The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-08-15
TRACES HISTORY
Of fEMIN|SIS
Those of Today Said to Show
Traits Lombroso Deplored
Among Detectives.
ARE CALLED ABNORMAL
RE CALLED ABNORMAL
Anti-Sufrasist Declares Worship of
Career in Preference to Mother
hood Essentially Masculine.
BY MISS FLORENCE r. HALL.

hOo0 LSSCHtloily MASCULINE.
By MISS FLORENCE r.. HALL,
Chairman Public Interests Committee Pennsylvani,
| Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
The word "feminlsm" has been in use
about twenty-five years. The history OF
words always is interesting. and gives us
| new ideas of their meanings. but the
word "feminism" holds unique place
| In this respect. AS nearly as We can
trace its use, it was originally a medical
term-used in the early nineties by Lom-
! broso and other psychologists to describe
the development of female chara cteristics
in the male.
In an extensive study of detectives and
degenerates Lombroso discovered two
startling facts-that the male defective
became womanish and the female de-
fective became manish. He used the
words feminism" and 'masculism" to
describe this state. According to his
views, the normal development of the
sexes is toward difference instead of
identity both in bodily form and sec
ondary sex characteristics. The higher
in the scale of civilization man and
woman rise, the more different from each
other they become. The female acquires
softer lines. a more beautiful figure. a
more feminine character: the male ac-
quires stronger features, a deeper voice
more creative ability and greater ambi-
ton.
Civilization. according to this school of
scientists, naturally required the devel-
opment of a more masculine nature in
man and a more feminine nature in
woman. Those of their sex who could
not adapt themselves to the complex
standards Of modern existence Lombroso
found almost without exception were de-
ficient in the qualities of their own sex
and showed the characteristics of the
other He noticed among male detectives
guilty of crimes that they possessed al
most feminine instincts, that in some
cases they even worked the account of
their misdeeds into embroidery. On the
other hand. among female detectives al
most all the normal characteristics of
their sex were lost.
Characteristics. of Hysteria.
Among the many causes of misdeeds
among women Lombroso noticed hys-
terra as one of the leading features and
among hysterical women he noticed two
dominant characteristics-love of neto-
riety and the inability to distinguish be-
tween fiction and fact A third charac-
teristic was hatred of maternity.
What has all this to do with feminism
in its present sense? Simply this: that
any one who opens his eyes can notice
among the feminists of today the very
characteristics Lombroso deplored among
detectives thirty years ago. Do We mean
by this to insinuate that those who be-
leve in suffrage for women are not nor
NAL? No; We do not apply this to the
casual person who thinks women have
as much right to vote as men because
-
the subject; nor to the paid worker who
is merely earning living preaching
politics for women. But we insist that
the underlying motives of the feminist
are abnormal and that its his
tory. its literature and its doctrines fully
bear out this charge. Take the question
Of motherhood, for instance. Even so
staunch a suffrage paper as the New
York Evening Post notices editorially the
extreme small number Of married women
or mothers among the active votes ad-
From the Scientific Side.
On the other hand. let US look into this !
rom the scientific side. |
Is not the worship Of career" in |
preference to wifehood and motherhood |
ESSENTIALLY masculine Is Moth notion |
# economic independence itself a mas |
,uline notion? These women are not |
ebelling against conditions Or laws-they |
ire revolving against the Nature that |
gave them sex they detest For in |
tance, was it normal woman who rose |
n the last national suffrage convention |
md pledged SIS because she had escaped |
Was 1t a normal woman
n the same convention who pledged a
um almost as large in honor Of 1.-The
hildren she didn't have after ten years
+ MARRIAGE"
Then take the hysterical Characters
les. Any one knows that the average
would rather get her name in
he papers," even though 1t hurts her
ause. than to do something quietly that
night benefit it.
Certain members and organizations
ave been pleaded with time and again
lot to do certain acts, to be more -lady-
ke'' in their actions; yet 1t Is in vain;
hey cannot be controlled; whenever they
ee a chance to get notoriety, their hys-
erical mania prompts them to rush into
!, regardless OF whether II will finally
urt or help the cause" Another 'hys-
erical characteristic is. as mentioned.
nat Of inability to distinguish fact from
ction. Lombroso notices that to q hys-
erical woman. q thing that is imagined, !
ven when called to her attention as
alse. 10 regarded as just as valuable as
thing that Is true. Consequently. we
re not now surprised that the suffra-
lists get 80 much satisfaction out Of the
lrce that -four million women vote
ow." or that mine million women are
, industry" when they know perfectly
ell that the census does not warrant
ther assertion. Ii
Mrs. Henry B.. Harris Is producing =