A girl is any female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood. The term may also be used to mean a ''young woman''.

Etymology

The word ''girl'' first appeared during the Middle Ages between 1250 and 1300 CE and came from the Anglo-Saxon words ''gerle'' (also spelled ''girle'' or ''gurle''). The Anglo-Saxon word ''gerela'' meaning ''dress'' or ''clothing item'' also seems to have been used as a metonym in some sense. ''Girl'' has meant ''any young unmarried woman'' since about 1530. Its first noted meaning for ''sweetheart'' is 1648. The earliest known appearance of ''girl-friend'' is in 1892 and ''girl next door'', meant as a teenaged female or young woman with a kind of wholesome appeal, dates only to 1961.

Usage for adults

The word ''girl'' is sometimes used to refer to an adult female. This usage may be considered derogatory or disrespectful in professional or other formal contexts, just as the term ''boy'' can be considered disparaging when applied to an adult man. Hence, this usage is often deprecative. It can also be used deprecatively when used to discriminate against children ("''you're just a girl''").

In casual context, the word has positive uses, as evidenced by its use in titles of popular music. It has been used playfully for people acting in an energetic fashion (Furtado's "Promiscuous Girl") or as a way of unifying women of all ages on the basis of their once having been girls (McBride's "This One's for the Girls"). These positive uses mean ''gender'' rather than ''age''.

Demographics

Slightly more boys are born than girls (in the US this ratio is about 105 boys born for every 100 girls), but girls are slightly less likely to die than boys, during childhood, so that the ratio for under 15 years of age is 104 boys for every 100 girls. Since the 18th century the human sex ratio has been observed as about 1,050 boys for every 1,000 girls born and sex selection on the part of parents further lessens the number of female births. Although the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has asserted "primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all" girls are slightly less likely to be enrolled as students in primary and secondary schools (70%:74% and 59%:65%). Worldwide efforts have been made to end this disparity (such as through the Millennium Development Goals) and the gap has closed since 1990.

Gender and environment

Biological gender interacts with environment in ways not fully understood. Identical twin girls separated at birth and reunited decades later have shown both startling similarities and differences. In 2005 Kim Wallen of Emory University noted, "I think the 'nature versus nurture' question is not meaningful, because it treats them as independent factors, whereas in fact everything is nature and nurture." Wallen said gender differences emerge very early and come about through an underlying preference males and females have for their chosen activities.

According to Wallen, expectations will nonetheless play a role in how girls perform academically. For example, if females skilled in math are told a test is "gender neutral" they achieve high scores, but if they are told males outperformed females in the past, the females will do much worse. "What’s strange is," Wallen observed, "according to the research, all one apparently has to do is tell a woman who has a lifetime of socialization of being poor in math that a math test is gender neutral, and all effects of that socialization go away." Author Judith Harris has said that aside from their genetic contribution, the nurturing provided by parents likely has less long-term influence over their offspring than other environmental aspects such as the children's peer group. In England, studies by the National Literacy Trust have shown girls score consistently higher than boys in all scholastic areas from the ages of 7 through 16, with the most striking differences noted in reading and writing skills. Historically, girls lagged on standardized tests. In 1996 the average score of 503 for US girls from all races on the SAT verbal test was 4 points lower than boys. In math, the average for girls was 492, which was 35 points lower than boys. "When girls take the exact same courses," commented Wayne Camara, a research scientist with the College Board, "that 35-point gap dissipates quite a bit." At the time Leslie R. Wolfe, president of the Center for Women Policy Studies said girls scored differently on the math tests because they tend to work the problems out while boys use "test-taking tricks" such as immediately checking the answers already given in multiple-choice questions. Wolfe said girls are steady and thorough while "boys play this test like a pin-ball machine." Wolfe also said although girls had lower SAT scores they consistently get higher grades than boys across all courses their first year in college. By 2006 girls were outscoring boys on the verbal portion of the SAT by 11 points. A 2005 University of Chicago study showed that a majority presence of girls in the classroom tends to enhance the academic performance of boys.

Art and literature

Egyptian murals included sympathetic portraits of young girls who were daughters of royalty. Sappho's poetry carries love poems addressed to girls.

In Europe, some early paintings featuring girls were Petrus Christus' ''Portrait of a Young Girl'' (about 1460), Juan de Flandes' ''Portrait of a Young Girl'' (about 1505), Frans Hals' ''Die Amme mit dem Kind'' in 1620, Diego Velázquez' ''Las Meninas'' in 1656, Jan Steen's ''The Feast of St. Nicolas'' (about 1660) and Johannes Vermeer's ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' along with ''Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window''. Later paintings of girls include Albert Anker's portrait of a ''Girl with a Domino Tower'' and Camille Pissarro's 1883 ''Portrait of a Felix Daughter''.

