What, in the most elemental form, is sex? It is a difference of function which makes it necessary for two organisms to take part in the reproduction of the species. The purpose, or at any rate the effect, of this sex difference is the mixing of characteristics and qualities. If the sex relationship were unnecessary to reproduction, variations might begin, and be propagated and carried to extremes in one line of inheritance, without ever affecting the rest of the species. Very soon there would be no species, or rather an infinity1 of them; each line of descent would fly apart, and become a group all by itself. You have perhaps heard people comment on the fact that blondes so frequently prefer brunettes, and that tall men are apt to marry short women, and vice2 versa. This is perhaps nature's way of keeping the type uniform, of spreading qualities widely and testing them thoroughly3. Nature is continually trying out the powers of every individual in every species, and by the process of sexual selection she chooses, for the reproduction of the species, the individuals which are best fitted for survival. This, of course, refers to nature, considered apart from man. In human society, as I shall presently show, sexual selection has been distorted, and partly suppressed.
Sex differentiation4 and sexual selection exist almost universally throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, everywhere save in the lowest forms of being. They take strange and startling forms, and like everything else in nature manifest amazing ingenuity5. People who wish to prove this or that about human sex relations will advance arguments from nature; but as a matter of fact we can learn nothing whatever from nature, except her determination to preserve the products of her activity and to keep them up to standard. Sometimes nature will give the precedence in power, speed and beauty to the male, and sometimes to the female. She is perfectly6 ruthless, and willing in the accomplishment7 of her purpose to destroy the individuals of either sex. She will content the most rabid feminist8 by causing the female spider to devour9 her mate when his purpose has been accomplished10; or by causing the male bee to fall from his mating in the air, a disemboweled shell.
As for man, he has won his supremacy11 over nature by his greater power to combine in groups; by his more intense gregarious12, or herd13 instincts, which enabled him to fight and destroy creatures which would have exterminated14 him if he had fought them alone. So in primitive15 society everywhere, we find that the individual is subordinated to the group, and the "folkways" give but little heed16 to personal rights. Very thorough investigations17 have been made into the life of primitive man in many parts of the world, and the anthropologists are now arguing over the exact meaning of the data. We shall not here attempt to decide among them, but rest content with the statement that communism and tribal18 ownership is a widespread social form among primitive man, so much so as to suggest that it is an early stage in social evolution.
And this communism includes, not merely property, but sex. In the very earliest days there was often no barrier whatever to the sex relationship; not even between brothers and sisters, nor between parents and children. In fact, we find savages19 who do not know that the sex relationship has anything to do with procreation. But as knowledge increases, sex "tabus" develop, some wise, and some foolish. From causes not entirely20 clear, but which we discuss in Chapter XLVIII, there gradually evolves a widespread form of sex relationship of primitive man, the system of the "gens," as it is called. This is the Latin word for family, but it does not mean family in the narrow sense of mother and father and children, but in the broad sense of all those who have blood relationship, however far removed—uncles and aunts and cousins, as far as memory can trace. In primitive communism a man is not permitted to enter into the sex relationship with a woman of the same gens, but with all the women of some other gens. It is difficult for us to imagine a society in which all the men named Jones would be married to all the women named Smith; but that was the way whole races of mankind lived for many thousands of years.
In that primitive communist society, the woman was generally the equal of the man. It is true that she did the drudgery21 of the camp, but the man, on the other hand, faced the hardships of battle and the chase on land and sea. The woman was as big as the man, and except when handicapped by pregnancy22, as strong as the man; she was as much respected, if not more so. Her children bore her name, and were under her control, and she was accustomed to assert herself in all affairs of the tribe. In Frederick O'Brien's "White Shadows in the South Seas," you may read a comical story of a journey this traveler made into the interior of one of the cannibal islands. Everywhere he was treated with courtesy and hospitality, but was embarrassed by continual offers from would-be wives. In one case a powerful cannibal lady, whose advances he rejected, picked him up and proceeded to carry him off, and he was quite helpless in her grasp; he might have been a cannibal husband today, if it had not been for the intervention23 of his fellow travelers.
The basis of this sex equality under primitive communism is easy to understand. All goods belonged to the tribe, and were shared alike according to need. Children were the tribe's most precious possession; therefore the woman suffered little handicap from having a child to bear and feed. Primitive woman would bear her child by the roadside, and pick it up in her arms, and continue her journey; and when she needed food, she did not have to beg for it—if there was food for anyone, there was food for her and her child. She did her share of the gathering24 and preparing of food, because that was the habit and law of her being; she had energies, and had never heard of the idea of not using them.
This primitive communism generally disappears as the tribe progresses. We cannot be sure of all the stages of its disappearance25, or of the causes, but in a general way we can say that it gives way before the spread of slavery. In the beginning primitive man does not have any slaves, he does not have sufficient foresight26 or self-restraint for that. When he kills his enemies in battle, he builds a fire and roasts their flesh and eats them; and those whom he captures alive, he binds27 fast and takes with him, to be sacrificed to his voodoo gods. But as he comes to more settled ways of living, and as the tribe grows larger, it occurs to the chiefs in battle that the captives would be glad to give their labor28 in return for their lives, and that it would be convenient to have some people to do the hard and dirty work. So gradually there comes to be a class at the bottom of society, and another class at the top. Those who capture the slaves and keep them at work lay claim to the products of their labor—at first better weapons and personal adornments, then separate homes for the chiefs and priests, separate gardens, separate flocks and herds29, and—what more natural?—separate women.
