COURTSHIP IN MAN 53 



during the last few centuries that it has become the 

 rule to hide the body completely, any exposure of it 

 being considered a moral offence. But even here 

 women found ways and means of emphasizing or 

 even exaggerating the outlines of the figure. The 

 corset, originally invented for nuns in order to hide 

 and compress the bosom a female characteristic 

 undesirable in a nun was soon transformed to serve 

 the very opposite purpose. Farthingales, crinolines, 

 bustles, etc., have the same result of accentuating 

 the female figure. All such artificial means were not, 

 and certainly are not now, considered immodest, 

 though, it seems, we are now returning to a more 

 natural estimate of the body. Thus mixed bathing, 

 so long hotly contested by would-be moralists, has 

 become quite prevalent without at all demoralizing 

 our young people, as was predicted. The young 

 people of both sexes appear in bathing costume 

 without paying much attention to each other, accord- 

 ing to the old adage: " Familiarity breeds contempt." 



The human body is again becoming a natural 

 object instead of a veiled mystery. Nay, even more, 

 it is not considered essential any longer that women 

 should wear skirts which sweep the ground, in order 

 to cover the ankle. On the contrary, skirts are be- 

 coming practical and are made as short as possible; 

 and even the w r earing of trousers by women under 

 certain circumstances has come into vogue without 

 any comment. 



No wonder, then, that courtship, too, is following 

 the same course and is assuming more natural and 

 less devious forms. Women are showing a more 

 frank and open attitude towards men, and are thus 



