SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN CHILDHOOD
In the previous chapter, I have described the differences between the
reproductive organs of men and women, and between those of adults and
children, respectively. Man and woman are, however, distinguished one
from the other, not only by differences in their reproductive organs,
but by other qualities as well, some of these being bodily, others
mental. Such distinctive characters are spoken of as _secondary sexual
characters_, in contradistinction to the _primary sexual characters_,
the reproductive organs. Our terminology would, perhaps, be more exact
if we were to regard the reproductive glands alone, the testicles and
the ovaries, as primary sexual characters; including the rest of the
genital organs among the secondary sexual characters. Havelock Ellis[11]
distinguishes, in addition to the primary and secondary sexual
characters (as commonly defined), _tertiary sexual characters_, by which
he denotes those differences between the sexes which do not attract our
attention when we compare individual members of the two sexes, but which
become noticeable when we compare the average male with the average
female type. Among such tertiary sexual characters may be mentioned the
comparatively flatter skull, the greater size and activity of the
thyroid gland, and the lesser corpuscular richness of the blood, in
women. Especially distinct are the secondary sexual characters in
respect of general bodily structure. The form of the skeleton is
different in the two sexes. Thus, in woman the pelvis is wider and
shallower than in man. In the hair also there are notable differences:
in woman the hair of the head tends to grow much longer, and woman is
much less liable than man to premature baldness; the beard, on the
other hand, is a masculine peculiarity. In woman the breasts attain a
much greater development. The larynx is in man more prominent and
longer; in woman it is wider and shallower. Woman's skin is more
delicate than man's. And so on.
Now what have we to say regarding these sexual differences in the case
of children? During the age which we have defined as the first period of
childhood, except in the matter of the genital organs, we can detect
hardly any important bodily characters distinguishing the sexes. Still,
even at this early age some differences have been recorded. Thus, the
average weight of new-born girls is less than that of new-born boys, the
figures given by Stratz[12] being, for boys, 3500 grams (7.7 lbs.); for
girls, 3250 grams (7.15 lbs.). According to a very large number of
measurements, the mean length of the new-born girl is somewhat less than
that of the new-born boy, the difference amounting to nearly 1 cm.
(2/5ths inch). Craniometric records, taken at the end of the first
period of childhood, exhibit differences between the sexes; in general,
the measurements show that the girl's head is smaller than the boy's in
respect both of length and breadth. Further, dynamometric records, taken
from children six years of age, have shown that the grasp in girls is
less powerful than in boys. But if we except such differences as these,
which relate rather to averages than to individuals, and which,
moreover, are for the most part demonstrable only during the latter part
of the first period of childhood, we find that, apart from the
reproductive organs, very little difference between the sexes can be
detected during the first years of life. Many investigators have been
unable to confirm the assertion that even in the first year of life the
hips are more powerfully developed in girls than in boys. Fehling,[13]
however, declares that as early as the fifth month of intra-uterine
life, sexual differences manifest themselves in the formation of the
pelvis. However this may be, it is beyond question that during the
earlier years of the first period of childhood the differences between
the sexes are comparatively trifling. But towards the end of this
period, sexual differentiation becomes more marked. According to Stratz,
it is at this time that the characteristic form of the lower half of the
body develops. The thighs and the hips of the young girl exhibit a
somewhat more marked deposit of fat than is seen in the boy of the same
age. To a lesser extent the same is true of the calves. It is often
assumed that even in very early childhood the sexes can be distinguished
by the formation of the face. The girl's face is said to be rounder and
fuller than the boy's; the expression of countenance in the former, to
be more bashful and modest. Stratz, however, urges in opposition to this
view, with justice, in my opinion, that we have here to do only with the
effects of individual educational influences, or perhaps with individual
variations, from which no general conclusions can safely be drawn.
