A girl is a female child, as opposed to a boy, a male child. The age at which a female person transitions from girl to woman varies in different societies; typically the transition from adolescence to maturity is taken to occur in the late teens. The English word (first documented in 1290) originally designated a child of either sex. To designate between the two genders, a female child was called a gay girl, while a male child was called a knave girl. During the 14th century its sense was narrowed to specifically female children. Subsequently, it was extended to refer also to mature but unmarried young women since the 1530s. Usage in the sense of (romantic) 'sweetheart' arose in the 17th century. Historically, girls faced discrimination and limitations on the roles they were expected to play in their societies, and the United Nations targeted discrimination in schooling to end by 2010. An ongoing debate about the influences of nature versus nurture in shaping the behavior of girls and boys raises questions about whether the roles played by girls are the result of inborn differences or socialization. Images of girls in art, literature, and popular culture often demonstrate assumptions about gender roles.
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