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Definition: WOMEN |
WOMENNoun1. Pl. of Woman. Plural1. Of Woman 2. Of Herdswoman |
Date "WOMEN" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of women, foreshadows intrigue. To argue with one, foretells that you will be outwitted and foiled. To see a dark-haired woman with blue eyes and a pug nose, definitely determines your withdrawal from a race in which you stood a showing for victory. If she has brown eyes and a Roman nose, you will be cajoled into a dangerous speculation. If she has auburn hair with this combination, it adds to your perplexity and anxiety. If she is a blonde, you will find that all your engagements will be pleasant and favorable to your inclinations. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Multilingual Slang | English (fish ). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Female is a sex that denotes an animal which produces egg cells in order to reproduce. (The "egg cell" is the larger gamete).The female is one half of a heterogamous reproduction system, where the male is the other half. In many cases, a female cannot reproduce without sexual intercourse with a male, although some exceptions exist. What actually differentiates a female from a male is not always apparent, and in some cases more a question of definition than anything else.
'Female' and 'male' designate reproductive structures in plants, so the concept is not just limited to animals.
A woman is a female human being.
Female or Feminine is a grammatical gender in many languages.
Female is a gender role.
In hardware and electronics, a female connector is a fixture, such as a socket, which is designed to have a corresponding (male) fitting inserted into it. (see gender changer)
See Also
- Feminism
- Misogyny
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Female."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Feminism is a set of social theories and political practices that are critical of past and current social relations and primarily motivated and informed by the experience of women. Most generally, it involves a critique of gender inequality; more specifically, it involves the promotion of women's rights and interests. Feminist theorists question such issues as the relationship between sex, sexuality, and power in social, political, and economic relationships. Feminist political activists advocate such issues as women's suffrage, salary equivalency, and control over reproduction.
Feminism is not associated with any particular group, practice, or historical event. Its basis is the political awareness that there are uneven power structures between groups, along with the belief that something should be done about it. There are many forms of feminism.
One subtype of feminists, Radical feminists, consider patriarchy to be the root cause of the most serious social problems. This form of feminism was popular in the second wave, though is not as prominent today. Some find that the prioritization of oppression that Radical feminists did was too universalizing and that women in other countries may find racial instead of gender to be the root oppression that they may face.
Some radical feminists advocate separatism -- a complete separation of male and female in society and culture -- while others question not only the relationship between men and women, but the very meaning of "man" and "woman" as well (see Queer theory); some argue that gender roles, gender identity, and sexuality are themselves social constructs (see also heteronormativity). For these feminists, feminism is a primary means to human liberation (i.e., the liberation of men as well as women, and men and women from other social problems).
Other feminists believe that there may be social problems separate from or prior to patriarchy (e.g., racism or class divisions); they see feminism as one movement of liberation among many, each with effects on each other.
Some of the major subtypes of feminism are: Amazon feminism, cultural feminism, ecofeminism, libertarian feminism or individualist feminism, material feminism, gender feminism, pop feminism and separatist feminism. Certain actions, approaches and people can also be described as proto-feminist or post-feminist.
Although many leaders of feminism have been women, not all women are feminists and not all feminists are women. Some feminists argue that men should not take positions of leadership in the movement, but most accept or seek the support of men. Compare pro-feminist, humanism, masculism.
Feminism has been principally a movement within the Western societies in the 20th Century. Some limited advances have been made in some non-Western countries; but the movement has been principally Western in origin and effects. Feminists hope that their movement will have an equal impact across the rest of the world in the 21st century.
History
The earliest works on 'the woman question' criticised the restrictive role of women without necessarily claiming that women were disadvantaged or that men were to blame. Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is one of the few works written before the 19th century that can unambiguously be called feminist. By modern standards her metaphor of women as nobility, the elite of society, coddled, fragile and in danger of intellectual and moral sloth, sounds like a masculist argument. Wollstonecraft believed that both sexes contributed to this situation and took it for granted that women had considerable power over men.
Feminism is generally said to have begun in the 19th century as people increasingly adopted the perception that women are oppressed in a male-centered society (see patriarchy). The feminist movement is rooted in the West and especially in the reform movement of the 19th century. The organised movement is dated from the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.
Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the founders of the suffragette movement and aimed to reveal the institutional sexism in British society, forming the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Often the repeated jailing by the Cat and Mouse Act, for trivial misdemeanours in activism, inspired members to go on hunger strikes, and because of the resultant force feeding that was the practice, caused these members to be very ill, serving to draw attention to the brutality of the legal system at the time and to further their cause.
Over a century and a half the movement has grown to include diverse perspectives on what constitutes discrimination against women. Early feminists are often called the first wave and feminists after about 1960 the second wave.
Feminist history in the United States
In the United States, this view had begun to evolve by the 1830s. Early feminists active in the abolition movement began to increasingly compare women's situation with the plight of African American slaves. This new polemic squarely blamed men for all the restrictions of women's role, and argued that the relationship between the sexes was one-sided, controlling and oppressive.
Most of the early women's advocates were Christians, especially Quakers. It started with Lucretia Mott's involvement as one of the first women to join the Quaker abolitionist men in the abolitionist movement. The result was that Quaker women like Lucretia Mott learned how to organize and pull the levers of representative government. Starting in the mid-1830s, they decided to use those skills for women's advocacy. It was those early Quaker women who taught other women their advocacy skills, and for the first time used these skills for women's advocacy. As these new women's advocates began to expand on ideas about men and women, religious beliefs were also used to support them. Sarah Grimké suggested in her Letters on the Equality of the Sexes (1837) that the curse placed upon Eve in the Garden of Eden was God's prophecy of a period of universal oppression of women by men. Early feminists set about compiling lists of examples of women's plight in foreign countries and in ancient times.
At the Seneca Falls convention in 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton modeled her declaration of sentiments on the United States Declaration of Independence. Men were said to be in the position of a tyrannical government over women. This separation of the sexes into two warring camps was to become increasingly popular in feminist thought, despite some reform minded men such as William Lloyd Garrison and Wendel Phillips who supported the early women's movement.
As the movement broadened to include many women like Susan B. Anthony from the temperance movement, the slavery metaphor was joined by the image of the drunkard husband who batters his wife. Feminist prejudice that women were morally superior to men reflected the social attitudes of the day. It also led to the to focus on women's suffrage over more practical issues in the latter half of the 19th century. Feminists assumed that once women had the vote, they would have the political will to deal with any other issues.
Victoria Woodhull argued in the 1870s that the 14th amendment to the United States Constitution already guaranteed equality of voting rights to women. She anticipated the arguments of the United States Supreme Court a century later. But there was a strong movement opposed to suffrage, and it was delayed another 50 years, during which time most of the practical issues feminists campaigned for, including the 18th amendment's prohibition on alcohol, had already been won.
Feminists of the second wave in the 1960's focused more on lifestyle and economic issues; "The personal is the political" became a catchphrase. As the reality of women's status increased, the feminist rhetoric against men became more vitriolic. The dominant metaphor describing the relationship of men to women became rape; men raped women physically, economically and spiritually. Radical feminists argued that rape was the defining characteristic of men, and introduced a new phase of hostility to maleness. Lesbian separatists appealed to lesbian women, advocating the complete independence of women from what was seen as a male-dominated society.
Radical feminists, particularly Catharine MacKinnon, began to dominate feminist jurisprudence. Whereas first-wave feminism had concerned itself with challenging laws restricting women, the second wave tended to campaign for new laws that aimed to compensate women for societal discrimination. The idea of male privilege began to take on a legal status as judicial decisions echoed it, even in the United States Supreme Court.
One of the largest, earliest and most influential feminist organizations in the U.S., the National Organization for Women (NOW) illustrates the strong influence of radical feminism. Created in 1967 with Betty Friedan as president, the organization's name was deliberately chosen to say for women, and not of women. By 1968, the New York chapter lost many members who saw NOW as too mainstream. There was constant friction, most notably over the defense of Valerie Solanas. Solanas had shot Andy Warhol after writing the SCUM manifesto, seen by many as a passionately anti-male tract calling for the extermination of men. Ti-Grace Atkinson, the New York chapter president of NOW described her as, "the first outstanding champion of women's rights". Another member, Florynce Kennedy represented Solanas at her trial. Within a year of the split, the new group limited the number of women members who live with men to 1/3 of the group's membership. By 1971, all married women were excluded from the breakaway group and Atkinson had also defected.
