SEX IN LIVING FOKMS 85 



and diminished abdominal or deep respiration, tliis 

 change can be accounted for on other than physiolog- 

 ical grounds. 



3. We believe the cause of this modification of res- 

 piration is the change in dress which is usually made 

 about that time. The young girl is now becoming a 

 woman, and must acquire the art of lacing, wearing a 

 corset, " stays," and sundry other contrivances which 

 will aid in producing a ''fine form," by distorting and 

 destroying all natural grace and beauty in the "form 

 divine. ' ' 



4. We have met a number of ladies whose good for- 

 tune and good sense had delivered them from the dis- 

 torting influence of corset-wearing and tight-lacing, 

 and we have invariably observed that they are capable 

 of as deep respiration as men, and practice it naturally. 



We are thoroughly convinced that this so-called 

 physiological difference between man and woman is 

 really a pathological rather than a natural difference, 

 and is due to the evils of fashionable dress, which we 

 have exposed at some length in another work exclu- 

 sively devoted to that subject.* In short, we believe 

 that the only reason why women do not, under ordi- 

 nary circumstances, breathe as do men, is simply he- 

 cause they cannot breathe naturally., 



The Reproductive Elements.— As has been pre- 

 viously observed, in all except the very lowest forms 

 of life, two elements are necessary to the production 

 of a new individual, or a reproduction of the species, 

 —a male element and a female element. The special 

 organs by means of which these elements are produced, 

 brought together, and developed into the new individ- 

 ual in a more or less perfect state, are termed sexual 

 organs. As an introduction to the specific study of 



6 



