Systems of more genders

[Kappa]

When I did "nonbinary elves without traditional reproductive equipment who can reproduce with humans of other sexes anyway", I made them secretly nanotech-driven cyborgs and had them reproduce by kissing (with each other) or oral sex (with humans). That might be simpler, although less adorable/aesthetic, than the hair thing.

[Lambda]

Obviously the solution is to add complications to the other three genders.

[ErinFlight]

I can't remember where this is from, but I remember I species that had three genders. Two provided DNA, which they put into the third, and the carried the children.
I don't think there were any other particular traits associated, since this was an alien species and mentioned in passing.
I remember the aliens had the personality of being very very cautious. They always prepared for any potential threat well in advance.

[Kappa]

Larry Niven's puppeteers! Man they were fucked up. The two gamete-producing sexes essentially lay and fertilize parasitic eggs in the nonsapient childbearing sex.

[Ezra]

That sounds like the Pierson's Puppeteers, from the Known Space series by Larry Niven. You could certainly regard them as a three-gendered species!

Pierson's Puppeteers recognize two male genders of sapient Citizens, and one female gender of non-sapient Brides. An egg male and a sperm male can combine their genetic material inside a Bride, and some months later the Bride will die and one or more happy little Citizens will be born. Brides can also be bred with compatible other Brides to produce more Brides.

[Kappa]

I like Larry Niven overall but it gets a bit weird that he has three species with nonsapient females in Known Space.

[Ezra]

Well, it's not quite causally independent - I doubt the Puppeteers would have translated their gender system in those terms without the example of the Kzinti to copy. If they were just translating to Earth life then it's pretty obvious that the "egg males" are female and the Brides are something else.

And there are the Grags, iirc, which are the other way around: non-sapient males.

All of that said: yes, weird.

[Ezra]

I have a more complicated system I've been working on, with bigger goals. Maybe I can kick the deluxe elves to that one and borrow Kappa's kissy elves for the simple one.

[Kappa]

Deluxe elves! <3

[Ezra]

Edited my post on this four-gender system:

• Swapped in the kissy elves.
• Changed the rule about which parents have which gender kids - now any parents have an even chance of getting boys, girls, little dwarves, or little elves.
• Moved the old paragraph about elves to my next post so the thread would continue to make sense.