During the second period of childhood sexual differences become much
more distinct. Before considering these differences, I must say a few
words regarding the growth of the child, since in this particular there
exists a notable distinction between the sexes. Careful measurements
have shown that during certain years of childhood growth occurs
especially in height, whereas in other years the main increase is in
girth. For this reason, it is customary to follow Bartels in his
subdivision of each of the two periods of childhood into two subperiods.
The age from one to four years is the _first period of growth in girth_;
from the beginning of the fifth to the completion of the seventh year is
the _first period of growth in height_; from the beginning of the eighth
to the completion of the tenth year is the _second period of growth in
girth_; and from the beginning of the eleventh to the completion of the
fourteenth year is the _second period of growth in height_. During these
periods there are certain differences in respect of growth between boys
and girls. Although in general the growth in height of the boy exceeds
that of the girl, there is a certain period during which the average
height of girls is greater than that of boys. From the beginning of the
eleventh year onwards, the girl grows in height so much more rapidly
than the boy, that from this age until the beginning of the fifteenth
year the average height of girls exceeds that of boys, although at all
other ages the reverse is the case. In our consideration of the
differences between the sexes, these differences in respect of growth
must not be overlooked.
In addition to these, other important differences between the sexes
manifest themselves during the second period of childhood. In the first
place, it is an established fact that in the girl the secondary sexual
characters make their appearance earlier than in the boy, the boy
remaining longer in the comparatively neutral condition of childhood. We
have seen that in the girl, at the end of the first period of childhood,
the lower half of the body begins to resemble that of the woman in type.
During the second period of childhood, this peculiarity becomes more
marked; the pelvis and the hips widen, the thighs and the buttocks
become more and more rounded; the enduring feminine characteristics in
these respects are acquired. More gradually, the feminine development of
the upper half of the body succeeds that of the lower; the transition
from the lower jaw to the neck become less abrupt, and the face becomes
fuller. The sexual difference in the growth of the hair also manifests
itself in childhood. Whether cut or uncut, the girl's hair tends to grow
longer than the boy's. Later, the typical development of the breasts
occurs. As early as the beginning of the second period of childhood, the
surface of the areola mammæ may become slightly raised; but the typical
deposit of fat, leading to the hemispherical prominence of the breast,
does not begin until towards the close of the second period of
childhood. Even later than this is the growth of the axillary and pubic
hair. Various answers are given to the question as to the relation in
time between the appearance of menstruation and the development of the
sexual characters just described. Unquestionably there are great
differences in this respect. Whereas Axel Key declared that the
secondary sexual characters appeared before the first menstruation,
according to C. H. Stratz this is true only of girls belonging to the
lower classes; whilst according to his own observations on girls
belonging to the upper classes of society, the first menstruation
precedes the development of the breasts and the growth of the pubic and
axillary hair.
Concerning a number of sexual differences, during childhood, authors are
not agreed. As regards the type of breathing, for instance, in the adult
man, the abdominal type prevails; that is, the respiratory exchange of
gases is effected chiefly by movements of the diaphragm and the
abdominal muscles: whereas in the adult woman the respiration is costal,
the respiratory exchange being effected chiefly by movements of the
thorax. How unsettled our views are in respect of the types of
respiration in children is well displayed by the collection of opinions
given by Havelock Ellis.[14] According to Boerhaave, sexual differences
in the type of respiration were manifest even in very small children;
but his observations have not been confirmed by others. Thus, Sibson
states that the characteristic costal type of respiration begins in
girls at the age of ten, for which reason some observers have assumed
that the wearing of the corset is the cause of its appearance; others,
however, among whom Hutchinson may be mentioned, deny this alleged
causal connexion, stating that they have observed costal respiration in
young girls who have never worn any constricting garments.
Unquestionably, sexual differences in the type of respiration become
apparent in the later years of childhood.
