Twenty womenA woman at the seaSmiling woman inIndia
Awoman is anadultfemalehuman.[1] The plural of "woman" is "women". Young human females are called "girls". The word "women" is sometimes used to refer to females of any age (as in the phrase "Women's rights")
Human female reproductive anatomy
Women usually have less hair on their faces and bodies thanmen. After they finishedpuberty, and beforemenopause, women are usually able to getpregnant and give birth tobabies.
Women have historically been treated differently from men. They have also been expected toact differently. In many places, the treatment of and expectations for women have changed with the spread of women's rights in the20th century.Transgender women were born male but socially live as women, and attracted more attention in the late 20th to early 21st century.
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Between the end ofpuberty andmenopause, a woman can becomepregnant. Women go through puberty usually when they are between ten and sixteen years old. The menopause usually starts in the late forties, and ends in the early fifties. Between these ages, women go through amenstrual cycle, once a month. If such a woman hassex with a man, at the right time of the month, and nocontraception is used, the woman may get pregnant.
A pregnant woman, after 26 weeks, about two-thirds through her pregnancyA womanbreastfeeding her child.
A woman who hassex with a man, at the right time, may get pregnant, if nocontraception is used. Contraception will stop a pregnancy. When she gets pregnant, theovum of her menstrual cycle will be fertilized, and attach itself to the wall of theuterus. In humans, a pregnancy usually takes about 38 weeks. After this time, a child is born. Forchildbirth, a woman usually gets help from specially-trained people, calledmidwives. During the pregnancy, the woman should regularly see a doctor. Very often, these doctors are specialized, and are calledgynecologists orobstetricians.
After the child is born, the woman will breast-feed her child for some time.
Sometimes women who are very young get pregnant. These pregnancies are known asteenage pregnancies; very often, they are more difficult than normal ones.
If a woman had sex with a man, and no contraception was used, there's the risk of her getting pregnant. If she does not want to get pegnant, she has some time to take what is calledemergency contraception. Emergency contraception protects against unwanted pregnancies, as it keeps the pregnancy from starting. It does not protect againstsexually-transmitted diseases. Also, it will not work all the time. Very often, women who want to get emergency contaception also need to spend some time with a professional in a counselling session. Depending on the country, emergency contraception may not be available, or it may not be legal.
Humans also have the possibility to stop a pregnancy, when it has started. Stopping a pregnancy is calledabortion. When people do it on purpose, it is calledinduced abortion. Pregnancies that stop on their own are calledspontaneous abortion,miscarriage orstillbirth. Depending on the country or region, a pregnancy can be stopped at any time, or there are limits, for how long it can be stopped. Pregnancies that have gone on longer are generally more difficult to stop.
Many countries havelaws that say for what reasons, a pregnancy can be stopped. One of a common set of reason is that continuing the pregnancy would be dangerous to the woman. Another common reason is that the pregnancy was the result of arape (the woman did not want to have sex with a person). Still another would be that the child would be born with certainbirth defects. All of these reasons vary by country. In some countries, they also vary by area. Some countries are very liberal, others are more restrictive. Some countries or territories do not allow abortion at all.
During the pregnancy, the woman will change too. There are many things a woman should no longer do. Manydrugs have a bad effect on the child growing inside her. The woman therefore needs to watch the drugs that she takes, and she needs to tell the people who give her the drugs (at thepharmacy) that she is pregnant. Note that drinkingalcohol, orsmokingcigarettes also has a bad effect on the unborn.
In humans, a pregnancy lasts 266 days, on average. Most children are born within two weeks of the calculated date. Only four percent of the children are born on the calculated date. With birth, the unborn child leaves the womb.There are certain signs that a birth is about to occur:
The womb (also called uterus) will contract regularly, at first about once every 10 minutes
A woman giving birth will feel pain, much more pain than other animals (such as theGreat Apes).This is mainly due to the fact that the head is big, and thepelvis is rather small.
In many countries,hospitals are specially equipped to handle births. Giving birth at a hospital has the benefit that the woman can get help faster, if anything goes wrong. For this reason, most births happen at a hospital.
In some cases, people can also give birth at home.
Some countrires allow a woman togive birth anoymously. That way, the woman does not have to give her name, or much other personal information. The baby will then be given up foradoption, so that another couple can raise the child.
Closed baby hatch, in PolandModern baby hatch, in Poland
In many countries there are hospitals withbaby hatches. A woman can put her child in such a hatch. The baby will be raised and cared for, and it will be given up foradoption. Many women who are unable to raise the child use baby hatches.
Women have historically had less control over their lives than men. They have often been forbidden to own land, vote, hold political office, or choose whom theymarry and discouraged from voicing political opinions or attending school. Since the beginning of the 20th century women have gained many rights in most of thedeveloped world.
Women have also historically faced a lot ofsexual violence,harassment, anddiscrimination. The amount of sexual violence, harassment, and discrimination has decreased with the spread of women's rights, but many women still face these problems.
Women have historically been expected to bear and raise children, limit their public lives, and allow their male relatives to make decisions for them. These expectations have changed with the spread of women's rights.
Before modern societies,education of women was limited. Indeveloped countries, most women have access to education, and even perform better than men at many levels. In the United States in 2005 and 2006, women have earned 62% of associate degrees, 58% of bachelor's degrees, 60% of master's degrees, and 50% of doctorates.[3][4]
Education, especially for women, has become more common in most countries in the 20th and 21st centuries than it was previously.
Anurse, preparing avaccine, inEthiopia.A woman working in a factory in the United States, 1940s.
In most countries, women work, like men. Their jobs are sometimes different, and sometimes their work is what society expects. In jobs, that have ot do wirth education, or with healthcare, there are generally more women than men. If women and men do the same job, women often earn less for their work. This is known asgender pay gap. Also, there are fewer women in leading roles of companies.
Some women have become successfulpoliticians. In 2019, about a quarter of all politicians were female. Nordic countries were in the lead, with over 42%. The fewest female politicians can be found in Oceania, with just over 16%, Middle East and North Africa, with 19%, and Asiatic countries with just under 20%.
In most countries, women have the same rights tovote, and to get elected than men. This has not always been the case. The question, whether women should be able to vote is calledwomen's suffrage. Only very few countries in the world do not allow women to vote or to get elected.
Femininity (also calledwomanliness orgirlishness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Feminity is a social construct,[7] which is different in different societies. Some behaviors considered feminine are biologically influenced.[7][8][9][10] People do not agree about the extent in which femininity is sociallly or biologically influenced.[9][8][10] It is distinct from the definition of the biological female sex,[11][12] as both men and women can have feminine traits.
↑Women (Still) Need Not Apply:The Gender and Science Reader. New York: Routledge. 2001. pp. 13–23.{{cite book}}:Unknown parameter|authors= ignored (help)
↑Greer 2001, p. 142. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGreer2001 (help)
↑James 1997, p. xiv. sfn error: no target: CITEREFJames1997 (help)
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