A man is an adult male human.
Like most other male , a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father. Sex differentiation of the male fetus is governed by the SRY gene on the Y chromosome. During puberty, hormones which stimulate androgen production result in the development of secondary sexual characteristics that result in even more differences between the sexes. These include greater muscle mass, greater height, the growth of facial hair and a lower body fat composition. Male anatomy is distinguished from female anatomy by the male reproductive system, which includes the , , prostate gland and epididymides, and human penis. Secondary sex characteristics include a narrower pelvis and hips, and smaller and Nipple.
Throughout human history, traditional have often defined men's activities and opportunities. Men often face conscription into military service or are directed into professions with high . Many religious doctrines stipulate certain rules for men, such as religious circumcision. Men are over-represented as both perpetrators and victims of violence.
Trans man have a gender identity that does not align with their female sex assignment at birth, while intersex men may have sex characteristics that do not fit typical notions of male biology.
Etymology
The English term "man" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*man- (see
Sanskrit/
Avestan manu-,
Slavic languages mǫž "man, male").
[ American Heritage Dictionary, Appendix I: Indo-European Roots. man-1 . Accessed 22 July 2007.] More directly, the word derives from
Old English . The Old English form primarily meant "person" or "human being" and referred to men, women, and children alike. The Old English word for "man" as distinct from ""/"woman" or "child" was .
Mann only came to mean "man" in Middle English, replacing
wer, which survives today only in the compounds "
werewolf" (from Old English
, literally "man-wolf"), and "
wergild", literally "man-payment".
Biology
In humans, sperm cells carry either an
X chromosome or a
Y chromosome sex chromosome. If a sperm cell carrying a
Y chromosome fertilizes the female
ova, the offspring will have a male karyotype (XY). The
SRY gene is typically found on the Y chromosome and causes the development of the testes, which in turn govern other aspects of male sex differentiation. Sex differentiation in males proceeds in a testes-dependent way while female differentiation is not gonad dependent.
Primary sex characteristics (or sex organs) are characteristics that are present at birth and are integral to the reproductive process. For men, primary sex characteristics include the Human penis and .
Adult humans exhibit sexual dimorphism in many other characteristics, many of which have no direct link to reproductive ability. Humans are sexually dimorphic in body size, body structure, and body composition. Men tend to be taller and heavier than women, and adjusted for height, men tend to have greater lean and bone mass than women, and lower fat mass.
Secondary sex characteristics are features that appear during puberty in .
-
Broadened shoulders;
-
Increased body hair;
-
An enlarged larynx (also known as an Adam's apple);
-
A voice that is significantly deeper than the voice of a child or a woman.
Men weigh more than women.
Reproductive system
The internal male genitalia consist of the
, which produce
spermatozoon, the
accessory glands, which produce seminal fluid, the
epididymides, which store sperm cells, and the
vasa deferentia and
, which transfer the mature sperm to the urethra.
The external male genitalia consist of the human penis and the scrotum, a pouch of skin housing the testicles.
Sperm cells are ejaculation in semen through the penis and enter the female reproductive tract through the vagina. Sperm that pass from the vagina to the uterus can enter the and fertilize an egg cell, which develops into an embryo. The study of male reproduction and associated organs is called andrology.
Testosterone stimulates the development of the , the penis, and closure of the labioscrotal folds into the scrotum. Another significant hormone in sexual differentiation is the anti-Müllerian hormone, which inhibits the development of the Müllerian ducts. For males during puberty, testosterone, along with released by the pituitary gland, stimulates spermatogenesis.
Health
While a majority of the global health gender disparities is weighted against women, there are situations in which men tend to fare poorer. One such instance is
armed conflicts, where men are often the immediate victims. A study of conflicts in 13 countries from 1955 to 2002 found that 81% of all violent
war deaths were male.
Apart from armed conflicts, areas with high incidence of violence, such as regions controlled by
drug cartels, also see men experiencing higher mortality rates.
[ "Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980–2008" United States Department of Justice (2010) p. 10] This stems from social beliefs that associate ideals of
masculinity with aggressive, confrontational behavior.
