Psychology of sex - Total No. of Records in System :: 2032

PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXmost certainly say, is the theory which has been regardedas natural and wholesome from classic times almost toour own, whether or not the actual facts fitted into it.Less than a hundred years ago the English surgeon Actonwrote a book which until near the end of last century wasthe standard authority on sexual questions, and he statedin it that to attribute sexual feelings to women was "a vileaspersion," while at the same period, in another standardmedical work, it was laid down that only "lasciviouswomen" showed any physical signs of pleasure when inthe embrace of their husbands. And these statements, ofan inconceivable absurdity, were generally accepted.Today we see arising another ideal, which is, we probablyhave to recognize, not only in accordance with ourgrowing tendency to place the two sexes on the same level,but also more in accordance with the natural facts. Evenoutside the field here under consideration, we do not drawdo not involve two different sortsthe sharp line of sexual distinction which was formerlyaccepted We recognize differences that are indeed fundamental,and endless in number, but they are subtle differences.They of humannature. They represent the same human nature withthe same varying tendencies. These tendencies may in themale lead more often to modifications in one direction andin the female more often in the other, but the humannature still retains essentially the same common characteristics.We have already come in contact with the old dictum,endlessly repeated, that man ispolygamous and womanmonogamous, and seen how far that dictum is true andhow far it is false. The fundamental fact that in naturethe sex act has weightier consequences for a woman thanfor a man renders her instinctively slower and more carefulthan * man in selecting a mate. This difference has[338]