Socialism; Women -- Social and moral questions; Women and socialism
According to the opinion of eminent authorities, the most marked
differences in physical and mental qualities between man and woman
are the following: In regard to stature, Havelock Ellis considers
170 centimeters the average height for men and 160 centimeters for
women. According to Vierordt, it is 172 and 160, and in northern
Germany, according to Krause, 173 and 163 centimeters. The proportion
of man’s stature to woman’s is as 100 to 93. The average weight of
adult persons is 65 kilograms for men and 54 for women. The greater
length of the trunk in a woman’s body is a well-known difference;
yet this difference is not as great as has been generally assumed,
as careful measurements have shown. The legs of a woman of medium
size are only by 15 millimeters shorter than those of a man of medium
size, and Pfitzner doubts that this difference is noticeable. “The
differences in the lengths of body and legs are influenced by the
stature, and are independent of sex.” But the female arm is decidedly
shorter than the male arm (as 100 to 91.5). The male hand is broader
and larger than the female hand, and with men the ring-finger is
usually longer than the index, while the opposite is the case with
women. By this the male hand becomes more ape-like, as the long arm
also is a pithecoid (ape-like) characteristic.
In regard to the size of the head, the proportion of the absolute
height of male and female heads may be set down as 100 to 94. But
the relative sizes (in proportion to the size of the body) are
100 to 100.8. So actually woman’s head is somewhat smaller, but
in proportion to the size of her body, it is somewhat larger than
man’s. The bones of woman are smaller, finer, and more delicate in
form and have a smoother surface, for the weaker muscles require
less rough surface to fasten upon. The weaker muscular development
is one of the most striking characteristics of woman. Each separate
muscle of a woman’s body is finer, softer, and contains more water.
(According to v. Bibra the quantity of water contained in the
muscles is 72.5 per cent. with man, and 74.4 per cent. with woman.)
In regard to the adipose membrane the opposite proportion exists;
it is much more amply developed with woman than with man. The chest
is relatively shorter and narrower. Other differences are directly
connected with the sexual purpose. The statements of various authors
in regard to relative and absolute weight of the intestines, are very
contradictory. According to Vierordt the proportion of the weight of
the heart to the weight of the body is as 1 to 215 with men, and
as 1 to 206 with women. According to Clendinning it is as 1 to 158
and as 1 to 149. Taken all in all, we may assume that the female
intestines are absolutely smaller, but relatively, in proportion to
the weight of the body, heavier than the male.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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