American paintings featuring girls include Mary Cassatt's 1884 ''Children on the Beach'' and Whistler's ''Harmony in Gray and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander'' and ''The White Girl'' (shown at right).

Many novels begin with the childhood of their heroine, such as ''Jane Eyre'' who suffers ill treatment or Natasha in ''War and Peace'', who is sentimentalized. Other novels include Harper Lee's ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' in which a young girl is protagonist. Vladimir Nabokov's controversial book ''Lolita'' (1955) is about a doomed relationship between a 12 year old girl and an adult scholar as they travel across the United States. ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' by Arthur Golden begins as the female main character and her sister are dropped off in the pleasure district after being separated from their family.

''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' by Lewis Carroll featured a widely noted female protagonist. Moreover, Carroll's photographs of girls are often cited in histories of photographic art.

Popular culture

European fairy tales have preserved memorable stories about girls. Among these are ''Goldilocks and the Three Bears'', ''Rapunzel'', Hans Christian Andersen's ''The Little Match Girl'', ''The Little Mermaid'', ''The Princess and the Pea'' and the Brothers Grimm's ''Little Red Riding Hood''.

Children's books about girls include ''Alice in Wonderland'', ''Heidi'', ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', the Nancy Drew series, ''Little House on the Prairie'', ''Madeline'', ''Pippi Longstocking'', ''A Wrinkle in Time'', ''Dragonsong'', and Little Women. Books which have both boy and girl protagonists have tended to focus more on the boys, but important girl characters appear in ''Knight's Castle'', ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''The Book of Three'' and the Harry Potter series.

There have been many American comic books and comic strips featuring a girl as the main character such as Little Lulu and Little Orphan Annie. In superhero comic books an early girl character was Etta Candy, one of Wonder Woman's sidekicks. In the Peanuts series (by Charles Schulz) girl characters include Peppermint Patty, Lucy van Pelt and Sally Brown.

In Japanese animated cartoons and comic books girls are often protagonists. Most of Hayao Miyazaki's animated films feature a young girl heroine, as in ''Majo no takkyūbin'' (Kiki's Delivery Service). There are many other girl protagonists in the Shōjo style of manga, which is targeted to girls as an audience. Among these are ''The Wallflower'', ''Ceres, Celestial Legend'', Tokyo Mew Mew and ''Full Moon o Sagashite''. Meanwhile, some genres of Japanese cartoons may feature sexualized and objectified portrayals of girls.

The term ''girl'' is widely heard in the lyrics of popular music (such as with the song "About a Girl"), most often meaning a young adult or teenaged female.

See also

Boy

Female infanticide

Girl group

Girl Guides

Girl Power

Tomboy

Woman

Notes

Category:Childhood Category:Terms for females

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name	Richie Spice
background	solo_singer
birth name	Richell Bonner
origin	Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica
instrument	Vocals
genre	Reggae
notable instruments	}}

Richie Spice (born Richell Bonner on September 8, 1971 in Rock Hall, St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae artist. He is a member of the Rastafari movement. Some of his most famous songs include, "Youth Dem Cold", "Groovin' My Girl", "Earth A Run Red", "Marijuana" and "The Plane Land". He is one of the Bonner brothers all of whom are reggae artists, including Pliers and Spanner Banner.

Biography

Spice's first Jamaican single "Killing a Sound" was produced by Dennis "Star" Hayes. This was followed by "Shine" by ace Jamaican record producer/musician Clive Hunt. Spice also teamed up with Hunt for his debut album on the Island Jamaica Label from which came his first major hit "Grooving my girl". His sister, Bridgett Bonner for Bonner Productions Ltd., organized his second album. The album produced hits such as "Earth a Run Red", "Living Ain't Easy", Land of Jamaica "Time So Rough", the aforementioned "Grooving My Girl" and many others.

Having gained popularity in the mid-'90s, Spice has performed at all major shows staged locally namely Reggae Sun Splash (a paid tribute by him to Bob Marley), White River Reggae Bash, Rebel Salute and many others. Spice has opened shows for the likes of Chaka Demus and Pliers, Spanner Banner and Rita Marley on extensive tours of Europe and the United States 1996-1997.

He again toured East North America from June to September 2001. His increased popularity has gained him spots at numerous venues. His most recent projects include performances at Sting held at Jam World St. Catherine (December 26, 2002) and Sting Miami (March 2003).

