Man
For the history and usage of the word "man", see man
A man is a
male human. The term
man is usually used for an adult, with the term
boy being the usual term for a male child or adolescent . However, the term is also used for a male human regardless of age, sometimes even extended to more primitive humanoids then the present species
Homo sapiens sapiens, as in apeman.
Encyclopedia
For the history and usage of the word "man", see man A
man is a
male human. The term
man is usually used for an adult, with the term
boy being the usual term for a male child or adolescent . However, the term is also used for a male human regardless of age, sometimes even extended to more primitive humanoids then the present species
Homo sapiens sapiens, as in apeman.
Age
Manhood is the period in a male's life after he has transitioned from boyhood, at least physically, during puberty. Many cultures have
rites of passage to symbolize a man's coming of age, such as confirmation in some branches of
Christianity, bar mitzvah in
Judaism, or even just the celebration of the eighteenth or twenty-first
birthday.
A
boy is a
male human child. For many, the word
man implies a certain degree of maturity and responsibility that young men in particular often feel unprepared for; yet they may also feel too old to be called a
boy. For this reason, many avoid using either
man or
boy to describe a young man and prefer colloquial terms such as
bloke,
lad,
chap,
fellow or
guy.
Biology and sex
Humans exhibit sexual dimorphism in many characteristics, many of which have no direct link to reproductive ability, however most of these characteristic do have a role in sexual attraction. Most expressions of sexual dimorphism in humans are like height, in that there may be an obvious tendency, but there is overlap between the sexes. That is, men tend to be taller than
women, but there are many people of both sexes who are in the mid-height range for the species.
Some examples of male secondary sexual characteristics in humans, those acquired as boys become men or even later in life, are:
- deeper voice
- taller height
- facial hair or beard
- diamond shape pubic hair pattern
- increased body overall
- thinner layer of subcutaneous fat
- male pattern baldness
- coarser skin
- darker skin tone
The sex organs of a man are part of the reproductive system, consisting of the
penis,
testicles, vas deferens, and the
prostate gland. The male reproductive system's function is to produce
semen which carries
sperm and thus
genetic information and deliver it so that it can unite with an egg inside of a woman. Since sperm that enters a woman's uterus and then
fallopian tubes goes on to
fertilize an egg which develops into a
fetus or
child, the male reproductive system plays no necessary role during the gestation. The concept of
fatherhood and
family exists in every human
society. The study of male reproduction and associated organs is called andrology. Most, but not all, men have the
karyotype 46/XY.
In general, men suffer from many of the same illnesses as women. However, there are some sex-related illnesses that occur only, or more frequently, in men. For example,
autism and
color blindness are more common in men than women. As well, some age-related disorders such as
Alzheimer's disease appear to be more common among men, though whether this is due to a genuinely higher incidence or because men have lower life expectancies than women is uncertain.
Biological factors are usually not the sole determinants of whether a person considers themselves a man or is considered a man. For example, several men have been born without a typical male physiology . Some individuals with XY chromosomes can have an hormonal or genetic difference , or another
intersex condition; some of those intersex people, and others, who have had a sex assigned at birth, seek reassignment later in their lives.
Additionally, 20% of males, particularly in the
U.S., the
Philippines, and
South Korea, as well as
Jews and
Muslims from all countries, have experienced
circumcision, a process of altering the
penis from its natural state by removing the
foreskin.
Gender stereotypes
Enormous debate in Western societies has focused on perceived social, intellectual, or emotional differences between men and women. These differences are very difficult to quantify for both scientific and political reasons. Below are a few stereotypical claims sometimes made about men in relation to women:
- More aggressive than women.
- More adventurous or courageous than women.
- More competitive but also more stubborn than women.
- Less empathy and awareness of social nuance than women.
- More self-confident and thus better leaders than women.
- Less emotional than women.
- More technically skilled than women.
- More prone to abstract thinking than women.
Some of these differences have been supported by scientific research; others have not. For example, in interpersonal relationships, most research has found that men and women are equally aggressive. Men do tend to be more aggressive outside of the home. It is especially difficult and contentious for science to separate the "innate" or biological differences from the learned or social differences. All should be considered broad generalizations; that is, at least a large minority of either gender would fit better with the other gender in any one of these aspects.
A number of the above stereotypes were not perceived in the same way as today until the 19th century, beginning with industrialization.
In terms of outward appearance, few men in Western cultures wear
cosmetics or
clothing generally associated with female
gender roles.
Gallery
References
Further reading
- Andrew Perchuk, Simon Watney, Bell Hooks, The Masculine Masquerade: Masculinity and Representation, MIT Press 1995
- Pierre Bourdieu, Masculine Domination, Paperback Edition, Stanford University Press 2001
- Robert W. Connell, Masculinities, Cambridge : Polity Press, 1995
- Warren Farrell, Myth of Male Power Berkley Trade, 1993 ISBN 0425181448
- Michael Kimmel , Robert W. Connell , Jeff Hearn , Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, Sage Publications 2004
See also