This process becomes complete when the tribe settles down to agriculture, and the ruling classes take possession of the land. When once the land is privately30 owned, classes are fixed31, and class distinctions become the most prominent fact in society. And step by step as this happens, we see women beaten down, from the position of the cannibal lady, who could ask for the man she wanted and carry him off by force if necessary, to the position of the modern woman, who is physically32 weak, emotionally unstable33, economically dependent, and socially repressed. You may resent such phrases, but all you have to do is to read the laws of civilized34 countries, written into the statute35 books by men to define the rights and duties of women; you will see that everywhere, before the recent feminist revolt, women were classified under the law with children and imbeciles.
Maternity36 imposes on woman a heavy burden, and before the discovery of birth control, a burden that is continuous. For nine months she carries the child in her body, and then for a year or two she carries it in her arms, or on her back; and by that time there is another child, and this continues until she is broken down. Having this burden, she cannot possibly compete with the unburdened male for the possession of property. So wherever there is economic competition; wherever certain individuals or classes in the tribe or group are allowed to seize and hold the land; wherever the products of labor cease to be the community property, and become private property, the objects of economic strife37; then inevitably38 and by natural process, woman comes to be placed among those who cannot protect themselves—that is, among the children and the imbeciles and the slaves. Of course, some children are well cared for, and so are some imbeciles, and some slaves, and some women. But they are cared for as a matter of favor, not as a matter of their own power. They proceed no longer as the cannibal lady, but by adopting and cultivating the slave virtues39, by making themselves agreeable to their masters, by flattering their masters' vanity and sensuality—in other words by exercising what we are accustomed to call "feminine charm."
From early barbaric society up to the present day, we observe that there are classes of women, just as there are classes of men. The position of these classes changes within certain limits, but in broad outline the conditions are fixed, and may be easily defined. There is, first of all, the ruling class woman. She must have birth; she may or may not have wealth, according as to whether the laws of that society or tribe permit her to have possessions of her own, or to inherit anything from her parents. If she has no wealth, then she will need beauty. She is the woman who is selected by the ruling class man to bear his name and his children, and to have charge of the household where these children are reared, and trained for the inheriting of their father's wealth and the carrying on of his position. This confers upon the ruling class woman great dignity, and makes her a person of responsibility. She rules, not merely over the slaves of the household, but over men of inferior social classes, and in a few cases an exceptionally able woman has become a queen, and ruled over men of her own class. This ruling class woman has been known through all the ages by a special name, and the ways and customs regarding her have been studied in an entertaining book, "The Lady," by Emily James Putnam.
Next in privilege and position to the "lady" is the mistress, the woman who is selected by the ruling class man, not primarily to bear his children, but to entertain and divert him. She may, of course, bear children also. In barbaric societies, and up to quite recent times, the importance of the ruling class man was indicated by the number of concubines he had, and the position of these women was hardly inferior to that of the wife or queen. In the days of the French monarchy41, the king's mistress was frequently more important than the queen; she was a woman of ability, maintaining her supremacy in the intrigues42 of the court. In ancient Greek society, the "hetairae" were a recognized class, and Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles, was the most brilliant and most conspicuous43 woman in Athens. In modern France, the position of the mistress is recognized by the phrase "demi-monde," or half-world. The American plutocracy44 has developed upon a superstructure of Puritanism, and therefore, in America, hypocrisy45 is necessary. But in the great cities of America, the vast majority of the ruling class men keep mistresses before marriage, and a great many keep them afterwards; and these mistresses are coming to be more and more openly flaunted46, and to acquire more and more of what is called "social position." It is possible now in the "smart set" for a lady to accept the status of mistress, delicately veiled, without losing caste thereby47, and actresses and other free lance women who got their start in life by taking the position of mistress, are coming more and more to be recognized as "ladies," and to be received into what are called the "best circles."
There remains48 to be considered the position of the lower class women. In barbarous society these women were very little different from slaves. They had no rights of their own, except such rights as their master man chose to allow them for his own convenience. They were sold in marriage by their parents, and they went where they were sold, and obeyed their new master. They became his household drudges49, and reserved their affections for him; if they failed to do this, he stoned them to death, or strangled them with a cord and tied them in a sack and threw them into the river.
And, of course, the rights of the master man yielded to the rights of men of higher classes. The king or nobleman could take any woman he wished at any time, and he made laws to this effect and enforced them. In feudal50 society the lord of the manor51 claimed the right of the first night with the wives of his serfs; this was one of the ruling class privileges which was abolished in the French revolution. Wherever the French revolution did not succeed in affecting land tenure52, the right of the land owner to prey53 upon his tenant54 girls continues as a custom, even though it is not written in the law, and would be denied by the hypocritical. It prevails in Poland, as you may discover by reading Sienkiewicz's "Whirlpools"; it prevails in England, as you may discover from Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles." You will find that it prevails in every part of the world where women have poverty and men have wealth and prestige, dress suits and automobiles55. You will find it wherever there are leisure class hotels, or colleges, or other gatherings56 of ruling class young males. You will find it in the theatrical57 and moving picture worlds. It is well understood in the theatrical world of Broadway that the woman "star" in the profession gets her start in life by becoming the mistress of a manager or "angel." In the moving picture world of Southern California it is a recognized convention, known to everyone familiar with the business, that a young girl parts with her virtue40 in exchange for an important job.
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1
infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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differentiation
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| n.区别，区分 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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6
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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feminist
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| adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的 | |
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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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gregarious
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| adj.群居的，喜好群居的 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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17
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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tribal
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| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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pregnancy
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| n.怀孕，怀孕期 | |
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intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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binds
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| v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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maternity
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| n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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41
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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42
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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plutocracy
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| n.富豪统治 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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46
flaunted
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| v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的过去式和过去分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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47
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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48
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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49
drudges
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| n.做苦工的人，劳碌的人( drudge的名词复数 ) | |
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50
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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51
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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52
tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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54
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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56
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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