In developmental

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, defeminization is an aspect of the process of

sexual differentiation Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the sex differences between males and females from an undifferentiated zygote. Sex determination is often distinct from sex differentiation; sex determination is the designation for the deve ...

by which a potential female-specific structure, function, or behavior is changed by one of the processes of male development. Although the term might seem to imply "removal" of female characteristics, in nearly all biological contexts it refers to ''prevention'' of an aspect of female development from manifesting. In human

biology of gender Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

, the best known example of this is the prevention of development of the

müllerian duct Paramesonephric ducts (or Müllerian ducts) are paired ducts of the embryo that run down the lateral sides of the genital ridge and terminate at the sinus tubercle in the primitive urogenital sinus. In the female, they will develop to form the fal ...

derivatives by

anti-müllerian hormone Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), also known as Müllerian-inhibiting hormone (MIH), is a glycoprotein hormone structurally related to inhibin and activin from the transforming growth factor beta superfamily, whose key roles are in growth differen ...

(AMH) in the 3rd and 4th months of

fetal A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...

development, though the term is not commonly used in discussions of human development. In a number of non-human

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, there is evidence that hormones produced by the testes act directly on the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

to prevent development of female characteristics, especially female

reproductive behavior Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual org ...

. In humans, defeminization may be triggered by loss of

estrogen Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...

s or by increased

androgen An androgen (from Greek ''andr-'', the stem of the word meaning "man") is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This inc ...

s. Symptoms may include

breast atrophy Breast atrophy is the normal or spontaneous atrophy or shrinkage of the breasts. Breast atrophy commonly occurs in women during menopause when estrogen levels decrease. It can also be caused by hypoestrogenism and/or hyperandrogenism in women i ...

, loss of

gynoid fat distribution Gynoid fat is the body fat that forms around the hips, breasts and thighs. Gynoid fat in females is used to provide nourishment for offspring, and is often referred to as 'reproductive fat'. This is because it contains long-chain polyunsaturated fa ...

, and other physical defeminizing changes. Defeminization may occur with the

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...

, with transmasculine hormone therapy (

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...

administration), and with administration of androgens and

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...

s to cisgender women (e.g., for

performance enhancement Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

or for treatment of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

References

{{Reflist Sexual anatomy Zoology Physiology

See also

References