Lastly, sudden and drastic changes in economic environments and the loss of social safety nets, in particular social subsidies and food stamps, have also been linked to higher levels of alcohol consumption and psychological stress among men, leading to a spike in male mortality rates. This is because such situations often makes it harder for men to provide for their family, a task that has been long regarded as the "essence of masculinity."
[
] A retrospective analyses of people infected with the common cold found that doctors underrate the symptoms of men, and are more willing to attribute symptoms and illness to women than men.
Women live longer than men in all countries, and across all age groups, for which reliable records exist.
In the United States, men are less healthy than women across all social classes. Non-white men are especially unhealthy. Men are over-represented in dangerous occupations and represent a majority of on the job deaths. Further, medical doctors provide men with less service, less advice, and spend less time with men than they do with women per medical encounter.
Sexuality
Male sexuality and attraction varies between individuals, and a man's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, including evolved predispositions,
personality,
parenting, and
culture. While most men are
heterosexual, significant minorities are
Gay men or
bisexual.
Sex or gender identity
Most cultures use a
gender binary in which man is one of the two genders, the other being
woman.
[Kevin L. Nadal, The Sage Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender (2017, ), p. 401: "Most cultures currently construct their societies based on the understanding of gender binary—the two gender categorizations (male and female). Such societies divide their population based on biological sex assigned to individuals at birth to begin the process of gender socialization."]
Most men are cisgender, and their gender identity aligns with their male sex assignment at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity that does not align with their female sex assignment at birth, and may undergo masculinizing hormone replacement therapy and/or sex reassignment surgery.
Social role
Masculinity
Masculinity (also sometimes called
manhood or
manliness) is the set of personality traits and attributes associated with boys and men. Although masculinity is socially constructed,
some research indicates that some behaviors considered masculine are biologically influenced.
[Social vs biological citations:
] To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate.
It is distinct from the definition of the
Male, as both males and females can exhibit masculine traits.
[Male vs Masculine/Feminine:
] Men generally face
social stigma for embodying
Femininity traits, more so than women do for embodying masculine traits. This can also manifest as
homophobia.
Standards of manliness or masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods.
Relationships
Platonic relationships are not significantly different between men and women, though some differences do exist. Friendships involving men tend to be based more on shared activities than self-disclosure and personal connection. Perceptions of friendship involving men varies among cultures and time periods. In heterosexual romantic relationships, men are typically expected to take a proactive role, initiate the relationship, plan dates, and propose marriage.
Status
Anthropology has shown that masculinity itself has
social status, just like wealth, race and social class. In
Western culture, for example, greater masculinity usually brings greater social status. Many English words such as
virtue and
virile (from the Indo-European root
vir meaning
man) reflect this.
In most cultures,
male privilege allows men more rights and privileges than women. In societies where men are not given special legal privileges, they typically hold more positions of power, and men are seen as being taken more seriously in society. This is associated with a "gender-role strain" in which men face increased societal pressure to conform to gender roles.
History
The earliest known recorded name of a man in writing is potentially Kushim, who would have lived sometime between 3400 and 3000 BC in the
city of
Uruk; though his name may have been a title rather than his actual name.
The earliest confirmed names are that of Gal-Sal and his two slaves named En-pap X and Sukkalgir, from .
Father
Men may have children, whether biological or
adopted; such men are called fathers. The role of men in the family has shifted considerably in the 20th and 21st centuries, taking on a more active role in raising children in most societies.
Men would traditionally marry a woman when raising children, but in modern times many countries now allow for same-sex marriage, and for those couples to raise children either via adoption or
surrogacy. Men may be
, and are increasingly so in modern times, though women are three times more likely to be single parents than men.
In
Paternalism societies, men have typically have been regarded as the "head of household" and held additional social privileges.
Work
Men have traditionally held jobs that were not available to women. Such jobs tended to be either more strenuous, more prestigious, or more dangerous. Modern men increasingly take untraditional career paths, such as staying home and raising children while their partner works.