I have already pointed out that in girls the secondary sexual characters
begin to make their appearance at an earlier age than in boys. In the
onset of sexual differentiation, the boy thus plays a more passive part
than the girl, inasmuch as he retains longer the childish type. None the
less, in the boy also certain secondary sexual characters begin to
develop comparatively early. Thus, in the second period of childhood,
the boy's shoulders often become wider, his muscles stronger, than those
of the girl. Since at the same period there occurs in girls the greater
deposit of fat previously described, marked differences result in the
external contours of the respective bodies. The boy's body is therefore
much more angular and knobby, far less softly rounded, than that of the
girl. Towards the end of the second period of childhood, an additional
sexual character makes its appearance in the male sex, namely, the voice
breaks. The chief remaining differences, the growth of the beard and
the pubic hair, and the development of the characteristically masculine
larynx, usually manifest themselves after the close of the second period
of childhood--that is to say, during the period of youth.
As children become physically differentiated in respect of sex, so also
does a mental differentiation ensue. Authorities are not agreed as to
whether mental sexual differentiation exists in the very earliest years
of life. Many assume its existence, and profess to have observed sexual
differences even in the movements of quite small children. On the other
hand, it is urged that the alleged differences are made up out of
chance, auto-suggestion on the part of the observer, and the results of
education. There is, however, general agreement as to the fact that
during the second period of childhood mental differences become apparent
between the sexes. Such differences are observed in the matter of
occupation, of games, of movements, and numerous other details. Since
man is to play the active part in life, boys rejoice especially in rough
outdoor games. Girls, on the other hand, prefer such games as correspond
to their future occupations. Hence their inclination to mother smaller
children, and to play with dolls. Watch how a little girl takes care of
her doll, washes it, dresses and undresses it. When only six or seven
years of age, she is often an excellent nurse. As Padberg[15] pictures
her, she sits at the bedside of her sick brother or sister, resembling
as she does so an angel in human form. Her need to occupy herself in
such activities is often so great, that she pretends that her doll is
ill. Chamisso, in his poem _Das kleine Mädchen und die Puppe_ (_The
Little Girl and her Doll_), describes this relationship between the
child and her doll, one whose nature is fully understood only by a
mother:--
"Wie Du mit den kleinen Kindern,
Will ich alles mit ihr tun,
Und sie soll in ihrer Wiege
Neben meinem Bette ruhn.
Schläft sie, werd' ich von ihr träumen,
Schreit sie auf, erwach' ich gleich,--
Mein himmlisch gute Mutter,
O, wie bin ich dock so reich!"
"All you do for your children,
For my Doll I do instead,
And in her little cradle
She lies beside my bed.
When she sleeps, I dream about her,
When she cries, I wake up too.
My own, dear, darling Mother,
I'm just as rich as you!"
Once I saw a little girl of seven running up and down the room, carrying
all kinds of things as fast as she could to her doll. When I asked her
what was the matter, she told me that her doll had the measles, and she
was taking care of her. In all kinds of ways, we see the little girl
occupying herself in the activities and inclinations of her future
existence. She practises housework; she has a little kitchen, in which
she cooks for herself and her doll. She is fond of needlework. The care
of her own person, and more especially its adornment, are not forgotten.
I remember seeing a girl of three who kept on interrupting her elders'
conversation by crying out "New clothes!" and would not keep quiet until
these latter had been duly admired. The love of self-adornment is almost
peculiar to female children; boys, on the other hand, prefer rough
outdoor games, in which their muscles are actively employed,
robber-games, soldier-games, and the like. And whereas, in early
childhood, both sexes are fond of very noisy games, the fondness for
these disappears earlier in girls than in boys.
Differences between the sexes have been established also by means of
experimental psychology, based upon the examination of a very large
number of instances. Although it must be admitted that some of the
acquirements of this school are still open to dispute, the data of these
collective investigations must not be ignored. Berthold Hartmann has
studied the childish circle of thought, by means of a series of
experiments which are commonly spoken of as the Annaberg experiments.
