196 BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN PROBLEMS 



because English-speaking peoples hesitate to give to 

 an evil practice the color of indorsement that comes 

 from state recognition. Such indorsement of the 

 system has, at least, the appearance of tending to 

 fix and perpetuate it, and the objection to it is there- 

 fore well founded. It is entirely consistent that 

 this attitude of mind should be dominant in those 

 countries in which the position of women is highest, 

 and the respect for feminine qualities the greatest. 

 Moreover, it is an open question whether the phys- 

 ical protection of society that comes from public 

 examination and inspection cannot equally well be 

 obtained by teaching prostitutes in their own 

 interest to seek competent medical attention. 



It has lately been suggested, especially in Europe, 

 that persons seeking to marry should be compelled 

 to obtain a certificate of health as a prenuptial 

 sanitary guarantee. Such a practice so outrages the 

 sense of personal privacy that it is not likely to be 

 adopted by Anglo-Saxon races, whatever measure of 

 success it may have elsewhere. 



None of these physical precautions touch the heart 

 of the question of prostitution ; they are directed 

 toward making the system safe for men rather than 

 toward its abolition; indeed, through rendering it 

 comparatively safe the extension of prostitution is 

 encouraged. But the tacit approval which society 

 gives to prostitution and a double standard of 

 morality is based on a wholly false assumption, 

 namely, that illicit sexual relations are essential in 