Modern men tend to work longer than women, which impacts their ability to spend time with their families.
Even in modern times, some jobs remain available only to men, such as military service.
Conscription is overwhelmingly discriminatory, currently only ten countries include women in their conscription programs.
[Goldstein, Joshua S. (2003). "War and Gender: Men's War Roles – Boyhood and Coming of Age" . In Ember, Carol R.; Ember, Melvin Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Cultures. Volume 1. Springer. p. 108. . Retrieved April 25, 2015.] Men continue to hold more dangerous jobs than women, even in developed countries. In the United States in 2020, ten times as many men died on the job as women, and a man was ten times more likely to die on the job than a woman.
Entertainment and media
Media portrayals of men often replicate traditional understanding of masculinity. Men are portrayed more frequently in television than women and most commonly appear as leads in action and drama programming. Men are typically more active in television programming than women and typically hold more power and status. Due to their prominence, men are more likely to be both the objects and instigators of humorous or disparaging content. Fathers are often portrayed in television as either idealized and caring or clumsy and inept. In advertising, men are disproportionately featured in advertisements for alcohol, vehicles, and business products.
Clothing
Men's clothing typically encompasses a range of garments designed for various occasions, seasons, and styles. Fundamental items of a man's wardrobe include shirts, trousers, suits, and jackets, which are designed to provide both comfort and style while prioritizing functionality. Men's fashion also encompasses more casual garments such as
t-shirts,
sweatshirts,
jeans,
shorts, and
swimwear, which are typically intended for informal settings. Cultural and regional traditions often influence men's fashion, resulting in diverse styles and garments that reflect the unique characteristics of different parts of the world.
Education
Men traditionally received more education than women as a result of single-sex education. Universal education, meaning state-provided primary and secondary education independent of gender, is not yet a global norm, even if it is assumed in most developed countries.
In the 21st century, the balance has shifted in many developed nations, and men now lag behind women in education.
Men are more likely than women to be faculty at universities.
In 2020, 90% of the world's men were Literacy, compared to 87% of women. But sub-Saharan Africa, and southwest Asia lagged behind the rest of the world; only 72% of men in sub-Saharan Africa were literate.
Rights
In most societies, men have more legal and cultural rights than women, and
misogyny is far more prevalent than
misandry in society.
However, there are exceptions to this generalization. While one in six males experience childhood sexual abuse,
men typically receive less support after being victims of it,
and rape of males is stigmatized.
Domestic violence against men is similarly stigmatized,
[ ] although men make up half of the victims in
Heterosexuality couples.
Opponents of
circumcision describe it as a human rights violation.
The fathers' rights movement seeks to support separated fathers that do not receive equal rights to care for their children.
The men's movement is the response to issues faced by men in Western countries. It includes
Pro-feminism groups such as the men's liberation movement,
and
Antifeminism groups such as the
manosphere.
Gender symbol
The
Mars symbol (♂) is a common symbol that represents the male sex.
The symbol is identical to the planetary symbol of
Mars.
It was first used to denote sex by
Carl Linnaeus in 1751.
The symbol is sometimes seen as a stylized representation of the shield and spear of the
Roman mythology Mars. According to Stearn, however, this derivation is "fanciful" and all the historical evidence favours "the conclusion of the French classical scholar Claude de Saumaise" that it is derived from
θρ, the contraction of a Greek epithet for Mars,
θοῦρος (
Thouros).
See also
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International Men's Day
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International Men's Health Week
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Lists of men
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Men's studies
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Patriarchy
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Sexism
Notes
Bibliography
Further reading
-
Andrew Perchuk, Simon Watney, bell hooks, The Masculine Masquerade: Masculinity and Representation, MIT Press, 1995.
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Pierre Bourdieu, Masculine Domination, Paperback Edition, Stanford University Press, 2001.
-
Robert W. Connell, Masculinities, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.
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Warren Farrell, The Myth of Male Power, Berkley Trade, 1993. .
-
Michael Kimmel (ed.), Robert W. Connell (ed.), Jeff Hearn (ed.), Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, Sage Publications, 2004.
External links
