the simple explanation (because I am not a botanist, or ever played one on television ) is, the seed is genetically pre-determined to be either male or female ... however, the male is hardier than a female (unlike humans, where the female is superior in every way ... obviously, my girlfriend may read this, I'm taking no chances ) ... so, the male better withstands abuses and extremes of temperature, disease, wind, whatever ... IF a female is subjected to what it understands to be a threat to its survival, sometimes Mother Nature steps in, and reverses the sex to male, hoping that the 'male' can withstand the bad growing conditions better ... it is NOT a desirable trait ... over the years, breeders learned that pollinating a female with 'hermie male' pollen results in higher percentages of female seeds .. sounds great, doesn't it ? ... BUT, they don't tell you it GREATLY increases the odds for having hermaphroditic plants, and that faulty trait will continue in the line for generations to come, possibly forever ... that's why I personally ridicule the use of 'feminized' seeds ... lack of growers' patience WILL result in bastardized strains for the future ... you only have to look at how cannabis indica has forever 'lost' many native sativa landraces (try to find authentic 'Panama Red', 'Columbian Gold', 'Maui Wowie', etc.) ... desperate for fast-finishing, huge yielding plants, indicas have been crossed with sativas, to make 'commercial-grade' pot ... some of us, on the other hand, prefer to grow slowly, patiently, with ultra-potent sativas, and very stable crosses ... remember, this is only the opinion of an old, decrepit dirt farmer, from a bygone age :jointsmile: