46 SEXUAL DIMORPHISM 



the beard is confined to the male, but in the Gorilla and Chim- 

 panzee, no great development of beard occurs in either sex. 



The discussion of the sexual differences in Man is best 

 undertaken here, as it does not seem possible to explain all 

 of them as due to conditions which have arisen since he 

 diverged from ape-like ancestors. With regard to the greater 

 size and bodily and mental power of man as compared with 

 woman, there seems no difficulty in explaining these peculiari- 

 ties as directly due to differences in habits. Such differences 

 evidently existed in the ape-like progenitors as well as 

 throughout the evolution of civilised man. Among the wild 

 ancestors, the males gained their superior size and strength 

 by fighting for the females with one another, and throughout 

 the subsequent evolution the males have led the more active, 

 energetic, and pugnacious existence. Almost from the earliest 

 stage of man s evolution, as in the most primitive savages in 

 historical times, the women have been in the habit of attending 

 to the requirements of the family home, while the men, before 

 they tilled the land or possessed domesticated cattle, were en- 

 gaged in hunting and warfare. Among the African negroes 

 the labours of agriculture seem to be left entirely to the 

 women, but the exertions and fatigues of warfare are still 

 confined to the men. In more civilised nations the contrast 

 between the part played by men and that performed by women 

 in providing for their own existence or that of the family is 

 sufficiently obvious. At the same time the degree of differ- 

 ence between men and women varies considerably in different 

 nations and races. Among western nations the freedom and 

 energy of women is much more encouraged than in those com- 

 monly called oriental, and it is not difficult to foresee that in 

 the evolution of society which is now going on in England, 

 the assimilation of the habits of women to those of men, will 

 result in considerable diminution of the average difference 

 between the sexes in mental and bodily powers. 



