Doesn't mean it wasn't a woman's face just because it had a beard.

The Sphinx is supposed to be Hor-em-Akhet (Horus on the Horizon), a male deity.

There were three great female Pharaohs (or queens without consorts): i.e., Hatshepsut, Sobeknefru, and Twosret. Hatshepsut (who was in the news recently as an Egyptian archaeologist says he's found her mummy) is portrayed with the traditional false beard (it was false on the male pharaohs, too). Khentykawes, queen of Menkaura, may also have ruled as Pharaoh as she is depicted with a false beard, too. (An interesting page link.)

Ceci n'est pas un seing.