secondary sex characteristic

American  

noun

Medicine/Medical.

1. any of a number of manifestations, as development of breasts or beard, muscularity, distribution of fat tissue, and change of pitch in voice, specific to each sex and incipient at puberty but not essential to reproduction.

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secondary sex characteristic Scientific  

1. Any of the physical traits in a sexually mature animal that are specific to one sex but are not directly involved in the act of reproducing. Secondary sex characteristics are thought to have evolved to give an individual an advantage in mating by making the individual more attractive to mates or by allowing the individual to defeat rivals in competition for mates. Some secondary sex characteristics include the facial hair of the human male, the relatively prominent breasts of the human female, the antlers found only in the male of most species of deer, and the colorful plumage of the males of many species of birds. The appearance of secondary sex characteristics is determined by the sex hormones.

2. See more at sexual selection

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secondary sex characteristic Cultural  

1. A characteristic, such as breast development, voice pitch, or facial hair, that distinguishes the sexes from each other but is not directly concerned with reproduction. The appearance of these characteristics is influenced by hormones.

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Etymology

Origin of secondary sex characteristic

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Many species develope secondary sex characteristics, which are features that occur during sexual maturity but that aren’t directly involved in the reproductive process; for instance, a moose’s antlers or a peacock’s tail.

From The Guardian

“Ms. Diamond has lost breast tissue and her female secondary sex characteristics have diminished,” they said.

From New York Times

She has also been denied the other pillars of gender dysphoria treatment, the lawsuit states, including specialist psychotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery to change her primary and/or secondary sex characteristics.

From The Guardian

The authors talk about voice quality being a type of secondary sex characteristic, and hypothesize that high voices mean smaller body size while low voices mean larger.

From Scientific American