The spelling of "softer sexes" is correct, given that "sexes" is pronounced with a final "-iz" sound. It is important to note that "-es" is often used to indicate the plural form of nouns ending in "-s," but in this case, the final "-e" indicates that the word is pronounced as a separate syllable with a voiced "z" sound. Thus, the IPA phonetic transcription for "softer sexes" would be /ˈsɒftər ˈsɛksɪz/.