The symbol of the Roman goddess Venus is used to represent the female sex in biology.[1]
An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction.[2][3][4]
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males are results of the anisogamous reproduction system, wherein gametes are of different sizes (unlike isogamy where they are the same size). The exact mechanism of female gamete evolution remains unknown.
In species that have males and females, sex-determination may be based on either sex chromosomes, or environmental conditions. Most female mammals, including female humans, have two X chromosomes. Characteristics of organisms whith a female sex vary between different species, having different female reproductive systems, with some species showing characteristics secondary to the reproductive system, as with mammary glands in mammals.
In humans, the word female can also be used to refer to gender in the social sense of gender role or gender identity.[5][6]
^Stearn, William T. (17 August 1961). "The Male and Female Symbols of Biology". New Scientist. 11 (248): 412–413. LCCN 59030638.[permanent dead link]
^Grzimek, Bernhard (2003). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Gale. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-0-7876-5362-0. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2020-07-09. During sexual reproduction, each parent animal must form specialized cells known as gametes...In virtually all animals that reproduce sexually, the gametes occur in two morphologically distinct forms corresponding to male and female. These distinctions in form and structure are related to the specific functions of each gamete. The differences become apparent during the latter stages of spermatogenesis (for male gametes) and oogenesis (for female gametes)....After oogenetic meiosis, the morphological transformation of the female gamete generally includes development of a large oocyte that does not move around....The ambiguous term "egg" is often applied to oocytes and other fertilizable stages of female gametes....Spermatogenesis and oogenesis most often occur in different individual animals known as males and females respectively.
^Cite error: The named reference Martin 2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Fusco, Giuseppe; Minelli, Alessandro (2019-10-10). The Biology of Reproduction. Cambridge University Press. pp. 111–113. ISBN 978-1-108-49985-9. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
^Laura Palazzani, Gender in Philosophy and Law (2012), page v
^"Definition of FEMALE". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell)...
Female ejaculation is characterized as an expulsion of fluid from the Skene's gland at the lower end of the urethra during or before an orgasm. It is also...
an adult female human. Before adulthood, a woman is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit...
The Female may refer to: The Female (1924 film), a 1924 American silent film directed by Sam Wood The Female (1959 film), a 1959 French-Italian drama film...
Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. It was described as exhibiting a wide array of symptoms, including anxiety, shortness of...
Female submission or femsub is an activity or relationship in which a woman submits to the direction of a sexual partner or has her body used sexually...
A female condom (also known as an internal condom) is a barrier device that is used during sexual intercourse as a barrier contraceptive to reduce the...
Female impersonation may refer to Cross-dressing Cross-gender acting Drag queen Travesti (theatre)#Men in female roles Köçek Onnagata Otokonoko Male impersonation...
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions...
orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction. The concept of "lesbian" to differentiate...
(1918–1939). The first list includes female presidents who are heads of state and may also be heads of government, as well as female heads of government who are...
Female education is a catch-all term for a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education...
The female gaze is a feminist theory term referring to the gaze of the female spectator, character or director of an artistic work, but more than the...
Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. Female infanticide is prevalent in several nations such as China, India and Pakistan...
science, female bonding is the formation of a close personal relationship and patterns of friendship, attachment, and cooperation in females. Within the...
principle abound, as do hypotheses explaining the evolution of female promiscuity. Females in fact have a lot to gain, depending on the species. Many species...
A female urinal is a urinal designed for the female anatomy to allow for ease of use by women and girls. Different models enable urination in standing...
Female Trouble is a 1974 American independent dark comedy film written, produced and directed by John Waters. It stars Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian...
transgender woman) is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon...
Forbes magazine annually ranks the world's wealthiest female billionaires. This list uses the static rating published once a year by Forbes, usually in...
The female reproductive system is made up of the internal and external sex organs that function in the reproduction of new offspring. The human female reproductive...
This is a list of female tennis players who meet one or more of the following criteria: Singles: Officially ranked among the top 25 by the Women's Tennis...
Female infertility refers to infertility in women. It affects an estimated 48 million women, with the highest prevalence of infertility affecting women...
2017; she thus obtained the Guinness World Record for "Fastest Person (Female) to Travel to All Sovereign Nations" and is the first documented woman,...
The following is a list of WBC female world champions certificated by the World Boxing Council (WBC). Stand: June 3, 2020. r – Champion relinquished title...
The Female Furies are a group of women warriors and supervillains appearing in comics published by DC Comics. All of them are New Gods who serve Darkseid...
Female sperm can refer to either: A sperm which contains an X chromosome, produced in the usual way in the testicles, referring to the occurrence of such...
Global Information