318 BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN PROBLEMS 



cannot be questioned. We do not have to seek far for 

 the reason of this inequality. The history of the hu- 

 man race shows that women have always been subju- 

 gated by men and have never escaped entirely from 

 this bondage. To-day their bondage is less irksome 

 and less palpable, yet it still exists in quite well-defined 

 forms. The male members of the family control the 

 means of subsistence, and so long as this is the case, 

 the lack of independence of the women is reflected in 

 various ways. Most women submit readily to this 

 male control of the finances, or even encourage it, 

 for it has so long seemed natural and proper that 

 few would dare question it. Nevertheless, this 

 acquiescence has many drawbacks tending to make 

 or keep women relatively helpless and therefore 

 relatively servile in their position toward men. 

 The fact that women are often indulged by their 

 husbands in every luxury, however whimsical, is 

 not a valid argument against the objectionable 

 tendency to subjection that is exerted through the 

 regulation of the purse strings. 



The disabilities of women as compared with men 

 are commonly regarded with complacency, for they 

 are ascribed to inherent differences of a sexual 

 nature which cannot be eradicated, and which it 

 would not be desirable to efface were it possible. 

 No one can deny that there are natural differences 

 of a very important kind between men and women. 

 Women appear, in general, to be more emotional 

 than men, more ready to make personal sacrifices 