Friedan denounced the lesbian radicals as the lavender menace and tried to distance NOW from lesbian activities and issues. The radicals accused her of homophobia. There was a constant fight for control of NOW which eventually Friedan lost. By 1992 Olga Vives, chair of the NOW's national lesbian rights taskforce estimated that 40 percent of NOW members were lesbians. However NOW remains open to male members in contrast to some groups.
Feminists disagree over the role of men as participants within the movement. Some female feminists feel that it is inappropriate to describe self-named "feminist men" as "feminist" and instead prefer the title "pro-feminist men"; however, this usage has not caught on in most of American society. Others think that the imposition of a label like "pro-feminist male" on people who prefer another label like "feminist" is equivalent to the imposition of racial epithets that are not preferred by the groups they name.
In 1979, Belva Lockwood became the first woman to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to become a member of the Supreme Court.
Relationship to other movements
Most feminists take a holistic approach to politics, believing the saying of Martin Luther King Jr, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". In that belief, feminists usually support other movements such as the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement. At the same time many black feminists such as bell hooks criticise the movement for being dominated by white women. Feminist claims about the disadvantages women face are often less relevant to the lives of black women. Many black feminist women prefer the term womanism for their views.
However, Feminists are sometimes wary of the transsexual movement because they challenge the distinctions between men and women. Transsexual women are rejected by some feminists who say that no one born male can truly understand the oppression women face. On the other hand, transsexual women are quick to retort that the discrimination they face due to asserting their gender identity, more than makes up for any they may have "missed out on" growing up.
Impact of Feminism in the West
Feminism has effected many changes in Western society, including women's suffrage; broad employment for women at more equitable wages ("equal pay for equal work"); the right to initiate divorce proceedings and "no fault" divorce; the right of women to control their own bodies and medical decisions, including obtaining birth control devices and safe abortions; and many others. Most feminists would argue, however, that there is still much to be done on these fronts. As Western society has become increasingly accepting of feminist principles, some of these are no longer seen as specifically feminist, because they have been adopted by all or most people. Some beliefs that were radical for their time are now mainstream political thought. Almost no one in Western societies today questions the right of women to vote or own land, a concept that seemed quite strange 200 years ago.
In some cases (notably equal pay for equal work) major advances have been made, but feminists still struggle to achieve their complete goals.
Feminists are often proponents of using non-sexist language, using "Ms" to refer to both married and unmarried women, for example, or the ironic use of the term "herstory" instead of "history". Feminists are also often proponents of using gender-inclusive language, such as "humanity" instead of "mankind", or "he or she" in place of "he" where the gender is unknown. Feminists in most cases advance their desired use of language either to promote a respectful treatment of women or to affect the tone of political discourse, rather than in the belief that language directly affects perception of reality (compare Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis).
Impact on morals
Opponents of feminism claim that women's quest for this kind of external power, as opposed to the internal power to affect other people's ethics and values, has left a vacuum in the area of moral training, where women formerly held sway. Some feminists reply that the education, including the moral education, of children has never been, and should not be, seen as the exclusive responsibility of women. Such arguments are entangled within the larger disagreements of the Culture Wars, as well as within feminist (and anti-feminist) ideas regarding custodianship of societal morals and compassion.
Impact on heterosexual relationships
The impact of feminism has certainly affected the nature of heterosexual relationships in Western and other societies affected by feminism. While these impacts have generally been seen as positive, there have been some negative consequences.
In some of these relationships, there has been a change in the power relationship between men and women. In these circumstances, women and men have had to adapt to relatively new situations, causing confusions about role and identity. Women can now avail themselves more to new opportunities, but some have suffered with the demands of trying to live up to the so-called "superwomen" identity, and have struggled to 'have it all', i.e. manage to happily balance a career and family. Instead of the onus of childcare resting solely on the female, it has shifted somewhat, and the men are expected to assist in managing family matters more than in previous times. Various socialist feminists in response to the family issue blame this to the lack of state-provided childcare facilities, but this is not the case in all societies.
