racters.

In animal society the coyness of the female is the analogue of
modesty. The male is always aggressive, and in both animal and human
society used ornament as a means of interesting and influencing the
female. In the course of time, however, man's activities became his
main dependence, and woman's person and personal behavior became
more significant, especially in a state of society where she became
dependent on man's activities, and both ornament and modesty were
largely transferred to her.

In speaking of the relation of sex to morality,[255] I have already
shown that the morality of man is peculiarly a morality of prowess and
contract, while woman's morality is to a greater degree a morality of
bodily habits, both because child-bearing, which is a large factor
in determining sexual morality, is more closely connected with her
person, and in consequence also of male jealousy. Physiologically and
socially reproduction is more identified with the person of woman than
of man, and it has come about that her sexual behavior has been more
closely looked after, not only by men, but by women--for it would not
be difficult to show that women have been always, as they are still,
peculiarly watchful of one another in this respect.

In the course of history woman developed an excessive and scrupulous
concern for the propriety of her behavior, especially in connection
with her bodily habits; and this in turn became fixed and
particularized by fashion, with the result that not only her physical
life became circumscribed, but her attention and mental interests
became limited largely to safeguarding and enhancing her person.

The effect of this and of other similar restrictions of behavior on
her character and mind is indicated in following chapters.

THE ADVENTITIOUS CHARACTER OF WOMAN

There is more than one bit of evidence that nature changed her
plan with reference to some organism at the very last moment, and
introduced a feature which was not contemplated at the outset. This
change of plan is carried out through the specialization of some
organ, sense, or habit, to such a degree as to make practically a new
type of the organism. In the human species, for example, the atrophied
organs distributed through the body are evidence that the physical
make-up of the species was well-nigh definitely fixed before the
advantage of free hands led to an erect posture, thereby throwing
certain sets of muscles out of use