Secondary Sexual Characteristics

: A physical characteristic (as the breasts of a female mammal or the nuptial plumage of a male bird) that appears in members of one sex at puberty or in seasonal breeders at the breeding season and is not directly concerned with reproduction -- called also secondary sex character, secondary sexual characteristic

In humans the development of secondary sexual characteristics is stimulated at puberty by the hormone estrogen in women, and testosterone in men. Testosterone is produced in the testes of males, while estrogen and progesterone are produced in the ovaries of females. Women develop breasts and wider hips; men develop a deeper voice, body and facial hair, and stronger body odor; and both develop hair in underarm and genital regions. However, at puberty the reproductive organs also mature as a consequence of growth and changes in circulating hormones, ready for sexual reproduction.

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