Schoolboys to the number of 660 and schoolgirls to the number of 652, at
ages between 5-3/4 and 6-3/4 years, were subjected to examination. It
was very remarkable to see how in respect of certain ideas, such as
those of the triangle, cube, and circle, the girls greatly excelled the
boys; whereas in respect of animals, minerals and social ideas, the boys
were better informed than the girls. Characteristic of the differences
between the sexes, according to Meumann,[16] from whom I take these
details, and some of those that follow, is the fact that the idea of
"marriage" was known to only 70 boys, as compared to 227 girls; whilst
the idea of "infant baptism" was known to 180 boys as compared to 220
girls. The idea of "pleasure" was also much better understood by girls
than by boys. Examination of the memory has also established the
existence of differences between the sexes in childhood. In boys the
memory for objects appears to be at first the best developed; to this
succeeds the memory for words with a visual content: in the case of
girls, the reverse of this was observed. In respect of numerous details,
however, the authorities conflict. According to Lobsien, boys have a
better memory for numbers, words, and sounds. The same investigator
informs us that in girls the visual memory is distinctly better than it
is in boys, this indicating that girls' memory for objects is also
better; but Netschajeff, on the other hand, maintains that boys have a
better memory for objects perceptible by the senses. It is interesting
to note that certain variations have been shown to exist at different
ages. During the first years of school-life, boys' memories are in
general better than girls', this advantage persisting up to the age of
ten; from this time onwards until the end of the years spent in primary
schools, girls excel boys in the matter of memory, but especially at
ages of eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Later than this, the
boys become equal to the girls, and still later surpass them. Very
striking is the fact, one upon which a very large number of
investigators are agreed, that girls have a superior knowledge of
colours. Experimental investigations made by means of Holmgren's test
have shown that the superiority of girls in this respect is remarkable,
and these experiments are confirmed by other lines of study.
There are additional psychological data relating to the differences
between the sexes in childhood. I may recall Stern's investigations
concerning the psychology of evidence, which showed that girls were much
more inaccurate than boys. I may also refer, on the other hand, in
relation to sexual differentiation, to the experiences obtained by Hans
Gross by means of observations on practical life, although his results
are not entirely free from certain sources of fallacy, and moreover have
been disputed by other observers as not generally applicable. Hans
Gross, however, found a notable difference between boys and girls, of
which I shall later give a detailed description. Here, I shall merely
quote the comprehensive summary given in his _Criminal Psychology_: "My
results show that the boy who has passed his first years of childhood
is, if well trained, the best observer and witness that can possibly be
found, because he watches with interest all that goes on around him,
stores it impartially in his memory, and reproduces it faithfully;
whereas the girl of like age is often an untrustworthy, and even a
dangerous witness. She is inevitably this when, after traversing the
stages of talent, ardour, reverie, romanticism, and enthusiasm, she has
passed into a condition of _Weltschmerz_, tinged with _tedium vitæ_.
This emotional mental atmosphere is entered at an earlier age than is
commonly imagined; and when such a girl's own personal interests are in
any way affected by the occurrences under examination, we are never
secure from gross exaggeration and misstatement. Petty larceny becomes
robbery with violence; a trifling incivility, a serious assault; a
harmless pleasantry, an interesting proposal for elopement; and the
foolish prattle of children becomes a dangerous conspiracy."
I shall subsequently discuss in detail a psychical difference which is
the most important of all those connected with the sexual life, namely,
the direction of the sexual impulse, which attracts the man to the
woman, and the woman to the man. We shall see to what a considerable
degree this phenomenon manifests itself even in childhood.
It has been widely assumed that these psychical differences between the
sexes result from education, and are not inborn. To avoid
misunderstanding, we must, in our consideration of this question of
education, distinguish between two distinct classes of phenomena, those
which are individual and those which have existed for a number of
generations. The sexually differentiated qualities in any individual may
be regarded as inborn, and yet we may admit that the differentiation was
originally the result of education, if we suppose that in earlier
generations in either sex certain qualities were developed, and that
gradually, by monosexual inheritance, the differences became confirmed,
until finally they became inborn. Others, however, assume that the
psychical characteristics by which the sexes are differentiated result
solely from individual differences in education. Stern believes that in
the case of one differential character, at least, he can prove that for
many centuries there has been no difference between the sexes in the
matter of education; this character is the capacity for drawing.
