eless to seek for
any homogamy between the manly man and the virile woman, between the
feminine woman and the effeminate man. It is not impossible that this
tendency to seek disparity in sexual characters may exert some disturbing
influences on the tendency to seek parity in anthropological racial
characters, for the sexual difference to some extent makes itself felt in
racial characters. A somewhat greater darkness of women is a secondary
(or, more precisely, tertiary) sexual character, and on this account
alone, it is possible, somewhat attractive to men[192]. A difference in
size and stature is a very marked secondary sexual character. In the
considerable body of data concerning the stature of married couples
reproduced by Pearson from Galton's tables, although the tall on the
average tend to marry the tall, and the short the short, it is yet
noteworthy that, while the men of 5 ft. 4 ins. have more wives at 5 ft. 2
ins. than at any other height, men of 6 ft. show, in an exactly similar
manner, more wives at 5 ft. 2 ins. than at any other height, although for
many intermediate heights the most numerous groups of wives are
taller[193].

In matters of carriage, habit, and especially clothing the love of sexual
disparity is instinctive, everywhere well marked, and often carried to
very great lengths. To some extent such differences are due to the
opposing demands of more fundamental differences in custom and occupation.
But this cause by no means adequately accounts for them, since it may
sometimes happen that what in one land is the practice of the men is in
another the practice of the women, and yet the practices of the two sexes
are still opposed[194]. Men instinctively desire to avoid doing things in
women's ways, and women instinctively avoid doing things in men's ways,
yet both sexes admire in the other sex those things which in themselves
they avoid. In the matter of clothing this charm of disparity reaches its
highest point, and it has constantly happened that men have even called in
the aid of religion to enforce a distinction which seemed to them so
urgent[195]. One of the greatest of sex allurements would be lost and the
extreme importance of clothes would disappear at once if the two sexes
were to dress alike; such identity of dress has, however, never come about
among any people.

FOOTNOTES:

[171] L. da Vinci, _Frammenti_, selected by Solmi, pp. 177-180.

[172] Westermarck, who accepts the "charm of d