Men in some circumstances have also felt a loss of power and identity, and have struggled to come to terms with the changing social environments and differing demands made upon them.
There have been changes also in attitudes towards sexual morality and behaviour with the onset of second wave feminism and "the Pill": women are then more in control of their body. Some see these changes as not always positive from the feminist perspective.
Impact on religion
Feminism has had a great impact on many aspects of religion. In liberal branches of Protestant Christianity, women are now ordained as clergy. Within these Christian groups, woman have gradually become equal to men by obtaining positions of power; their perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief. In Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism, women are now ordained as rabbis and cantors. Within these Jewish groups, woman have gradually become more nearly equal to men by obtaining positions of power; their perspectives are now sought out in developing new statements of belief. These trends have been resisted within Islam; all the mainstream denominations of Islam forbid Muslim women from being recognized as religious clergy and scholars in the same way that Muslim men are accepted.
There is a separte article on God and gender; it discusses how monotheistic religions deal with God and gender, and how modern feminism has influenced the theology of many religions.
Worldwide statistics
The factual accuracy of this section is disputed.
Despite advances made by women toward equality in the West, there is still a very long way to go, according to those who provide the following statistics:
Females actually make up only 49.7% of the world population, according to the United Nations Population Division. (WPP Annex 2002, 3.8M)
- Women own only 1% of the world's wealth, and earn 10% of the world's income, despite making up 51% of the population.
- When childcare and housework are taken into consideration, women work longer than men in both the industrialised and developing world, (by 20% in the industrialised world, and 30% in the developing world).
- Women are under-represented in all of the world's legislative bodies. As of 1985, Finland had the largest pecentage of women in national legislature at approximately 32% (P. Norris, Women's Legislative Participation in Western Europe, West European Politics). Currently, Sweden has the highest number of women at 42%. The United States has just 11%. The world average is just 9%.
- Worldwide, women on average earn 30% less than men, even when doing the same jobs.
Perspective: the nature of the modern movement
Discrimination against women still exists in the USA and European nations, as well as worldwide. How much discrimination and whether it is a problem is a matter of dispute.
There are many ideas within the movement regarding the severity of current problems, what the problems are, and how to confront them. Extremes on the one hand include some radical feminists such as Mary Daly who argues that the world would be better off with dramatically fewer men. There are also dissidents, such as Christina Hoff Sommers or Camille Paglia, who identify themselves as feminist but who accuse the movement of anti-male prejudices. Many feminists question the use of the "feminist" label as applying to these individuals.
Many feminists, however, also question the use of the term feminist to refer to any who espouse violence to any gender or who fail to recognize a fundamental equality between the sexes. Some feminists, like Katha Pollitt (see her book Reasonable Creatures) or Nadine Strossen (President of the ACLU and author of Defending Pornography [a treatise on freedom of speech]), consider feminism to be, solely, the view that "women are people." Views that separate the sexes rather than unite them are considered by these people to be sexist rather than feminist.
There are also debates between difference feminists such as Carol Gilligan on the one hand, who believe that there are important differences between the sexes (which may or may not be inherent, but which cannot be ignored), and those who believe that there are no essential differences between the sexes, and that the roles observed in society are due to conditioning. Modern scientists sometimes disagree on whether inborn differences exist between men and women (other than physical differences such as anatomy, chromosomes, and hormones). Regardless of how many differences between the sexes are inherent or acquired, none of these differences is a basis for discrimination.
This mostly Western debate about Feminism, should not distract from the fact that the major goal of the Feminist movement in the 21st Century is to improve the situation of women in non-Western countries.
Related Topics
- List of notable feminists
- Eco-feminism
- Erotophobia
- Feminist science fiction
- Feminist spirituality
- Feminist theology
- Girly girl
- Masculism
- New Woman
- Heroines in literature
- Queer studies
- Queer theory
- Playgirl
- Tomboy
External links
- http://www.womenorganizingwomen.com/wgs3150/index.html
- http://www.egs.edu/faculty/judithbutler.html
- http://www.egs.edu/faculty/donnaharaway.html
- Susan Faludi
- Naomi Wolf
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Feminism."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A woman is an adult female human being, as contrasted to an adult male, which is a man. The term woman (irregular plural: women) is used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions, or both.