Kerschensteiner has studied the development of this gift, and considers
that his results have established beyond dispute that girls are greatly
inferior in this respect to boys of like age. Stern[17] points out that
there can be no question here of cultivation leading to a sexual
differentiation of faculty, since there is no attempt at a general and
systematic teaching of draughtsmanship to the members of one sex to the
exclusion of members of the other.
Without further discussing the question, to what extent in earlier
generations there has been any cultivation of psychical differences, I
believe that we are justified in asserting that at the present time the
sexual differentiation manifested in respect of quite a number of
psychical qualities is the result of direct inheritance. It would be
quite wrong to assume that all these differences arise in each
individual in consequence of education. It does, indeed, appear to me to
be true that inherited tendencies may be increased or diminished by
individual education; and further, that when the inherited tendency is
not a very powerful one, it may in this way even be suppressed.
Observations on animals which exhibit sexual differentiation very early
in life, also support the notion of the inherited character of certain
tendencies; for instance, the movements of male animals often differ
from those of the females of the same species.
We must not forget the frequent intimate association between structure
and function. This well-proved connexion would lead us _a priori_, from
the more powerful muscular development of boys, to infer the different
inclinations of the two sexes. Rough outdoor games and wrestling thus
correspond to the physical constitution of the boy. So, also, it is by
no means improbable that the little girl, whose pelvis and hips have
already begun to indicate by their development their adaptation for the
supreme functions of the sexually mature woman, should experience
obscurely a certain impulsion towards her predestined maternal
occupation, and that her inclinations and amusements should in this way
be determined. Many, indeed, and above all the extreme advocates of
women's rights, prefer to maintain that such sexually differentiated
inclinations result solely from differences in individual education: if
the boy has no enduring taste for dolls and cooking, this is because his
mother and others have told him, perhaps with mockery, that such
amusements are unsuited to a boy; whilst in a similar way the girl is
dissuaded from the rough sports of boyhood. Such an assumption is the
expression of that general psychological and educational tendency, which
ascribes to the activity of the will an overwhelmingly powerful
influence upon the development of the organs subserving the intellect,
and secondarily also upon that of the other organs of the body. By the
influence of the will, it is supposed by this school, certain
association-tracts in the brain are developed; or at least certain
tracts hitherto functionally inactive are rendered functionally active.
We cannot dispute the fact that in such a way the activity of the will
may, within certain limits, be effective, especially in cases in which
the inherited tendency thus counteracted is comparatively weak; but only
within certain limits. Thus we can understand how it is that in some
cases, by means of education, a child is impressed with characteristics
normally foreign to its sex; qualities and tendencies are thus developed
which ordinarily appear only in a child of the opposite sex. But even
though we must admit that the activity of the individual may operate in
this way, none the less are we compelled to assume that certain
tendencies are inborn. The failure of innumerable attempts to
counteract such inborn tendencies by means of education throws a strong
light upon the limitations of the activity of the individual will; and
the same must be said of a large number of other experiences.
It is, moreover, established beyond dispute that in certain cases, in
consequence of an inborn predisposition, contrary sexual inclinations
make their appearance, and that these represent a divergency from the
proper sexual characters. It is with these mental sexual differential
characters just as it is with the physical secondary sexual characters,
any of which may, on occasion, make their appearance in the wrong sex,
or may be wanting in the right one. We know that there exist women with
beards, masculine larynges, and a masculine type of thorax; and, on the
other hand, men with feminine mammæ, feminine larynges, and a feminine
type of pelvis. Because we meet with such atypical instances, we are not
therefore justified in inferring that it is by a mere arbitrary sport of
nature that in the woman a great mammary development is normally
associated with the development of the ovaries, and that in man the
growth of the beard is associated with the development of the testicles.
