CHAPTER V
THE SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERISTICS
In the preceding two chapters there were described the primary sexual characteristics of man and woman which are already found in early foetal life. The secondary sexual characteristics, by which we are able to distinguish the male from the female, quite irrespective of the essential organs of reproduction and by which the sexes are made more attractive to each other, begin to develop at the time of puberty.
At this period of life certain changes take place in the body of the child, and the differences between the sexes become more pronounced. The stamp of sex is no longer confined to the pelvis, but is impressed on every part of the body. In the first years of existence the child is almost asexual, in physical as well as in mental relation. The child is yet neutral; it is only a spinal being or a digestive tube. All its actions are directed upon one aim, the preservation of the individual. Hence there is no great physical difference in children of the different sexes. The differences begin to show with the beginning of puberty and are definite at the close of this period. In the animal kingdom, especially among birds and mammals, nature has distinguished the male with the greater beauty. Man’s galantry designates women as the beautiful sex.
The man’s figure is characterized by a relative robustness,
the forms are sinewy, the contours less rounded. The bony
prominences are more conspicuous and the muscles more clearly
defined. The skeleton is relatively larger, the stature is higher
and the form is erect. The head is much larger, and the growth
of the hair on it less pronounced. The male skull is more tilted
back, the occipital protuberance larger. The glabella or the
projection over the nose is more pronounced. The superciliary
ridges more prominent. The eyes, therefore, appear much
smaller. The lower jaw is markedly larger, the lips are thicker
and the mouth is larger. Hence the face appears less delicately
cut. The chin and upper lip are covered with hair. Man’s neck
is less cylindrical than woman’s and presents four slightly flattened
surfaces. The laryngeal projection is highly pronounced.
Man’s shoulders are not sloping but square, showing traces of sinews and muscles. The thorax is longer. The beautifully rounded form of the female bosom is missing. The breasts appear atrophic, the mammillae insignificant. The trunk is relatively shorter.
The pelvis is higher and smaller. The circumference of the hips is relatively smaller. The angle formed by the superior plane of the pelvis with the horizon, when standing, is relatively smaller. Hence the buttocks are less protuberant.
The limbs are longer. The forearm is more in a straight line with the arm. The muscles are highly developed, hence no traces of the pleasant rotundity of the female arm. The hands are larger, the fingers thicker. The thigh is more columnar and does not taper so rapidly as in woman. The obliquity is less emphasized. The feet are larger and more sinewy. The skin is of coarser texture, darker, lacking of smoothness and softness, and is more hairy. The figure shows a lack of curves through the paucity of the paniculus adiposus.
Man’s steps are longer, his gait is less swinging. Man’s voice is vibrant and deep. Man’s respiration is of the lower costal type.
Woman’s figure is ordinarily characterized by a relative gracility, the forms are more delicate, the contours more rounded, and the waist narrower than in man. The skeleton is more delicate, the stature lower. The head is smaller and covered with more hair. The hairs are luxuriant. The features of the face are more delicately cut, the beard is wanting, the eyes are more beautiful and lustrous, the cheeks are rounder, and the lips daintily curved. The neck is round and long, lacking the laryngeal projection. The chest is narrower, the shoulders sloping. The hemispheric form of the breasts with the well-pronounced mammilae render the bosom highly attractive. The abdomen is longer, hence the distance between the navel and the pubes is greater than in men. The pelvis is lower and larger than in the male, and surpasses the line of the shoulders. The inclination of the pelvis is more pronounced, hence the buttocks are more protuberant. The woman’s body thus seems to be somewhat more reminiscent of the quadrupedal posture than man’s. There is a greater obliquity and conicity of the thighs. The calves are very pronounced. The skin, in general, is of a finer texture, whiter, smoother and less hairy than in men. The paniculus adiposus is abundant, hence the figure is all curves and does not show the angles, as in man. The limbs are relatively short, more delicate, more rounded, tapering and less muscular than in man. The feet are smaller and more daintily shaped. The hands are comely and the fingers slender.
The woman’s steps are shorter, her gait more graceful. The woman’s voice differs in pitch as well as in timbre from man’s. It has a higher note and sweeter tone. The woman’s respiration is of the upper costal type.