Sex
In terms of sex, women have various sexual characteristics that differentiate them from men. In women, the sex organs are involved in the reproductive system, whereas the secondary sex characteristics are involved in attracting a mate or nurturing children.
Although fewer females than males are born (the ratio is around 1:1.05), women make up the majority of the adult population. This is because males of all ages have a slightly higher death rate (even in the womb) and women live, on average, five years longer than men. This is thought to be a result of a combination of factors: genetics (redundant and varied genes present on sex chromosomes in women); sociology (such as military service); health-impacting choices (such as use of cigarettes and alcohol); the presence of the female hormone estrogen, which has a cardioprotective effect in premenopausal women, and the effect of high levels of androgens in men.
After the onset of menarche, most women are able to become pregnant and bear children. (See also obstetrics.) The study of female reproduction and reproductive organss is called gynecology. Women generally reach menopause in their late 40s or early 50s, at which point they can no longer become pregnant.
In general, women suffer from the same illnesses as men; however there are some sex-related illnesses that are found more commonly or exclusively in women.
Gender roles
Main article: gender roleThe general study of women at universities is pursued under the heading "women's studies". Almost since its inception, that study has been closely associated with feminism and has focused on the social and economic differences between the sexes. Current gender roles are criticised by both the feminism movement and the masculism movement.
Terms for women
While the usual definition of the word girl is 'female child', girl is also often used to refer to a young or unmarried woman. Since the early 1970s such usage has been questioned by feminists. Today, using the word in the workplace (as in "office girl") is typically considered inappropriate in the U.S., but remains commonplace in several other English-speaking countries. Outside the workplace, it is also standard practice in certain contexts (such as "girls night out"). In this sense, girl may be considered to be the analogue to guy or bloke for a man (the latter is seldom used in the U.S.).
See also
- Famous women in history
- Gender and sexuality studies
- Heroines in literature
- Misogyny
- New Woman
- Nu shu, the women-only language
- Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
- Role of women in Judaism
- Taliban treatment of women
- White slave trade
- Women in Science Fiction
- Women Science Fiction Authors
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Woman."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Although the novel Frankenstein, written in 1818 by Mary Shelley, has been called the first science fiction novel, there is a persistent but false belief that women did not enter the field of science fiction writing until the 1960s and 1970s.Other notable women in the science fiction field include:
See also: Women in Science Fiction
- Patricia Anthony
- Catherine Asaro
- Kage Baker
- Leigh Brackett
- Marion Zimmer Bradley
- Lois McMaster Bujold
- Octavia Butler
- Suzy McKee Charnas
- C.J. Cherryh
- Brenda Clough
- Suzette Haden Elgin
- Esther Friesner
- Mary Gentle
- Lisa Goldstein
- Kathleen Ann Goonan
- Nicola Griffith
- Barbara Hambly
- Zenna Henderson
- Janet Kagan
- Nancy Kress
- Mercedes Lackey
- Sue Lange
- Tanith Lee
- Ursula K. LeGuin
- Doris Lessing
- Julian May
- Anne McCaffrey
- Maureen McHugh
- Vonda McIntyre
- Katherine Maclean
- Judith Merril
- Elizabeth Moon
- C. L. Moore
- Pat Murphy
- Linda Nagata
- Andre Norton
- Rebecca Ore
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Joanna Russ
- Pamela Sargent
- Mary Shelley
- Susan Shwartz
- Joan Slonczewski
- Margaret St. Clair
- Sheri Tepper
- James Tiptree, Jr
- Joan D. Vinge
- Kate Wilhelm
- Connie Willis
- Sarah Zettel
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Women science fiction authors."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| WOE | English | Women Overseas for Equality | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonym: WOMENSynonym: Females. (additional references) |
Crosswords: WOMEN |
| English words defined with "WOMEN": Commission on the Status of Women. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "WOMEN": Age of Women ♦ eligible women ♦ Lemnian Women ♦ Married Women ♦ Old Women ♦ Physicians, Women ♦ trafficking in women and children ♦ UNFORTUNATE WOMEN ♦ Wild Women, Wise as the Women of Mungret, Women, Working. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "WOMEN": Woman. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | We women give you life, but we can take it away just as easily (Batman & Robin; writing credit: Akiva Goldsman) Women. Nothing surprises me Chip, except your late mother (Batman Returns; writing credit: Bob Kane; Daniel Waters) Some place warm, a place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano (Dumb and Dumber; writing credit: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, and Bennett Yellin.) He is the kind of man who breeds unhappiness, particularly in women. Do you understand (Doctor Zhivago; writing credit: Boris Pasternak; Robert Bolt) You know women, mate (Mission: Impossible II; writing credit: Bruce Geller; Ronald D. Moore) | |
