Concerning a number of sexual differences, during childhood, authors are
not agreed. As regards the type of breathing, for instance, in the adult
man, the abdominal type prevails; that is, the respiratory exchange of
gases is effected chiefly by movements of the diaphragm and the
abdominal muscles: whereas in the adult woman the respiration is costal,
the respiratory exchange being effected chiefly by movements of the
thorax. How unsettled our views are in respect of the types of
respiration in children is well displayed by the collection of opinions
given by Havelock Ellis.[14] According to Boerhaave, sexual differences
in the type of respiration were manifest even in very small children;
but his observations have not been confirmed by others. Thus, Sibson
states that the characteristic costal type of respiration begins in
girls at the age of ten, for which reason some observers have assumed
that the wearing of the corset is the cause of its appearance; others,
however, among whom Hutchinson may be mentioned, deny this alleged
causal connexion, stating that they have observed costal respiration in
young girls who have never worn any constricting garments.
Unquestionably, sexual differences in the type of respiration become
apparent in the later years of childhood.
I have already pointed out that in girls the secondary sexual characters
begin to make their appearance at an earlier age than in boys. In the
onset of sexual differentiation, the boy thus plays a more passive part
than the girl, inasmuch as he retains longer the childish type. None the
less, in the boy also certain secondary sexual characters begin to
develop comparatively early. Thus, in the second period of childhood,
the boy's shoulders often become wider, his muscles stronger, than those
of the girl. Since at the same period there occurs in girls the greater
deposit of fat previously described, marked differences result in the
external contours of the respective bodies. The boy's body is therefore
much more angular and knobby, far less softly rounded, than that of the
girl. Towards the end of the second period of childhood, an additional
sexual character makes its appearance in the male sex, namely, the voice
breaks. The chief remaining differences, the growth of the beard and
the pubic hair, and the development of the characteristically masculine
larynx, usually manifest themselves after the close of the second period
of childhood--that is to say, during the period of youth.
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