Woman

A woman is an distinctions, Cultural Gender Role distinctions, or both.

ETYMOLOGY

The .)

The symbol for the planet , and in ancient alchemy stood for Copper . Alchemists constructed the symbol from a circle (representing Spirit ) above a cross (representing Matter ).

BIOLOGY AND SEX

Biological factors are not the sole determinants of whether persons are considered, or consider themselves, women. Some women can have abnormal hormonal or chromosomal differences (such as Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia , complete or partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome or other Intersex conditions), and there are women who may be without, at least for an earlier part of their lives, typical female physiology (''trans'', Transgender ed or Transsexual women). (See Gender Identity .)

In terms of Biology , the female Sex Organ s are involved in the reproductive system, whereas the Secondary Sex Characteristic s are involved in nurturing children or attracting a mate. Most women have the Karyotype 46,XX, but around one in a thousand will be 47,XXX and one in 2500 will be 45,X .

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Although fewer females than males are born (the ratio is around 1:1.05), due to a longer life expectancy there are only 81 men aged 60 or over for every 100 women, and among the oldest, there are only 53 men for every 100 women. Women have a lower death rate than men, even in the (redundant and varied Gene s present on Sex Chromosome s in women); Sociology (such as not being expected in most countries to perform Military Service ); Health -impacting choices (such as Suicide or the use of Cigarette s and Alcohol ); the presence of the female hormone Estrogen , which has a cardioprotective effect in premenopausal women; and the effect of high levels of Androgen s in men. Out of the total human population, there are 101.3 men for every 100 women (source: 2001 World Almanac).

After the onset of Menarche , most women are able to become Pregnant and Bear Children . The study of female reproduction and Reproductive Organ s is called Gynaecology . Women generally reach Menopause in their late 40s or early 50s, at which point their Ovaries cease producing Estrogen and they can no longer become pregnant.

In general, women suffer from the same illnesses as men; however there are some Sex-related Illness es that are found more commonly or exclusively in women. Women and men may have different symtoms of an illness and may also respond differently to medical treatment. This area of medical research is studied by Gender-based Medicine .

LEGAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN HISTORICALLY

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See Also: Legal rights of women

Some early Legal systems that are the antecedents of modern systems formalized female dependency.

Biblical law

In the Mosaic Law , Divorce was not to be performed easily—only under certain circumstances. In most cases, divorce was carried out when the husband or the wife committed adultery, in which case the adulterer was stoned (unless shown mercy).
A husband could sign a certificate of divorce if he found indecency in his wife, but if the husband accused his wife of misconduct and if proven otherwise, he was whipped and fined and could not divorce the woman until his death. If the evidences were lacking, then the guilt or innocence of a wife accused of adultery might be tried by the ordeal of the '', offences against Chastity , and marriage of a man with a captive heathen woman or with a purchased Slave , and a similar set of rules applied to man as well.
The vow of marriage could be disallowed by her father, and daughters could Inherit only in the absence of sons (and then they were required to marry within their tribe).
It was possible for a divorced or a widowed woman to get remarried, but, if a widow was childless (and if her deceased husband had no children before he married her), she was to marry her deceased husband's brother if the brother was not married himself already. Moreover, if the virgin brother refused to carry out the duty, he did not have to fulfill the duty, and the woman was given municipal compensation.

Matthew 19: 3-12 ^NIV provides detail on early Christian views on divorce (there are many other passages that speak of marriage and divorce both in Old and New Testaments, however) by relating:

:³''Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"''
:⁴''"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,''' ⁵''and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?'' ⁶''So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."''
:⁷''"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"''
:⁸''Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.'' ⁹''I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."''
:¹⁰''The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."''
:¹¹''Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.'' ¹²''For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."''

CULTURE AND GENDER ROLES

i woman weaving. Textile work has historically been considered a female occupation in some cultures.]]
''Main article: Gender Role ''

In many Prehistoric cultures, women assumed a particular cultural role. In Hunter-gatherer societies, women were generally the gatherers of plant foods, while men hunted meat. Because of their intimate knowledge of plant life, most Anthropologists argue that it was women who led the Neolithic Revolution and became history's first pioneers of Agriculture .

In more recent history, the gender roles of women have changed greatly. Traditional gender roles for Middle-class women typically involved domestic tasks emphasizing child care, and did not involve entering employment for wages. For poorer women, especially among the Working Class es, this often remained an ideal, for economic necessity has long compelled them to seek employment outside the home, although the occupations traditionally open to working-class women were lower in prestige and pay than those open to men. Eventually, restricting women from wage labor came to be a mark of wealth and prestige in a family, while the presence of working women came to mark a household as being lower-class.

The women's movement is in part a struggle for the recognition of Equality Of Opportunity with men, and for Equal Rights irrespective of Sex , even if special relations and conditions are willingly incurred under the form of partnership involved in marriage. The difficulties of obtaining this recognition are due to historical factors combined with the habits and customs history has produced. Through a combination of Economic changes and the efforts of the Feminist movement in recent decades women in most societies now have access to careers beyond the traditional one of " Homemaker ". Despite these advances, modern women in Western society still face challenges in the workplace as well as with the topics of education, violence, health care, and motherhood to name a few.

These changes and struggles are among the foci of the Academic field of Women's Studies .

TERMS

woman, c. 1890]]

The English Language 's original word for "woman" was Old English ''wīf'', akin to German ''Weib''; it later became the modern word "wife." The modern word "woman" Etymological ly derives from ''wīfmann'', with the addition of ''mann'', "person", from Germanic '' Mannaz ''. This formation is peculiar to English. The equivalents for "man" in Old English were ''wer'' (a cognate of Latin ''vir'', "man") and ''wǣpnedmann'', literally "weaponed person". As previously mentioned, the term ''man'' continues to carry its original sense of " Human ", though this usage results in an asymmetry which is sometimes criticized as sexist.

The word ''girl'' originally meant "young person of either sex"; it was only around the beginning of the 16th Century that it came to mean specifically a ''female'' Child . Nowadays ''girl'' is also often used colloquially to refer to a young or unmarried woman. Since the early 1970s , feminists have challenged such usage, and today, using the word in the workplace (as in ''office girl'') is typically considered Inappropriate in the United States and United Kingdom because it implies a view of women as infantile. The use remains commonplace in several other English-speaking countries.

Conversely, in certain non-Western 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 obsolete English ''maid'' or ''maiden''. Referring to an unmarried female as ''woman'' can, in such a culture, imply that she is sexually experienced, which would be an insult to her family.

In more informal settings, the use of ''girl'' to refer to an adult female is also common practice in certain usage (such as ''girls' night out''), even among elderly women. In this sense, ''girl'' may be considered to be the analogue to the British word ''bloke'' for a man. Some regard non-parallel usages, such as ''men and girls,'' as Sexist . A number of other Derogatory Terms For Women are also in common usage.

There are various words used to refer to the quality of being a woman. The term "womanhood" merely means the state of being a woman; "femininity" is used to refer to a set of supposedly typical female qualities associated with a certain attitude to Gender Role s; "womanliness" is like "femininity", but is usually associated with a different view of gender roles; "femaleness" is a general term, but is often used as shorthand for "human femaleness"; "distaff" is an archaic adjective derived from women's conventional role as a spinner, now used only as a deliberate Archaism ; " Muliebrity " is a neologism meant to provide a female counterpart of " Virility ", but used very loosely, sometimes to mean merely "womanhood", sometimes "femininity", and sometimes even as a collective term for women.

SEE ALSO