The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-05
THE SUPERIOR SEX.

Mr.. Haveloek Ellis has written a book
of 400 pages entitled MAN and Woman"
The book purports to be study of human
secondary sexual characters. The result
of his study is to show that the ancient
and to an extent still prevalent belief that
man is the intellectual superior of woman
is founded on error. Science proves the
error, and its conclusion must be re-
spected. Mr.. Ellis says that it has been
assumed that the frontal division of the
brain is relatively larger in man than 10
woman. His careful Investigations have
shown the reverse TO be true; the frontal
division Of a woman's brain is relatively
larger than the same part of a mans
BRAIN The mans brain may be larger,
but the woman's has the more gray mat
ter. If woman averages less height or
weight than man the fault Is her own or
that of her ancestors on the female side
a long time ago, when the human race
was just emerging from barbarism, the
man transferred the pack from a woman's
shoulders to his own. She had less use
for muscle after that, and being naturally
fond of ease ceased to develop it. At each
upward step in the progress toward our
present high civilization some burden has
been removed from woman's shoulders
and been borne by man. the consequence
is that evolution took a different course
with woman than with man. Woman
became supple. graceful. beautiful and
dependent. The general assumption that
woman cannot fight as well as a
man is treated in the same way.
She can fight, but she does not like to; she
prefers to let men do the fighting. Why
should she fight when she gets the cream
of everything without fighting Why
should she do anything disagreeable when
man stands ready to do it for her ? 1t is
admitted that in intellectual labor man
takes precedence. But there is the result
Of woman's habit of letting men do the
hard work. intellectual labor is hard. 1t
burrows lines In the face, it dims the eye
and sometimes causes stoop of the
shoulders. 1t is grand to have written a
Hamlet" or to have studied GU; the prop
critics of steam, but such work requires
application. Greatness in this direction is
purchased at the cost of the social pleas
ures of which woman is so fond, for the
reason that in this department OF human
labor the superiority of woman is the most
manifest. There have doubtless been
many women who could have written
Hamlet" but they preferred to let man
write it.
There are certainly evidences of intellec-
tual superiority in a plan of life which
gets the good and shuns the bad. The
world holds the man who rules superior to
the larger man who is ruled. Why should
not the same rule apply to the measures
of the capacities of men and women? If
woman has won the first place in the
social world with less effort than man has
put forth to hold the second Is she not
mans intellectual superior? Results are
not measured by the effort put forth in
accomplishment, but by their fruits A
racehorse that trots easily past his CON-
petitor and comes under the wire without
turning a hair takes rank far above one
which comes in a minute later covered
with foam.
There are at the present time some signs
of purpose on woman's part 10 surrender
her claim to intellectual superiority. She
shows disposition to go back a few ages
and take up her share of life's burdens.
Possibly her tender conscience reproaches
her for having allowed man to do work that
she could have done quite as well herself.
And man is as submissive as ever. He
says in effect that if she really wants to
do all the dsagreeable things he has been
doing she shall have trial. He is appre-
hensive that she may tire of the job, but
he knows that it is of no use TO try to
frighten her. The more he tells her that
the work he has been doing for her is not
nice the more determined she will be TO
do IL