Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1914-03-24
THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT OF GIRLS
Delivered Before the Ladies' Literary
Club on March 18th.
Ry RosALIA BoHRER

=
about this new being, woman, who,
though old as man himself, old as the
race, woman has assumed new and
gigantic proportions to the one who
has considered himself her guardian
and dictator for so many thousands
of years.
Probably we are all looking at wo-
man with sort of distorted vision.
Why not consider her no stranger
among us, or not more capricious than
man. a creature like himself with many
longings, with desire for freedom
desire for change, a creature who
feels as keenly the love of life,
the glory of nature, the freedom Of
the outer air, the limitations of house
walls, who does not know that she is
so different from man except as he in
forms her of that truth, or except as
tradition gradually and painfully in
stills it into her.
| 'Now the central fact of her life is
the bearing and rearing of the child,
which may be in her mind a duty, a
| privilege or a constraint," and the
one thing to consider is whether she
can enjoy complete physical and
social development and yet serve this
purpose for which nature has made
| her of the female instead of the male
or neuter sex. The girl proceeds to
i grow from babyhood and she soon be-
comes aware that her physical
II development must be retarded. She
must not run very much, it is unlady-
like and hoidenish. There are also
mysterious reasons why she should
not run, these are not given to her in
the open bat rather with knowing OF
mystic winks, which first reveal tC
her something of lurking evil, some
thing in her nature which the human
race and not the creator has stamped
with evil, and later on she is repeat.
eddy convinced of it by the oft-recur-
ring words. "born in sin"
She must not climb trees, hel
clothes are not adapted to that enjoy
ment. She must not jump upon bobs
or wagons like boys; must not go fish.
ing, except perhaps in an apathetic
perfunctory way, along with a camp
ing expedition where she dosen't fish
at all, but the boys bait the hook,
locate the fish, pull it in while she
looks on and applauds. Long walks
are out of the question for her, for is
she not the weaker vessel and are not
feminine StrollS and headaches alto
gether more lifting for one who is at
some future time to bear and rear
boys and strong men, who are. accord
ing TO our present regime, largely
drugstore babies in the beginning
! Though long walks are tabooed,
long hours over embroidery, lace, tat
ting. and even long hours in the COM
/ pany OF young men in her home or at
1 the evening dancing party are not
! considered destroyers ofnervous force,
4
sary for the fulfilling of her mission
as wife and mother? The young man
that she may have husband, and the
embroidery and tatting that she may
load her own clothes beyond the point
of simplicity with them and those of
| the half-born, half developed product
embodying the physical deficiencies
of both father and mother.
| ] believe that girls should be al
lowed freedom from babyhood on, clear
on into middle life to run, jump,
climb trees, swim, row, ride, shoot,
to do all things which will help them
to be physically more efficient for the
task Nature demands of them, and
also for the sake of saving life and
protecting themselves from animals.
including man. We have many cases
of crime right here in Wausau which
might have been avoided had the
girl possessed a little more physical
strength. A well-developed woman
would make very successful pugilist,
at least to the extent of her own pro-
lection with wel-trained arm and
fist, without the aid of hat pin or
umbrella.
| nourgymnasiums physical develop
ment of girls is either pushed to the
limit or often neglected, except in
the case of select few. who form a
basket ball team. The early morning
walk is much neglected accompanied
by the deep breathing. The woman
is no good on long tramp. In this
city of eighteen thousand people how
many girls or women take morning
walks on any day of the week for any
great distance, in their freest walking
attire with comfortable shoes? No,