Lyrics | Little Women (Playas Gon' Play; performing artist: 3LW) Women and you got me (Unsent; performing artist: Alanis Morissette) Lord, them Delta women think the world of me. (Ramblin' Man; performing artist: Allman Brothers) He lived a lavish style of life, fast money, women, cars (Deception; performing artist: Blackalicious) Women would desire (Rasputin; performing artist: BONEY M) | |
Clever | Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms (references; author: unknown) California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda (references; author: unknown) 3.9% of all women surveyed say they never do what? Wear underwear. (references; author: unknown) There are two theories about arguing with women. Neither one works. (references; author: unknown) What do more women do in the bathroom than men? Wash their hands. (Women: 80% - Men: 55%) (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Boran Women (1974) Five Loose Women (1974) Truck Stop Women (1974) Women (1974) Certain Women (1973) | |
Song Titles | Wild Women (performing artist: The Big Three) Honky Tonk Women (performing artist: The Rolling Stones) Women & Men (performing artist: They Might Be Giants) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Shown is a mammogram of a normal fatty breast, typical of older women. Diagnosis of abnormal lesions or cancer is more accurate in non-dense breasts. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Pictured are two young women riding a horse. It is outdoors on a summer day. These two young women are part of a larger Mormon family. The Mormons are presently being studied for their low cancer death rate. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |
 | Elderly women learning about eye diseases. Education. Credit: CDC. |  | Multiracial group of women and children in a housing project mobile clinic waiting for and receiving vaccinations. Scene contains a doctor and a nurse. Credit: CDC. |
 | Three Women Cosmonauts. Credit: NASA. |  | First Six Women Astronauts with "Rescue Ball". Credit: NASA. |
 | In an unprecedented effort to better the conditions and opportunities for women in ... Credit: NASA. |  | Woman professional operating tide prediction machine World War II opened up many opportunities for women Over 1/2 of males with C&GS joined the Armed Services. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | WEMS - The Women's Emergency Map Service WEMS started as a joke passed to press that ran national article Although never a formal service, women functioned in many C&GS jobs during war By war's end, there was more truth to WEMS than cartoonist had visualized. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Women preparing tuna for canning at a plant in southern California. Credit: Fisheries. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Marwari's women" by Maurizio Commentary: "Tribal womens from indian village." | "Turkish women" by Scheer Jozsef Commentary: "Women in Istanbul." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Alexander Pope | Most women have no characters at all. |
Archiloghus | Old women should not seek to be perfumed. |
Dorothy Parker | Women and elephants never forget. |
Joseph Conrad | God is for men and religion for women. |
Lady Nancy Astor | I married beneath me. All women do. |
Martin Luther | The hair is the richest ornament of women. |
Sophocles | Silence gives the proper grace to women. |
The Koran | O men, respect women who have borne you. |
William Hazlitt | Grace in women has more effect than beauty. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | But you Communists would introduce community of women, screams the whole bourgeoisie in chorus. (reference) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | Convention of September 26, 1906, for the suppression of nightwork for women. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | What then is the over-all strategic concept which we should inscribe today? It is nothing less than the safety and welfare, the freedom and progress, of all the homes and families of all the men and women in all the lands. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
United Nations | 1948 | Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | Married women, you know, may be safely authorised |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | In came all the young men and women employed in the business |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | Women derive a pleasure, incomprehensible to the other sex, from the delicate toil of the needle |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Do these women think |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Women and girls dressed in long vivid gowns traversed the street from house to house |
The Picture of Dorian Gray | Oscar Wilde | Women try their luck; men risk theirs |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | The men were ruthless because the past had been spoiled, but the women knew how the past would cry to them in the coming days |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | They were stark naked, men, women, and children, round a fire, as I could discover by the smoke |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | Yet till this is otherwise we are not civilized, and, if gentlemen and ladies, are not true men and women. |