More recently, a remix of one of his more popular tracks, "Marijuana" by Digital Mystikz's Coki, re-named "Burnin'" has focused more attention to him in the blossoming dubstep scene coming out of the UK. The original version of "Marijuana" also appears on the "These Are Serious Times" modern reggae compilation on XL Recordings.

His song 'Youth Dem Cold' was featured on Grand Theft Auto IV's Massive B Soundsytem 96.9 and the end credits of Attack the Block.

Discography

1999: ''Living Ain't Easy''

2000: ''Universal''

2006: ''Spice In Your Life''

2007: ''In The Streets To Africa'' #6 at Top Reggae Albums 2008: ''Gideon Boot'' #1 at Top Reggae Albums

2009: ''Street Life''

2011: ''Book Of Job''

References

Category:Jamaican reggae musicians Category:Jamaican Rastafarians Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica

de:Richie Spice es:Richie Spice fr:Richie Spice sw:Richie Spice ht:Richie Spice nl:Richie Spice pt:Richie Spice sv:Richie Spice

Name	Sean Kingston
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kisean Anderson
Born	February 03, 1990Miami, Florida, United States
Years active	2006–present
Label	Beluga Heights, Epic, TM3 Records, E1 Music
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, rapper, actor
Genre	Hip hop, R&B, reggae fusion
Website	}}

Sean Kingston (born Kisean Anderson; February 3, 1990) is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album ''Sean Kingston''.

Early life

Kingston was born on February 3, 1990, in Miami, Florida and moved to Kingston, Jamaica when he was six. He attended high school in Ocho Rios. His grandfather by marriage was the noted Jamaican reggae producer Lawrence Lindo, who worked under the stage name Jack Ruby. At age 11, Kingston spent 21 days in jail for breaking and entering, and Kingston lived in a car while his mother was incarcerated for identity theft.

Music career

2007–2008: ''Sean Kingston''

Sean Kingston was discovered through MySpace by Tommy Rotem at Beluga Heights, and signed to the label in a partnership deal with Sony. Beluga is a label notable for its focus on discovering and developing artists. In an interview with HitQuarters label head and producer J.R. Rotem described this process with regards to Kingston:

"Sean Kingston was a rapper when we found him and it was a development process to get him more melodic. At Beluga we essentially refine the talent so that it's more of a marketable product."

In a venture between Epic Records and Koch Records, Kingston recorded and released the single "Beautiful Girls" in May 2007. The single, based on the bass line and lyrical "association" of the 1961 hit "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King, reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the UK Singles Chart along with many other international charts. Similarly, the song "Me Love" samples the main hook out Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", from their 1973 album ''Houses of the Holy''. The song also debuted at number one in Australia, where it knocked off Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", which had been at number one for nine weeks. The song stayed on the Canadian Hot 100 number one spot for over six weeks before getting knocked down to third place by the Plain White T's. "Beautiful Girls" remained at number one in Canada longer than any other song in 2007. In 2007, Kingston was the opening act for Gwen Stefani's ''The Sweet Escape'' Tour and for select dates on Beyoncé's ''The Beyoncé Experience'' Tour. Since Sean is a Jamaican singer, he got his stage name "Kingston" from the capital of Jamaica called Kingston, Jamaica. Which lead him to having the stage name "Sean Kingston".

2009–2010: ''Tomorrow''

The album ''Tomorrow'' was released on September 22, 2009. Big-name producers involved in the album included former Fugee Wyclef Jean; RedOne (of recent Lady GaGa fame); plus Sean's original mentor, J.R. Rotem. So far, the singles "Fire Burning", and "Face Drop" have been released. Additionally, five promotional digital singles were released leading up to the album.

Kingston co-wrote Jason Derülo's "Whatcha Say". He also found the R&B-reggae singer Iyaz on MySpace and signed him to his record label. He also recorded the track "Miss Everything" for the UK girl-group Sugababes studio album Sweet 7 which was released March 15, 2010 in the UK. Kingston and DJ Khaled are being featured on Bow Wow's new single "For My Hood", from the upcoming movie, ''The Lottery Ticket''.

