Q: If I am male now, am I male forever? Or, is gender a concept of the material worlds? I read that all ascending mortals must have the experience of rearing children at some point, it seems logical that all would have to have the experience of being both sexes, as well. Just a thought. The idea of being a man for eternity seems unbearingly vapid

A: It is an interesting question that you pose…but as yet, I can’t find any reference in The Urantia Book to suggest that men and women will be able to experience being the opposite sex.

From The Urantia Book:

“…in dealing with sex creatures it is our custom to speak of those beings of more direct descent from the Father and the Son as the sons of God, while referring to the children of the Spirit as the daughters of God. Angels are, therefore, commonly designated by feminine pronouns on the sex planets.” (38:2.2)

So, in fact, all of us—male and female—are thought of as “sons of God.” But, because we are born onto a planet that requires procreation, it is a necessary phenomenon that we be born as male and female for obvious reasons. These characteristics are vital to the procreation of children, and in their upbringing as balanced beings, both sexes combining the essential ingredients—physically, mentally and spiritually—of God. But as we progress in our mortal, and then our eternal careers, we benefit by close association with our opposites, learning from them, and possibly adopting, the different viewpoints and ways of thinking and acting that are inherent in their gender. .

From The Urantia Book:

Men and women need each other in their morontial and spiritual as well as in their mortal careers. The differences in viewpoint between male and female persist even beyond the first life and throughout the local and superuniverse ascensions. And even in Havona, the pilgrims who were once men and women will still be aiding each other in the Paradise ascent. Never, even in the Corps of the Finality, will the creature metamorphose so far as to obliterate the personality trends that humans call male and female; always will these two basic variations of humankind continue to intrigue, stimulate, encourage, and assist each other; always will they be mutually dependent on co-operation in the solution of perplexing universe problems and in the overcoming of manifold cosmic difficulties. (84:6.6)

In some ways, I agree with you, that having to carry the characteristics of our birth-sex throughout eternity might be monotonous, but the idea of the complementary nature of the sexes gives us the opportunity to eventually acquire the best of the opposite sex without ever having to actually BE one of them; instead of actually experiencing being the opposite sex, we will be able to acquire the best of both worlds through our eternal association with the opposite sex. The viewpoints of the one are eternally complementary to the other—the yin and the yang, the light and the dark, the positive and the negative.

I hope that this answer is helpful to you, and not disappointing. Start now to embrace your “feminine” side, and maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to become a more well-rounded individual even while still on earth…