What is a Woman?
A Brief Look at Womanhood from a Psychological, Biological, and Biblical View
This post was written by Laura B. and we are so excited for you all to read it!
In today’s culture, that question, what is a woman, is not only offensive, but also nearly
unanswerable. What is it that truly defines a woman? Is it her biological makeup (chromosomes,
genitalia, the shape of the pelvic girdle, etc.) or her attitude? The way that she dresses and styles
her hair or her role in society? Is it only one or all of these things that defines a woman? Or is it
something else entirely?
“What is it that truly defines a woman?”
If this question goes unanswered, how can we truly live out our vocation as women when we do not even know what it really means? Thankfully, there is an answer to this question, one provided to us from the Bible.
“Then the Lord God said, ‘it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Genesis 2:18).
“She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong” (Proverbs 31:17).
“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns” (Psalm 46:5).
These are just a few verses on what it means to be a woman. Womanhood is a God-ordained role and duty that cannot be taken away. No matter what the world thinks. It is more than how we present ourselves and act, but it is a part of who we are physically and psychologically as well. Male and female were not created to be interchangeable. God created each so that they might fulfill certain duties and roles and that they might work together to be caretakers of the rest of God’s creation.
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
This verse specifically states that God created male and female, not humans, or people in general, but male and female. Two connected yet separate entities. No matter how hard they try, man cannot become woman, nor can woman become man, just as a cat cannot become a dog.
In this age of transgenderism, feminism, and the entire LGBTQ+ movement, it is easy to
see how the world has moved away from the original intent of men and women as ordained by
God himself. Our society has lost what it truly means to be a woman. Many of the people around
us think that being female is a choice that can be made and changed at will. But that is not how it
was intended to work, nor is that truly possible. Clinicians today use the terms sex and gender as
two different things. Sex is used when referring to the physical attributes of a person as
designated at or before birth, whereas gender is used to refer to the socially constructed roles and
internal sense of being of a person. Scientists and doctors have been trying to find new and
improved ways of changing a person’s sex to match their chosen gender. Medical interventions
such as hormone replacement therapy and surgical procedures are used to attempt to change a
person’s appearance and biological makeup to better match their chosen gender. But even those
can only go so far to reverse God’s work, and in some cases these attempts are an almost perfect
reversal of God’s ordered creation. The first ever complete female-to-male facial masculinization
surgery performed by Jordan C. Deschamps-Braly used a new surgical technique that created the
appearance of an Adam’s apple by using cartilage from a rib, the very bone that God took from
Adam, the first man, to create the first woman, Eve (Deschamps-Braly et al., 2016). Of all 206
bones in the human body, the type that they chose was the rib, a perfect and ironically poetical
reversal of God’s creation. Such an action could not be simply a coincidence, but could very
easily be God Himself trying to highlight the ludicracy of these attempts to undo what He has
done.
Beyond the physicality of the women, there is also the psychological aspect of them as
well. God created women to be the nurturers and caregivers of His creation. While that is not to
say that men cannot be caregivers or nurturing, but women are more inclined to it, just as men
are more inclined to take upon roles of providing and protecting (Proverbs 30:10-31, Titus 2:5,
Richard, 2023). An article published in August of 2023 states that men make up nearly 18% of
stay-at-home parents in America (O’Connell-Domenech, 2023). The article talks about how
America is progressing and the gap between men and women as caretakers is shrinking. And yet
that gap is still there. Even now, with all the perversion and changes to God’s ordained order,
women are still following the basic instinct to care for those around them.
“So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander” (1 Timothy 5:14).
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Two entities, both created in God’s glorious image.
Our sinful nature can make it seem restricting or binding to have to be one or the other as God
has ordained. But it also gives a sense of purpose and meaning in a drifting and changing world.
God has made us to be women. When creating you he decided that the world needed another
woman. Another creature made in His image to adorn herself in His glory and proudly take upon
the role of Biblical womanhood. The gender that God gave to us is not a restricting box, but a
beautiful guide of what our place in the world is.
So what is a woman? Is it the biology that builds her? Is it the psychological pathways
that run her? Or is it the Biblical path that leads her? It is all of that and more. A woman is a
glittering jewel in the crown of God’s creation. She is the gentle hand by which God nurtures His
people. She is the beautiful vessel by which God brings new human life into the world. So stand
tall in your womanhood and be proud in the role that God has given to you.
Sources:
Deschamps-Braly, J.C., Sacher, C.L., Fick, J., Ousterhout, D.K. (2016) First female-to-male
facial confirmation surgery with descrption of a new procedure for masculinization of the
thyroid cartilage (Adam’s Apple). Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal.
https://deschamps-braly.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/First_Female_to_Male_Facial
_Confirmation_Surgery_with_Masculinization_of_Thyroid_Cartilage_Adams_Apple.pdf
O’Connell-Domenech, A. (2023, August) Nearly 1 in 5 stay-at-home parents in the U.S. are
dads. Changing America.
https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/4136440-stay-at
-home-parents-dads/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20data%20from%20those,accor
ding%20to%20a%20Pew%20spokesperson.
Richard, A. Christ and the Church: A thirty-day devotion concerning the Holy Estate of
Marriage (2nd Edition). Independently published. 2023
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles.
Let us know what you think about this post below! What does it mean to be a woman to you?
