on the male anatomy, all those tissues exist in the female anatomy, they’re just distributed differently. And that’s freaking cool.