We need not accept in full measure Dr. Lester Ward's picturesque story
of the manner in which women were made subject to men, _i.e._, that
female sex-selection so overdid the business of rewarding with favor
the strength, the fighting quality, and the cunning which grew to
mental power in the male, that when human men and women were reached,
woman found a master ready-made by her subhuman sisters. We may,
however, find a most suggestive indication of the real reasons for
that masculine supremacy in Doctor Ward's testimony to the way in
which the female sex, when it had the power of special selection of
the kind of mates it wanted, set a fashion in masculine attainment
which did work later against her own command of the sex-relation.
Women did not become subject to men because of physical weakness. The
savage woman does continuous work heavier and more strength-demanding
than that assigned to the savage man. It was not even that the
primitive woman had always to carry the child as she worked, and had
therefore a double burden, although that greatly helped men in gaining
supremacy. It was rather that the larger leisure of primitive man and
his consequent development of thought and imagination enabled him to
secure religion and statecraft as allies to his physical claims. The
intellectual side of the male development was doubtless greatly aided
by female selection, and when man was reached he already knew how to
outwit other men and most women in the race for power.
=The Three Chief Sources of Influence.=--It has been well said that
the "three great sources of influence in barbarous as in civilized
countries are religion, military power, and money." All these
influences became masculine monopolies ages ago.
The ancient woman was sometimes a priestess and often a healer in her
simple fashion and in all ages has acted as nurse in illness and
care-taker of the aged and the feeble when these have received care.
She has been mistress of the ceremonials of birth and death and
marriage when these have been parts of the family ritual, and
courtship has been largely in her charge. All the customs that relate
to intimate household experiences have been shared by women as ritual
and rule of life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account