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | Tom Stoppard | Now for a handful of guilders I happen to have a private and uncut performance of the rape of the Sabine Women - or rather woman, or rather Alfred -Get your skirt on Alfred |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Overweight men and women. (references) | |
It affects both men and women. (references) | ||
Overflow incontinence is rare in women. (references) | ||
Business | Men use slightly more time than women. (references) | |
Most buyers of gifts tend to be women. (references) | ||
The abduction of women is a serious problem. (references) | ||
Children | China | Girls and women are trafficked and sold as brides. (references) |
Malawi | Children in rural households headed by women are among the poorest. (references) | |
Burundi | Only 22 percent of women are literate compared to 46 percent of men. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Kuwait | By tradition women are barred from male diwanyas. (references) |
South Africa | The station now has women on its board and also on the air. (references) | |
Tunisia | Muslim women are not permitted to marry outside their religion. (references) | |
Discrimination | Swaziland | Legal and cultural discrimination against women remains a problem. (references) |
Ecuador | Women, indigenous people, and Afro-Ecuadorians continue to face significant discrimination. (references) | |
Belarus | Women, persons with disabilities, and minority religious groups experienced discrimination. (references) | |
Economic History | Russia | Unemployment is highest among women and young people. (references) |
Finland | As of 1995, women were permitted to serve as volunteers. (references) | |
Tajikistan | Health: Life expectancy--60.95 years men; 67.38 years women. (references) | |
Human Rights | Bangladesh | Men and women are detained separately. (references) |
Lesotho | This system greatly disadvantages women. (references) | |
Italy | A large number of alleged victims were women. (references) | |
Indigenous People | El Salvador | Indigenous women in particular have little access to educational and work opportunities due to cultural practices, lack of resources, and rural underdevelopment. (references) |
Brazil | No progress was made in the case of mass sterilizations promoted among women of the Pataxo tribe of Bahia by Federal Deputy Dr. Roland Lavigne in exchange for votes during his 1994 electoral campaign. (references) | |
Dominica | Until 1979 the Carib Constitution allowed Carib men married to non-Carib women to continue living on the Carib reserve but dictated that Carib women married to non-Carib men had to move off the reservation. (references) | |
Minorities | Brazil | Conditions are even more difficult for Afro-Brazilian women. (references) |
Tanzania | Fundamentalist Muslims severely criticized secular Muslims who drink alcohol or marry Christian women. (references) | |
United Kingdom | Targets included persons, including women in traditional Islamic dress, and buildings, such as mosques and Muslim-owned businesses. (references) | |
Political Economy | Sudan | Women enjoy equal access to education. (references) |
Barbados | Societal violence against women and children are problems. (references) | |
Kuwait | Men must obtain government approval to marry foreign-born women. (references) | |
Political Rights | Estonia | Two ministers are women. (references) |
New Zealand | In Niue, 2 of 20 are women. (references) | |
Spain | Of 259 Senators, 63 are women. (references) | |
Trade | Pakistan | The Bank's medium-term strategy focuses on poverty reduction, improving the status of women, population planning and environmental protection. (references) |
Travel | Saudi Arabia | Dress is conservative for both men and women. (references) |
Uzbekistan | Local women do not frequent the establishments. (references) | |
Women | Korea | Like men, working-age women must work. (references) |
Georgia | Women rarely fill leadership positions. (references) | |
Solomon Islands | The law accords women equal legal rights. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Italy | Some trafficked women have been killed. (references) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | More than 12 percent of the women were minors. (references) | |
Slovak Republic | Other Roma women have reported similar stories. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | EPIGRAM, n. A short, sharp saying in prose or verse, frequently characterize by acidity or acerbity and sometimes by wisdom. Following are some of the more notable epigrams of the learned and ingenious Dr. Jamrach Holobom: We know better the needs of ourselves than of others. To serve oneself is economy of administration. In each human heart are a tiger, a pig, an ass and a nightingale. Diversity of character is due to their unequal activity. There are three sexes; males, females and girls. Beauty in women and distinction in men are alike in this: they seem to be the unthinking a kind of credibility. Women in love are less ashamed than men. They have less to be ashamed of. While your friend holds you affectionately by both your hands you are safe, for you can watch both his. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Andy Rooney | Well, I don't know if it was an apology is what I did. I'm sorry I said it. But I still do not like to see women down on the sidelines. I admit that. Seems to me I have a right to think that. |
