Poll, Do/Should Kerbal Genders exist?

[hawkinator]

Title says everything.

Feel free to discuss your opinions.

Personally, I prefer to think that Kerbals have two genders, one of which simply has not been implemented.

[Odo]

I like the idea of them being asexuel.

And the reason they dont eat is because they can preform photosynthesis Thats why they're green!

[Sapphire]

These threads almost never end well....

Though I do agree with you. Female Kerbals just haven't been added yet. After all, for the most part all the Kerbals we get have guy names and guy facial structures and we all refer to them as "he". If they were asexual they'd be "it".

Edited September 18, 2013 by Sapphire

[Klingon Admiral]

Female Kerbals do exist, but Kerbals do not possess sexual dimorphism and all their names, transliterated into English, sound male, so with a clothing a female Kerbal would be impossible to tell apart from a male Kerbal.

[Temstar]

If they were asexual they'd be "it".

I do it the Greg Egan way:

Male: He, Him, His, Himself

Female: She, Her, Hers, Herself

Other: Ve, Ver, Vis, Verself

[xub313]

All kerbals at this point in the game look exactly the same. I'm shure there will be some diversity between kerbals later in development, even if it's not gender. These theories can be fun but let's not take them seriously.

[suzin.felipe]

One more of these treads?

Can the mods block this now so we don't have to go through all the sexist stuff that will inevitably spill in this tread?

Game is in Alpha, female kerbals will come. Devs, can we have them in the next update so all these treads can go rest in peace in the bottom of the forum?

Thank you,

[lajoswinkler]

You mean two sexes? Sex is a biological thing. We don't speak of genders when discussing chromosomes, so don't be afraid of the word.

No, I'd keep them asexual. No sex chromosomes. Let them reproduce by binary fission or even better, fragmentation. Chop off a piece of Kerbal, put it inside a nutrient solution and it develops in a new Kerbal. Plenty of Kerbals ensured.

As for the gender, I don't care. I think various genders, as well as sexes, would just complicate things in a nonproductive way. This is a game about spaceflight, let's not turn it into Sims.

XY sex determination system is a unique thing on Earth, shared by a tiny fragment of the whole number of species. There's no reason why we should translate our human experiences to an alien world. Personally, I think it's best to avoid the whole confusion and let young people, most of KSP gamers, to appreciate and value the differences (exo)biology offers. Did you know that Tetrahymena sp. has seven sexes? How about that?

Edited September 18, 2013 by lajoswinkler

[TheDarkStar]

The devs have stated that they are asexual.

[zekes]

kerbals are made from growing fungus in a tuna can. that's why their head is shaped like that.

[sumghai]

I'd personally prefer genders, and assume right now they simply haven't been implemented yet.

I think a good way to visually distinguish between genders (while sidestepping the *ahem* chest area *ahem* issue) would be different jawlines - male Kerbals would have the default squared-off jaws, while female Kerbals would have softer, rounded jawlines (not pointed or heart shaped).

[Sapphire]

I'd personally prefer genders, and assume right now they simply haven't been implemented yet.

I think a good way to visually distinguish between genders (while sidestepping the *ahem* chest area *ahem* issue) would be different jawlines - male Kerbals would have the default squared-off jaws, while female Kerbals would have softer, rounded jawlines (not pointed or heart shaped).

[hawkinator]

Wow, those look really good! I love them. Do you think you could do them in spacesuits?

[Sapphire]

Wow, those look really good! I love them. Do you think you could do them in spacesuits?

Don't be looking at me, it's not mine! I wish I could draw Kerbals that good.

That's a pic from Timmon. I think. Anyone know his exact username, or is that it?

[suzin.felipe]

This post is a massive win.

[thereaverofdarkness]

If there were two kerbal genders and one was not yet implemented, why do we assume that that one is the female gender?

The kerbals we have seem pretty devoid of human sexual characteristics. We only think they look more male because human males have smaller sex organs, a skeletal structure designed only for support, and (as popularly viewed) a boxier frame. I think the Kerbals look like little green humanoids with dorky little arms and legs and a pear-shaped body and giant cylindrical head. Not very masculine at all if you ask me.

[lajoswinkler]

Those are the complications I'm talking about. Why does the female Kerbal have more slender and gentle appearance? Even in the sexually dimorphic world on Earth, there's plenty of examples where female sex is more robust.

In the world of humans, that's not the case, but why the human bias? It's Kerbals, not humans.

[Sapphire]

Why does the female Kerbal have more slender and gentle appearance?

Because that's what sex hormones do? Testosterone promotes aggressive hunter/gatherer growth and estrogen promotes childbearer growth.

but why the human bias?

Because the game, by default, is incredibly human-biased? We have a lush world with Earth's exact gravity, a large moon, and a solar system that closely mimics our own. We have a humanoid bipedal race with technology similar and/or identical to our own. And the game is made by humans (derp). Isn't it obvious?

EDIT: And someone has yet to answer this: If Kerbals are asexual, why do we refer to individual Kerbals as "He"?

Edited September 18, 2013 by Sapphire

[dudester28]

Not to be mean but it has been established that female kerbals are not to be suggested to the developers. I am not going to say they will never implement female kerbals but perhaps the devs would prefer to receive more relevant suggestions. They are aware of the suggestion and will make the appropriate decision.

I don't really care whether or not female kerbals are implemented. I think the devs said something about kerbals being asexual so I will just go with that.

[nhnifong]

It's a game about little green men

[lajoswinkler]

Because that's what sex hormones do? Testosterone promotes aggressive hunter/gatherer growth and estrogen promotes childbearer growth.

Ah, I see you've conducted hormonal analysis of Kerbal blood. Plenty of real testosterone in imaginary computer game characters.

Because the game, by default, is incredibly human-biased? We have a lush world with Earth's exact gravity, a large moon, and a solar system that closely mimics our own. We have a humanoid bipedal race with technology similar and/or identical to our own. And the game is made by humans (derp). Isn't it obvious?

Not to me. Earth-like planets are the best to support life (in real life, planetary bodies fall into few categories, no wild, cartoony ones) and the technology is just an artificial way of implementing scientific principles which are all the same everywhere. How else is a species going to climb to orbit if not by propulsion?

As for the sexes, there's no underlying desperate need for a human model. It's one of the pinacles of evolution, where stuff gets close to random, unlike the universal stuff such as bilaterality etc.

EDIT: And someone has yet to answer this: If Kerbals are asexual, why do we refer to individual Kerbals as "He"?

Because we use English language here and we have "he", "she", and "it", where the third option is highly impersonal, which is the result of being a sexually dimorphic species.

[Sapphire]

Ah, I see you've conducted hormonal analysis of Kerbal blood. Plenty of real testosterone in imaginary computer game characters.

You can't call me out on that when you're doing very much the same. Have you analyzed alien life? Do you know for sure that XY is exclusive to Earth? No, you don't. And neither do I. At the end of the day, all we can do is wait and see what the devs will do. I think I remember an older thread (about a month ago) that was closed with Kasper saying it was a possibility but not high on the priorities list. Anyone remember that thread? I'm pretty confident they'll do it eventually.

Not to me.

That's all well and good, but, well, it is based on our solar system. The devs have said as much several times. That's why Duna looks the way it does; as I remember, according to Nova, Duna was originally going to look pretty different but was changed in favor of a Mars analogue. Again, anyone else remember that? Just so I know I'm not hearing things.

[lajoswinkler]

You can't call me out on that when you're doing very much the same. Have you analyzed alien life? Do you know for sure that XY is exclusive to Earth? No, you don't. And neither do I. At the end of the day, all we can do is wait and see what the devs will do. I think I remember an older thread (about a month ago) that was closed with Kasper saying it was a possibility but not high on the priorities list. Anyone remember that thread? I'm pretty confident they'll do it eventually.

XY system is based on the mechanisms hierarchically way above even the most complicated biochemical pathways. It's truly a special thing and to expect it on an alien world is naive. It would require a totally identical biochemistry and totally identical environment. In fact, it would require "Another Earth". (good movie, check it out)

That's all well and good, but, well, it is based on our solar system. The devs have said as much several times. That's why Duna looks the way it does; as I remember, according to Nova, Duna was originally going to look pretty different but was changed in favor of a Mars analogue. Again, anyone else remember that? Just so I know I'm not hearing things.

Let me just use this opportunity to once more say that Duna looks ridiculous and monotonous with two symmetrical ice caps. I'd make one larger than another and both of them with variable edges.

[suzin.felipe]

lajoswinkler,

You are trying to hide a sexist position behind SiFi explanations, that is bad, and you should feel bad.

KSP is a game made by humans and marketed to humans. I look at kerbals and I see men. They look like men, and are named like men. No amount of SiFi BS will change this simple fact. Why create a wall of bad explanations to justify that instead of just wait for the devs to get to make female models?

[Sapphire]

XY system is based on the mechanisms hierarchically way above even the most complicated biochemical pathways. It's truly a special thing and to expect it on an alien world is naive.

Is it special? Do we really know? For all we know the universe is teeming with X and Ys. Or maybe it's dead. Point is we don't know. I'd argue that it's naive to assume one thing without any evidence whatsoever and fight against other points of view. You argue that female Kerbals are unrealistic. I don't want female Kerbals because I think it'd be more realistic. I want female Kerbals because it would increase my enjoyment of the game, and because I think that Kerbals are based on a more-cartoony version of the human race, and cutting out half of that race is not what I'd like to see.

Agreed on Duna. It's still my least favorite planet to visit.