Chap. XIX. SEXUAL SELECTION : MAN. 355 



CHAPTER XX. 



Secondary Sexual Characteks of Max — continued. 



On the effects of the continued selection of women according to a 

 different standard of beauty in each race — On the causes which 

 interfere with sexual selection in civilised and savage nations 

 — Conditions favourable to sexual selection during primeval 

 times — On the manner of action of sexual selection with 

 mankind — On the women in savage tribes having some power 

 to choose their husbands — Absence of hair on the body, and 

 development of the beard — Colour of the skin — Summary. 



We have seen in the last chapter that with all barbarous 

 races ornaments, dress, and external appearance are 

 highly valued ; and that the men judge of the beauty 

 of their women by widely different standards. We 

 must next inquire whether this preference and the 

 consequent selection during many generations of those 

 women, which appear to the men of each race the 

 most attractive, has altered the character either of the 

 females alone or of both sexes. With mammals the 

 general rule appears to be that characters of all kinds 

 are inherited equally by the males and females ; Ave 

 might therefore exjoect that with manlvind any cha- 

 racters gained through sexual selection by the females 

 would commonly be transferred tO the offspriug of both 

 sexes. If any change has thus been effected it is almost 

 certain that the different races will have been differ- 

 ently modified, as each has its own standard of beauty. 

 With mankind, especially with savages, many causes 

 interfere with the action of sexual selection as far as the 

 bodily frame is concerned. Civilised men are largely 



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