Ann Richards | Very good. The answer is that I am so proud of all those women in the Senate, I don't know what to do. |
Dennis Miller | The truth is, women do have a lot of options. |
Donald Rumsfeld | It's an amazing job. It is so important to the country and it's so complex. But the great thing about it is you're dealing with such spectacular people, the men and women in uniform. |
Katie Couric | Not necessarily. I really don't. I think that women have made so many strides in broadcasting, and we're doing so well in a lot of regards. So I don't really think that's necessarily the case. |
Lynda Carter | This is probably the most exciting thing that I've done to date. It is a role-playing game for PC and for the new Xbox that's coming out. And I do the voices of the Nords, all the women. |
Rush Limbaugh | Nobody is going to threaten not to televise the Masters or say it can't be a sanctioned tournament unless they let in women. |
Victoria Principal | We didn't have anyone to mentor us about how to compete effectively. And that's what were doing now is teaching young women how to compete effectively. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Woodrow Wilson | 1913-1921 | Nor have we studied and perfected the means by which government may be put at the service of humanity, in safeguarding the health of the Nation, the health of its men and its women and its children, as well as their rights in the struggle for existence. |
Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | The Army and the Navy are following both length-of-service and point systems as far as possible in releasing men and women from the service. |
Dwight Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | I believe deeply in the ultimate purposes of this Nation-described by the Constitution, tempered by history, embodied in progressive laws, and given life by men and women that have been elected to serve their fellow citizens. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | Even though we have made progress, much remains on the agenda for women. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | History is made by men and women of vision and courage. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | Men and women of the world move toward free markets through the door to prosperity. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | In Bosnia and around the world, our men and women in uniform always do their mission well. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | Today women are free, and are part of Afghanistan's new government. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "WOMEN" is generally used as a noun (plural) -- approximately 99.92% of the time. "WOMEN" is used about 39,874 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (plural) | 99.92% | 39,844 | 204 |
| Lexical Verb (-s form) | 0.04% | 15 | 90,616 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.04% | 15 | 90,616 |
| Total | 100.00% | 39,874 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "WOMEN" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Women | Last name | 100 | 76,021 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "WOMEN". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Succoth-benoth | N/A | Biblical | Young women |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
| Country | Name |
| South Africa | Women Investment Portfolio Holdings Limited |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "WOMEN": a women with a past ♦ Battered Women ♦ commission on the Status of Women ♦ Cosmetic Executive Women ♦ eldery women ♦ eligible women ♦ go after women ♦ men and women ♦ National Partnership for Women and Families ♦ oyster women ♦ spanish women ♦ trafficking in women and children ♦ Urinary Tract Infection in Women ♦ women and children ♦ women drivers. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "WOMEN": women-centred, women-controlling, women-dominated, women-feel, women-folk, women-fun, women-hating, women-identified, women-in-nylon, women-led, women-of, women-only, women-plus-property, women-power, women-respecting, women-run, women-sisters, women-years. | |
Ending with "WOMEN": all-women, anti-women, pre-women, well-women. | |
Containing "WOMEN": Black-women-artists. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
curve for women.com | 61 |
crucified women.com | 43 |
older women.com | 38 |
delicious women.com | 38 |
fresh women.com | 30 |
secret sex women.com | 21 |
delicious links women.com | 14 |
enhancer sexual women.com | 10 |
finest women.com | 10 |
hosiery jockey women,s | 8 |
created god women.com | 3 |
strict women.com | 2 |
alluring russian women.com | 2 |
group help man self women.com | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "WOMEN"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic |