Woman
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent. Sex differentiation of the female fetus is governed by the lack of a present functioning SRY gene on either one of the respective sex chromosomes. Female anatomy is distinguished from male anatomy by the female reproductive system, which includes the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, and vulva. A woman generally has a wider pelvis, broader hips, and larger breasts than a man. These characteristics can facilitate pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. Women typically have less facial and other body hair, have a higher body fat composition, and are on average shorter and less muscular than men. Women are at greater risk of certain diseases like breast cancer, and at lower risk of other diseases like lung cancer.
Transgender women were assigned male at birth. Some women are intersex, meaning they have unusual sex characteristics, such as trisomy X or vaginal atresia.
Throughout human history, patriarchal gender roles have often limited women's opportunities. With restrictions loosening during the 20th century in many societies, women have gained wider access to careers and education. Violence against women is primarily committed by men. Some women are denied reproductive rights and denied legal rights on the basis of sex. Many religions and governments stipulate certain rules for women. Feminist movements aim to achieve gender equality.
Etymology
The spelling of woman in English has progressed over the past millennium from wīfmann to wīmmann to wumman, and finally, the modern spelling woman. In Old English, mann had the gender-neutral meaning of, akin to the Modern or. The word for was wīf or wīfmann whereas was wer or wǣpnedmann. However, following the Norman Conquest, man began to mean, and by the late 13th century it had largely replaced wer. The consonants and in wīfmann coalesced into the modern woman, while wīf narrowed to specifically mean a married woman.It is a popular misconception that the term "woman" is etymologically connected to "womb". "Womb" derives from the Old English word wamb meaning .
Terminology
The word woman can be used generally, to mean any female human, or specifically, to mean an adult female human as contrasted with girl. The word girl originally meant "young person of either sex" in English; it was only around the beginning of the 16th century that it came to mean specifically a female child. The term girl is sometimes used colloquially to refer to a young or unmarried woman; however, during the early 1970s, feminists challenged such use because the use of the word to refer to a fully grown woman may cause offense. In particular, previously common terms such as office girl are no longer widely used. Conversely, in certain cultures which link family honor with female virginity, the word girl is still used to refer to a never-married woman; in this sense it is used in a fashion roughly analogous to the more-or-less obsolete English maid or maiden.The social sciences' views on what it means to be a woman have changed significantly since the early 20th century as women gained more rights and greater representation in the workforce, with scholarship in the 1970s moving toward a focus on the sex–gender distinction and social construction of gender.
Different countries have different laws, but age 18 is frequently considered the age of majority. Menarche, the onset of menstruation, occurs on average at age 12–13. Many cultures have rites of passage to symbolize a girl's coming of age, such as bat mitzvah in Judaism, or a custom of a special celebration for a certain birthday, like the quinceañera of Latin America.
Alternative spellings of woman, such as womyn and wimmin have been used in feminist contexts, especially since the 1970s.
Biology
Genetic characteristics
Typically, the cells of female humans contain two X chromosomes, while the cells of male humans have an X and a Y chromosome. During early fetal development, all embryos have phenotypically female genitalia up until week 6 or 7, when a male embryo's gonads differentiate into testes due to the action of the SRY gene on the Y chromosome. Sex differentiation proceeds in female humans in a way that is independent of gonadal hormones. Because humans inherit mitochondrial DNA only from the mother's ovum, genealogical researchers can trace maternal lineage far back in time.Puberty, menstruation and menopause
triggers many bodily changes. In response to chemical signals from the pituitary gland, the ovaries secrete hormones that stimulate maturation of the body, including increased height and weight, body hair growth, breast development and menarche. Most girls go through menarche between ages 12–13.Menstruation is a monthly hormonal cycle that involves the shedding of the lining of the uterus. Blood and tissue exit through the vagina. Menstrual cycles may be irregular at first, and usually become more regular by a woman's 20s. Most women are able to perform all their daily activities during menstruation, though some women experience symptoms ranging from uncomfortable to disabling or are prohibited from regular activity by strong social stigma.
The changes of puberty typically enable sexual reproduction. Pregnancy generally requires fertilization of a woman's egg cells with a man's sperm cells. Humans are similar to other large mammals in that they usually give birth to a single offspring per pregnancy, but are unusual in being altricial, meaning young are undeveloped at time of birth and require the aid of their parents or guardians to fully mature. Sometimes humans have multiple births, most commonly twins.
Usually between ages 49–52, a woman reaches menopause, the time when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, and more; both lifestyle changes and medications can help to mitigate these symptoms.
Morphological and physiological characteristics
In terms of biology, the female sex organs are involved in the reproductive system, whereas the secondary sex characteristics are involved in breastfeeding children and attracting a mate. Humans are placental mammals, which means the mother carries the fetus in the uterus and the placenta facilitates the exchange of nutrients and waste between the mother and fetus.The internal female sex organs consist of:
- the ovaries, gonads that produce female gametes called ova,
- the fallopian tubes, tubular structures that transport the egg cells,
- the uterus, an organ with tissue to protect and nurture the developing fetus and its cervix to expel it,
- the accessory glands, two pairs of glands that help lubricate during intercourse, and
- the vagina, an organ used in copulating and birthing.
The mammary glands are hypothesized to have evolved from apocrine-like glands to produce milk, a nutritious secretion that is the most distinctive characteristic of mammals, along with live birth. In mature women, the breast is generally more prominent than in most other mammals; this prominence, not necessary for milk production, is thought to be at least partially the result of sexual selection.
Estrogens, which are primary female sex hormones, have a significant impact on a female's body shape. They are produced in both men and women, but their levels are significantly higher in women, especially in those of reproductive age. Besides other functions, estrogens promote the development of female secondary sexual characteristics, such as breasts and hips. As a result of estrogens, during puberty, girls develop breasts and their hips widen. Working against estrogen, the presence of testosterone in a pubescent female inhibits breast development and promotes muscle and facial hair development.
Circulatory system
Women have lower hematocrit than men; this is due to lower testosterone, which stimulates the production of erythropoietin by the kidney. The normal hematocrit level for a woman is 36% to 48%. The normal level of hemoglobin for women is 12.0 to 15.5 g/dL.Women's hearts have finer-grained textures in the muscle compared to men's hearts, and the heart muscle's overall shape and surface area also differs to men's when controlling for body size and age. In addition, women's hearts age more slowly compared to men's hearts.
Sex distribution
Girls are born slightly less frequently than boys. Out of the total human population in 2015, there were 1018 men for every 1000 women.Intersex women
women have an intersex condition, usually defined as those born with ambiguous genitalia, atypical chromosomes, or atypical gonads. Most individuals with ambiguous genitalia are assigned female at birth, and most intersex women are cisgender. The medical practices to assign binary female to intersex youth is often controversial.Some intersex conditions are associated with typical rates of female gender identity, while others are associated with substantially higher rates of gender transition compared to the general population.
For example, women with CAIS showed no psychological differences from non-intersex women, including in gender identity or orientation. Women with other intersex conditions, such as 5alpha-RD-2 or 17beta-HSD-3, showed increased rates of gender transition to live as men.
Gender
Most cultures use a gender binary by which women are of one of two genders, the others being men; other cultures have a third gender.Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Different people have held femininity to be socially constructed, biologically influenced, or on some point in the spectrum between "nature" and "nurture". It is distinct from the definition of the biological female sex, as both men and women can exhibit feminine traits.
Most women are cisgender, meaning their female sex assignment at birth corresponds with their female gender identity. Some women are transgender, meaning they were assigned male at birth. Trans women may experience gender dysphoria, the distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their sex assigned at birth. Gender dysphoria may be treated with gender-affirming care, which may include social or medical transition. Social transition may involve changes such as adopting a new name, hairstyle, clothing, and pronoun associated with the individual's affirmed female gender identity. A major component of medical transition for trans women is feminizing hormone therapy, which causes the development of female secondary sex characteristics. Medical transition may also involve gender-affirming surgery, and a trans woman may undergo one or more feminizing procedures which result in anatomy that is typically gendered female.