But just as in these respects there are certain exceptions, whose origin
we are not always in a position to explain, so also are there
exceptional sexual associations in respect of the secondary psychical
sexual characters. Thus it comes to pass that many women exhibit
masculine tendencies, and many men exhibit feminine tendencies.
Unquestionably, the fact that psychical qualities, just as much as
physical characters, may occasionally make their appearance in the wrong
sex, does not invalidate the general truth of the statement that
sexually differentiated psychical tendencies are inborn.
Occasionally, indeed, even in late childhood, this psychical
differentiation is still but little marked. We must also bear in mind
the fact that in many instances the bodily development of the
girl--apart, of course, from the actual reproductive organs--differs but
little, even during the second period of childhood, from that of the
boy; and that in such cases the specific differentiation makes its first
appearance later than is usual. We find boys also who have entered upon
the period of youth (see p. 1) without exhibiting any trace of downy
growth upon the upper lip or the chin; in some, the first definite
growth of hair on the face may not occur until several years later. I
remember also that I have seen boys in whom during the period of puberal
development an enlargement of the mammæ took place, going so far that it
was possible by pressure on the glands to expel fluid from the
mammillary ducts; at a more advanced age, however, this mammary growth
was arrested, and subsequently atrophy ensued.
But all these observations notwithstanding, the fact remains well
established that even in childhood notable sexual differences make their
appearance. Other observations, too, confirm this notion of sexual
differentiation--for example, pathological experiences.
There are some diseases to which women are especially liable, others
which occur by preference in men. To some extent, indeed, this is
explained by the special exposure of one sex or the other to certain
noxious influences. The neuroses that appear as the sequelæ of injuries
are especially common in the male sex, because the occupations of men
expose them more than women to injuries of all kinds. Of such cases, of
course, we do not speak here. But there are some unquestionably
hereditary morbid tendencies which manifest themselves by preference in
one sex or the other, and such sexual predisposition shows itself even
in childhood. I propose to give instances of this; some quoted from
Möbius,[18] some from other authors, and some taken from my own personal
experience.
Chlorosis is a disease of feminine youth, but very often makes its
appearance in childhood, especially towards the end of the second period
of childhood, at this earlier age, also, attacking girls in preference
to boys. Hæmophilia, on the other hand, and also certain hereditary
forms of muscular atrophy, occur chiefly in males, and this in early
childhood. Diabetes is principally a disease of adults, but occasionally
it is met with in children also; among adults, there is a considerable
preponderance of males affected with this disease when diabetes occurs
in childhood, the disease also exhibits a preference for the male sex,
although at this time the peculiar sex-incidence is less marked than in
later life. Congenital defects of the heart are commoner in boys, the
proportion obtained from a very large number of cases of this kind being
61.6 boys: 38.4 girls. Chorea (St. Vitus's dance) affects girls more
often than boys, the ratio in this case being 2.5 girls: 1 boy. In the
case of whooping cough, we find that two girls suffer for every one boy.