2010–present: Third studio album, King Of Kingz and other projects

According to Sean Kingston, he is already working on his next album. The lead single was confirmed to be "Dumb Love". The song's chorus samples 1957's, Come Go With Me by the Del Vikings. The song is also featured in a episode of ''The Suite Life on Deck'' which Kingston guest starred on. The album will also feature T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Wyclef Jean, Akon and Dr. Dre. The first single from the album is "Eenie Meenie" featuring Justin Bieber, released on March 23, 2010, which is also included on Bieber's ''My World 2.0'' album. This collaboration with the young star has been the source of much disapproval from the rap community. The second single from the album is "Letting Go (Dutty Love)", which features a verse from Nicki Minaj. It was released on iTunes August 3, while the third is "Dumb Love" and was released on iTunes September 8. Sean Kingston's new song "She Moves" samples Irena Cara's "What a Feeling" from the film ''Flashdance''. This has not been release as a single. A fourth single "Party All Night (Sleep All Day)" was released on December 21, 2010. The song leaked online in December 2010. The music video has already been shot. The video was released on December 23, 2010. Sean said this would be the song of the new year.

Kingston represented the continent of America to sing the Official Theme Song of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, ''Everyone''. He collaborated with four other international artists representing their continent, South African Jody Williams representing Africa, Singaporean Tabitha Nauser (Asia), British Steve Appleton (Europe), and Australian Jessica Mauboy representing (Oceania) However, Kingston was unable to attend, the Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 opening ceremony, due to passport mix ups. Sean was invited to featured on Cash Money Records/former So So Def member Bow Wow on his single "For My Hood". He performed it with him along with DJ Khaled on BET's television program 106 & Park the day after release.

Sean Released his first mixtape King Of Kingz on February 3, 2011 as a free Download only. The mixtape includes guest appearances by Akon, Flo-Rida, Soulja Boy, Justin Bieber, B.O.B and Tory Lanez.

Kingston will release a mixtape with pop star Justin Bieber, called ''Our World''. It will feature about 12–14 songs and includes their versions of songs like "Pretty Boy Swag" and "Billionaire". The mixtape is finished and Kingston showed his fans a preview on uStream on August, 19, 2010. The release date is yet to be confirmed. Kingston also went on to perform on first leg of Bieber's tour. On April 25, 2011, Kingston performed at Cross Roads Hotel in front of 2,000 people in Lilongwe, Malawi. Kingston was recently in Zimbabwe performing there and is scheduled to perform in Ghana in June 2011. He performed a street concert on April 29, 2011, at Utah State University.

Television appearances

For his 18th birthday, Kingston appeared on the US TV show ''My Super Sweet 16''. The show was memorable for Sean's elaborate entrance to his party, which involved Sean arriving at his party on a private yacht, wearing his own personalized white suit.

Sean appeared on the Nick Jr. Original Series ''Yo Gabba Gabba''.

He was also featured as a guest star on the 2009 remake of ''The Electric Company''.

He made appearances on the MTV reality show ''The Hills'' and ''MTV's Cribs''.

In 2010 he appeared in the "Party On!" episode of the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life on Deck'' as himself and performed his latest single "Dumb Love"

In 2010 he appeared in Katy Brand vs. series on ITV2 in the United Kingdom

For his 21st birthday, Sean appeared on MTV's ''My Super Sweet 16''.

Activism

Kingston filmed a public service announcement with Do Something to encourage teens to become active in their communities by forming a Do Something club.

Miami Beach jet skiing accident

On May 29, 2011, Kingston was involved in a jet skiing accident in Miami Beach, Florida. Kingston and a female passenger were severely injured when their jet ski struck the bridge connecting Palm Island with the MacArthur Causeway at approximately 6 pm. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he was placed in the intensive care unit and listed in stable condition. He suffered a fractured wrist and broken jaw along with water in the lungs, but is expected to make a full recovery. As of June 24, Kingston has been discharged from hospital and is to continue his recovery at home.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Sean Kingston'' (2007)

''Tomorrow'' (2009)

'' TBA'' (2011/12)

;Official mixtapes

''King Of Kingz'' (2011)

''Our World'' (2011) (with Justin Bieber)

''Greatness'' (2011)

Awards/nominations

*2008, Outstanding New Artist (nominated)

MOBO Awards

*2007: Best Reggae Acts

Teen Choice Awards

*2007: Choice R&B Track "Beautiful Girls"

*2007: Choice Summer Track "Beautiful Girls" (nominated)

*2009: Choice Summer Song "Fire Burning" (nominated)

References

External links

Official UK website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:American emigrants to Jamaica Category:American male singers Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:American pop singers Category:American rappers of Jamaican descent Category:American reggae musicians Category:Epic Records artists Category:Hip hop singers Category:Jamaican people of American descent Category:Jamaican male singers Category:Jamaican pop singers Category:Jamaican rappers Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:People from Saint Ann Parish Category:Rappers from Miami, Florida Category:Reggae fusion artists

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