Men: Extinct in 100 Years?

Now, I know that men everywhere might look at this article and cringe a bit, but I don't worry much (if at all). For starters, I know that this is only the beginning of even being able to extract and manipulate stem cells in a conversion process towards creating sperm via lab methods. I also know that there will be a large fight against even allowing this (due to the ethics, naturally), but I honestly see no reason to worry. I mean, many men now, at this very moment, already prove their worth minute by minute.

In fact, the article includes a wonderful quote from Rowan Pelling, reporter for The Daily Telegraph:

"Yet I feel compelled - and not just as the mother of two small boys - to make a spirited defence of the weaker sex. Where would I be without my husband to read 80 pages of a car manual, in French, to find out how the back windscreen-wiper works? Who would tug the dried lumps of excrement from our cat's backside? Who would explain the rules of cricket to an American? Who would clear a blocked drain of unspeakable clotted matter? Who would take hours to demonstrate the dreadnought manoeuvres at the Battle of Jutland, armed only with salt cellars and jam jars? Without men, there would be no one to read Joseph Conrad or Norman Mailer, to remove spiders from the bath, or (important one, this) to tell women they're pretty."

Yes, isn't that great?! We can still be of use to society, and feel good about it. Now, don't ever forget to tell a woman she's beautiful, but be sincere or it won't mean anything.

But seriously now, there has been shown through various science fiction works that worlds ruled and dominated on the whole by either singular sex is destined for failure. In fact, while these works are indeed works of fiction, if one were to meditate on the underlying themes, one might find that it would be better to have equality with both sexes than to have one rule the other. Additionally, in my private life while observing the interactions between loving couples there is always a certain tendency--it is there in nature too--for one to become the more dominant figure of the two and for the other to take a more submissive role.

I don't speak merely of those couples where the private life at home is riddled with abuse and strife. No, if you were to observe every couple, be it heterosexual or homosexual, there is a placement of sorts which happens as the couple settles into their own nest. It need not matter the sex of the two for this happens in almost every couple I have seen. In fact, I would admit that when a couple tries to do things "equally" is when things turn for the worse. Indeed, I would liken it to dancing: one must lead and the other follow. If not, both are left with an incomplete act.

Getting back to the heart of the article though, there are a great number of benefits to being able to produce sperm--and eggs--from stem cells. Think of the couple unable to have children due to a lack of producing sperm. With this new technology, the doctors could take some of the father's frozen stem cells and produce sperm from his loins so to speak. I know that this may not be a great improvement on the quality of life and it isn't a life saving invention, but for that couple, whether it be the man's sperm or the female's egg, there is a certain hope that you can only imagine if you are not those individuals. So yes, continue the work Dr. Karim Nayernia. I for one look forward to even more developments in the area of stem cell research for, properly implemented, it can lead to cures, surgical improvements, and most importantly, the improvement of individuals' psyches.