Back on May 2, 2024, standing beside anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order essentially nullifying Title IX rules established by the Biden administration, saying, "Biden thinks anybody can be a woman just because they say so. ... I can't think of anything more offensive and dismissive of the very real, very scientific traits that all women share and that no man does."

Given the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to bar trans athletes from participating in women's sports, Governor Sanders' executive order now has the backing of the federal judiciary. But the Court did not produce any kind of inventory of these "very real, very scientific traits that all women share" to help guide us.

Admittedly, the question of "What is a woman?" has stymied some rather prominent figures these last few years. One classical formulation would be: Woman = Adult Human Female.

That seems an exemplar of simplicity, but now we have defined one word by recourse to three words, which themselves call out for definition. So let us see if we can help out the governor and our Supreme Court justices. First ...

My 1940 "Webster's Universal Dictionary of the English Language" (I prefer older dictionaries) defines adult as "a person grown to full size and strength, or to the years of manhood or womanhood" (noun) or "having arrived at mature years, or to the full size and strength" (adjective). However, neither of these definitions provides us with solid parameters by which to determine the boundaries of adulthood. What, for example, constitute the "mature years"?

Let us take as our guideposts certain legal standards for maturity and see if we can get some clarity.

My very brief online survey of age of consent laws in the United States (because I didn't want the algorithm to think I'm that kind of person) reveals that the age by which a person can legally consent to sexual activity generally ranges from 16 to 18, although there are numerous exceptions. The so-called "Howell Code," the first code of laws for the Territory of Arizona, developed in 1864, set the age of consent at 10 while noting that there might be circumstances in which children (girls) even younger might "consent."

The legal age for marriage is similarly variable. Many states have a minimum age of 18 to be married, although it can be lower with parental permission. One Missouri state senator, Republican Mike Moon, made the news in 2023 for defending the right of 12-year-olds to marry.

What else do we have? Federal law allows people age 18 to vote and requires all men of that age to register for selective service. In most states, the minimum age at which one can buy alcohol is 21. And there are a variety of minimum ages at which one can run for federal........

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