Female (gender)

The woman\* flag by tartersause.

pronunciation guide

**Female** is a gender within the gender binary. It is often juxtaposed to male, or to manhood or boyhood, which are typically presented as the "opposite" of womanhood and girlhood, respectively.

Depending on the context, different words may be used. Adults are commonly referred to as women, whereas children and young adults are more commonly referred to as girls. Adults may sometimes be referred to as girls, especially familiarly or in casual settings. However, the word "girl" can be diminishing when referring to an adult, or when referring to a woman in a professional setting. This is especially true if men are not receiving the same treatment. Likewise, referring to a young girl as a woman is often deemed inappropriate.[*source?*]

Some people are pleonotic, meaning that they identify with some gendered words, but not all synonyms for that word. A pleonotic woman, for example, may not necessarily identify with the words "female" or "girl". A pleonotic girl, similarly, may not necessarily identify with the words "woman" or "female".

Women and girls may be cisgender, transgender, or other gender modalities, and are not always assigned female at birth. Additionally, while womanhood and girlhood alone fit into the gender binary, it is not always experienced in a binary way; women and girls can be nonbinary. Some women and girls experience additional genders, have only partial connection to womanhood or girlhood, experience fluctuations in their gender, and/or are a woman or girl only sometimes. Some people may also describe themselves as women (or related terms) as a form of gender expression, without considering those words to be reflective of their gender identity. People may also be woman-aligned without necessarily being women or girls.

Women often use she/her pronouns, but this is not always the case. Some women use he/him pronouns, they/them pronouns, it/its pronouns, and/or neopronouns, or no pronouns at all, especially if they are nonbinary and/or gender nonconforming. Women who use these pronouns may or may not also use she/her pronouns.

## Etymology

The word "woman" is derived from the Old English *wīfmon*/*wīfman*/*wīfmann*, which was a combination of the old English *wīf* meaning "woman," and *mon*/*man*/*mann* meaning "person". *Wīfmon* was a masculine term for women, whereas the feminine term was *cwene*, and *wīf* was the neutral form. The term also meant "female servant." *Wīf* is also the source of the word "wife," and *mon*/*man*/*mann* is the source of "man."

The word "girl" is derived from the ancient *gyrle*, a term of unknown origin, meaning "child, young person." The word *gyrle* could be used to refer to a child of any sex, but was most frequently used to refer to female children.

The word "female" is derived from the Old French *femelle*, meaning "woman, female."

The word "gal" originated in the 1790s as a vulgar slang pronunciation of "girl."

## Flag

The five stripe woman flag was created by Tumblr user Trintin, formerly known as Trintinic, a nonbinary woman, on December 29, 2017. She stated that she created the flag because she felt that existing flags were not fully inclusive. Her flag represented her fight to be in women's spaces. The flag was intended to be explicitly inclusive of all people who self-define partially or fully as women, for any length of time, regardless of birth assignment. The dark pink stripes represent those who identify fully as women, the light pink stripes represent those who identify partially as women, and the white stripe represents multigender people who include womanhood in their identity.

The seven stripe woman\* flag was created by Tumblr user tartersause, also known as Enfys or Antonymph, on February 15, 2023. Xe is both a woman and a man, and additionally describes xemself as pangender, genderfluid, and X. An asterisk was used at the end of the word "woman" to signal inclusion of all people whose identity includes, or is adjacent to, womanhood. This includes nonbinary women, woman-aligned people, girls who aren't women, and anyone else who may feel represented by, or included under, the term "woman" (or related terms). Xe states that, while xe doesn't see a woman flag as very necessary, xe understands why people may like having one:

> We all experience struggles based on our genders, even if those genders are binary. The patriarchy hurts everyone, especially those who are already minorities. Many forms of bigotry (such as homomisia) are inherently intertwined with gender. It makes sense to have pride in your gender, so long as that pride isn't oppressive.
>
> - tartersause, "Woman\* and Man\* gender flags"

However, xe wasn't fond of the existing flags representing women, which were overwhelmingly pink, including flags that were labeled as "fully inclusive" (potentially referring to Trintinic's flag). In response to the existing flags, xe designed a flag which wasn't centered around the color pink.

The stripes of tartersause's flag, from top to bottom, are purple, blue, green, yellow, pink, magenta, and red. The cool and yellow stripes each have meanings related to womanhood, whereas the pink and red-toned stripes have more broad, metaphorical symbolism. This was done to intentionally subvert the idea that womanhood is intrinsically tied to the color pink. The green stripe was also chosen as the inverse of pink, and represents the redefining of femininity and womanhood. The flag was also designed to look like a rainbow, representing womanhood as a spectrum, rather than one specific experience.

Each stripe has its own specific meaning:

* Purple represents pushing the boundaries of gender.
* Blue represents individuality and complexity among women.
* Green represents the redefining of femininity and womanhood. It is the inverse of pink.
* Yellow represents solidarity and sisterhood between women.
* Pink represents the vast sky, which is ever-changing, just as all people are.
* Magenta represents depth, and recognizing that which is not always observed on the surface.
* Red represents blood: something all people have inside them, and can’t live without. This symbolizes human solidarity.

There are two versions of the flag: one with a Venus symbol, and one without. In the version with a Venus symbol, the symbol's color is a combination of the top and bottom stripes, and is also outlined with the color of the center stripe. This choice of color isn't stated to represent anything, but may allude to the symbol encompassing all stripe meanings.

## Symbol

The Venus symbol (♀) is commonly used to represent women, girls, femininity, the female sex, and things related. It is a circle with a cross extending outwards from the bottom. This has been interpreted as a stylized hand mirror belonging to the Goddess Venus. However, modern scholars disagree with this interpretation, instead suggesting that the symbol is derivative of Greek letters representing the name Phosphoros (Venus). A less common version of the Venus symbol has no cross, and instead only has a line in its place (⚲). Unlike the version with a cross, this symbol is not typically used to represent womanhood, femininity, or anything related. However, it is sometimes used to represent neutrois people or gender neutrality.

## Controversy

The word "female" is often used in medical or descriptive contexts, but may be considered inappropriate when used in other ways. It is especially disrespectful to use the word "female" as a noun, or in suggestive ways. The word "female" has also been criticized due to its focus on sex instead of gender. This language is often used to perpetuate transphobia.

It can also be dehumanizing, as the word "female" is not exclusive to humans, and may refer to nonhuman animals and plants as well. This dehumanizing language is often used by police officers and incels as a method of distancing oneself from the person's humanity. Usage of the words "female" and "male" is often skewed in a way that targets women by referring to them as "females," whereas men are simply referred to as men.

## Discrimination

Women are often expected to fulfill a feminine social role. Femininity is simultaneously demanded and devalued, and women are often in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. This has resulted in many women feeling stifled and looked down upon, and has also negatively impacted how women are often treated in professional settings. This has an especially profound impact on LGBTQ+ women, women of color, and other women from additional marginalized groups.[*source?*]

## Notes

1. ↑ tartersause is referred to with xe/xem pronouns in this article, due to xem specifying that xe uses all pronouns, but prefers neopronouns, alternating pronouns, and mirrored pronouns. Neopronouns are used for consistency.
2. ↑ The word "suggestive" is used here to allude to sexuality, romance, and things related.
3. ↑ "Incel" stands for "involuntary celibate," and is often used as a self-identifier by men who believe that they're incapable of finding a partner, typically believing that this is of no fault of their own. Many incels blame women for their problems, and additionally try to uphold traditional western gender roles. These beliefs can cause some incels to become violent towards women, and can even be cited as the reason behind some violent crimes and murders.

## References

1. ↑ Gender binary Definition & Meaning. Dictionary.com.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Woman Definition & Meaning. Dictionary.com.
3. ↑ Woman definition and meaning. Collins English Dictionary.
4. ↑ Girl Definition & Meaning. Dictionary.com.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Vos, Andrea. Call me by my gender..
6. ↑ IMOGA (they/it) (2019-03-16). Pleonotic. Tumblr.
7. ↑ AP (2022-09-22). Pleonotic Pride Flag. Tumblr.
8. ↑ Woman. Cambridge English Dictionary.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Hardell, Ash. *The ABC's of LGBT+*. Mango Media Inc., 2016. ISBN 9781633534087.
10. ↑ Multigender / Polygender (English). The Trans Language Primer.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lane, S. Nicole (2021-01-17). What Is Genderqueer?. Verywell Health.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Trans and Intersex Glossary. OULGBTQ+ Society.
13. ↑ Demigender (English). The Trans Language Primer.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 PFLAG National Glossary of Terms. PFLAG.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ferguson, Sian. What Does It Mean to Be Agender?. healthline.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Genderfluid / Genderflux (English). The Trans Language Primer.
17. ↑ What Does Genderflux Mean? + Other Genderflux Information To Help You Be A Better Ally!. Queer In The World.
18. ↑ genderflux Meaning | Gender & Sexuality. Dictionary.com (2018-11-06).
19. ↑ OptimistMinds (2022-08-30). Agenderflux (What does it mean?). OptimistMinds.
20. ↑ Gender Expansive, Genderqueer, Gender Nonconforming (GE, GI). IT GETS BETTER PROJECT.
21. ↑ Gender alignment. Nonbinary Wiki. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022.
22. ↑ Mod Lune (2018-01-18). we don't care about your binary's post. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021.
23. ↑ Olsen, Billie (she/they). Why Pronouns Don’t Always Equate to Gender. LGBTQ and All.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 wifmann. Wiktionary.
25. ↑ wif. Wiktionary.
26. ↑ Historical background. Britannica.
27. ↑ girl | Etymology, origin and meaning. Online Etymology Dictionary (2020-08-17).
28. ↑ female | Etymology, origin and meaning. Online Etymology Dictionary (2022-10-08).
29. ↑ gal | Etymology, origin and meaning. Online Etymology Dictionary (2015-03-01).
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Trintinic (2017-12-29). Woman Flag. Tumblr. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Fy (2017-12-31). Woman Flag. Tumblr.
32. ↑ Trintinic. Trintinic. Tumblr. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018.
33. ↑ 33.00 33.01 33.02 33.03 33.04 33.05 33.06 33.07 33.08 33.09 33.10 33.11 33.12 33.13 33.14 33.15 tartersause (2023-02-15). Woman\* and Man\* gender flags. Tumblr.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 tartersause (2023-01-01). About Me. Tumblr.
35. ↑ Rehder, Dieter. *Chemistry in Space: From Interstellar Matter to the Origin of Life.*. Wiley-VCH, 2011. ISBN 9783527326891. "The symbol, the stylized hand mirror of the Goddess Venus, also represents femininity."
36. ↑ Taylor, Robert B. "Now and Future Tales". *White Coat Tales*. Springer International Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9783319290539.
37. ↑ Stearn, William T. "The Origin of the Male and Female Symbols of Biology". *Taxon*. May 1962. "The origin of these symbols has long been of interest to scholars. Probably none now accepts the interpretation of Scaliger that ♂ represents the shield and spear of Mars and ♀ Venus's looking glass."
38. ↑ Schott, GD (2005-12-24). Sex symbols ancient and modern: their origins and iconography on the pedigree. National Library of Medicine.
39. ↑ Gender-Symbol Neutrois Alternative dark transparent Background. Wikimedia Commons.
40. ↑ Female Definition & Meaning. Dictionary.com.