Ova have long been considered the very epitome of female passivity; their large size and sedentary nature, in comparison to the small and mobile sperm, the very source of sexual inequality (as discussed in chapter three). Textbook descriptions of fertilization take the form of a biological fairy tale, with the helpless princess ovum waiting listlessly for her heroic sperm prince to battle his way to her rescue and awaken her from her lifeless slumber. But there is growing evidence that the egg can actually influence which sperm gets to enter, regardless of which one ‘won’ the race.