As regards circumscribed facial atrophy, which usually begins during
childhood, a preponderance of the disease in the female sex is also
noticeable. Hysteria was formerly regarded as a typically feminine
disease, and although this view has now been shown to be erroneous, the
fact remains that girls and women are far more often affected than boys
and men. As regards hysteria in childhood, Bruns[19] states that the
ratio of girls affected is to boys affected as 2:1. It is interesting to
note that in the earlier years of childhood, prior, that is to say, to
the age of nine years or thereabouts, no marked difference exists in the
sex incidence of hysteria, the cases being distributed in the
proportion, 55 per cent. girls, 45 per cent. boys; but after the age of
nine, the proportion of girls affected with hysteria increases, while
that of boys diminishes. Eulenburg,[20] indeed, records 17 cases of
hysteria, affecting children at ages nine to fourteen years; of these
nine were boys, and eight girls. Clopatt, on the other hand, collected
from the literature of the subject 272 cases of hysteria in young
children, 96 being boys, and 176 girls. Typhoid is commoner in males;
and Möbius lays stress on the fact, which he regards as especially
striking, that the difference in the sex-incidence of this disease is
manifest even in childhood. As regards colour-blindness, there is a
notable preponderance among males, and since we here have to do with a
congenital affection, this preponderance is as marked among children as
among adults. Many defects of speech also exhibit a notable difference
in their sex-incidence. Hermann Gutzmann[21] has shown that in the case
of stammerers we find 71 per cent. boys and 29 per cent. girls. I take
this opportunity of referring briefly to the fact that, as Max
Marcuse[22] reports, certain diseases of the skin exhibit sexual
differentiation of type even during childhood. The disseminated
cutaneous gangrene of children is far more frequent in girls than it is
in boys; Broker, among twelve cases, found ten girls. Alopecia areata,
on the other hand, affects both sexes with equal frequency, but affects
them at different ages. Whereas during the first years of life girls are
more frequently attacked; when the age of twenty is passed, the relation
between the sexes in this respect are reversed.
Criminological experiences appear also to confirm the notion of an
inherited sexual differentiation, in children as well as in adults.
According to various statistics, embracing not only the period of
childhood, but including as well the period of youth, we learn that
girls constitute one-fifth only of the total number of youthful
criminals. A number of different explanations have been offered to
account for this disproportion. Thus, for instance, attention has been
drawn to the fact that a girl's physical weakness renders her incapable
of attempting violent assaults upon the person, and this would suffice
to explain why it is that girls so rarely commit such crimes. In the
case of offences for which bodily strength is less requisite, such as
fraud, theft, &c., the number of youthful female offenders is
proportionately larger, although here also they are less numerous than
males of corresponding age charged with the like offences. It has been
asserted that in the law courts girls find more sympathy than boys, and
that for this reason the former receive milder sentences than the
latter; hence it results that in appearance merely the criminality of
girls is less than that of boys. Others, again, refer the differences in
respect of criminality between the youthful members of the two sexes to
the influences of education and general environment. Morrison,[23]
however, maintains that all these influences combined are yet
insufficient to account for the great disproportion between the sexes,
and insists that there exists in youth as well as in adult life a
specific sexual differentiation, based, for the most part, upon
biological differences of a mental and physical character. I have
referred to these criminological data for the sake of completeness, but
I feel it necessary to add that their importance in relation to our
subject of study is comparatively trifling, since most of the cases in
question are offences committed by persons who can no longer properly be
regarded as children.
As we have seen, during childhood, and especially during the second
period of childhood, there exists a larger number of sexual differences
both mental and physical. Some of these are obviously discernible when
we compare isolated individuals; others only become apparent when we
institute a statistical comparison. And when such differences appear in
childhood, we find that they are quantitatively less extensive than the
sexual differences of adults. For the sexual life is in the child less
developed than it is in the adult. We shall learn that in the matter of
the sexual impulse, the child exhibits an imperfect differentiation. A
similarly imperfect differentiation is found in childhood in respect of
a number of other qualities. Thus, there are many diseases which later
in life manifest a sexual differentiation, but in childhood are
undifferentiated. We observe a similar age-distinction in respect of
suicide, which occurs in Europe far more frequently in men than in
women, the ratio among suicides being three or four men to one woman.
Among child-suicides there is far less disproportion between the sexes.
According to Havelock Ellis, indeed, the suicidal tendency makes its
appearance in girls at an earlier age than in boys.
Such a marked differentiation as there is between the adult man and the
adult woman certainly does not exist in childhood. Similarly in respect
of many other qualities, alike bodily and mental, in respect of many
inclinations and numerous activities, we find that in childhood sexual
differentiation is less marked than it is in adult life. None the less,
we have learned in this chapter, a number of sexual differences can be
shown to exist even in childhood; and as regards many other differences,
though they are not yet apparent, we are nevertheless compelled to
assume that they already exist potentially in the organs of the child.