Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jerzy (talk | contribs) at 02:19, 19 November 2003 (rm "''See also:'' first man" to Man (disamb...). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

See Man (disambiguation) for other meanings

A man is an adult, male human. The irregular plural is men.

When people talk about men, they may be:

• using the word in terms of sex or gender role distinctions
• using the word in its general sense, as in, "All men are created equal" (referring to all humankind, both male and female)

An adult female human is a woman; and the neutral for both sex are human being, human or person.

Sex

In terms of sex, men have various sexual characteristics that differentiate them from women. In men, the sex organs are involved in the reproductive system, whereas the secondary sex characteristics are involved in attracting a mate or in defeating rivals. Men have mainly external sex organs. The study of male reproduction and associated organs is called andrology.

In general, men suffer from the same illnesses as women, however there are some sex-related illnesses that occur only or more frequently in men.

Gender Roles

In terms of gender, men differ from women by a variety of behaviours.

• Men, considered as a group, are often considered to be more aggressive than women. However, 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.
• In modern western society, few wear cosmetics or clothing generally associated with female gender roles. (Doing so is known as cross-dressing, and is generally stigmatised).