THE IMPROVEMENT OF SEXUAL SELECTION
"Love is blind" and "Marriage is a lottery," in the opinion of
proverbial lore. But as usual the proverbs do not tell the whole truth.
Mating is not wholly a matter of chance; there is and always has been a
considerable amount of selection involved. This selection must of course
be with respect to individual traits, a man or woman being for this
purpose merely the sum of his or her traits. Reflection will show that
with respect to any given trait there are three ways of mating: random,
assortative and preferential.
1. Random mating is described by J. Arthur Harris[95] as follows:
"Suppose a most highly refined socialistic community should set about to
equalize as nearly as possible not only men's labor and their
recompense, but the quality of their wives. It would never do to allow
individuals to select their own partners--superior cunning might result
in some having mates above the average desirability, which would be
socially unfair!
"The method adopted would be to write the names of an equal number of
men and women officially condemned to matrimony on cards, and to place
those for men in one lottery wheel and those for women in another. The
drawing of a pair of cards, one from each wheel, would then replace the
'present wasteful system' of 'competitive' courtship. If the cards were
thoroughly shuffled and the drawings perfectly at random, we should
expect only chance resemblances between husband and wife for age,
stature, eye and hair color, temper and so on; in the long run, a wife
would resemble her husband no more than the husband of some other
woman. In this case, the mathematician can give us a coefficient of
resemblance, or of assortative mating, which we write as zero. The other
extreme would be the state of affairs in which men of a certain type
(that is to say men differing from the general average by a definite
amount) always chose wives of the same type; the resemblance would then
be perfect and the correlation, as we call it, would be expressed by a
coefficient of 1."
If all mating were at random, evolution would be a very slow process.
But actual measurement of various traits in conjugal pairs shows that
mating is very rarely random. There is a conscious or unconscious
selection for certain traits, and this selection involves other traits
because of the general correlation of traits in an individual. Random
mating, therefore, need not be taken into account by eugenists, who must
rather give their attention to one of the two forms of non-random
mating, namely, assortative and preferential.
2. If men who were above the average height always selected as brides
women who were equally above the average height and short men selected
similarly, the coefficient of correlation between height in husbands and
wives would be 1, and there would thus be perfect assortative mating. If
only one half of the men who differed from the average height always
married women who similarly differed and the other half married at
random, there would be assortative mating for height, but it would not
be perfect: the coefficient would only be half as great as in the first
case, or .5. If on the other hand (as is indeed the popular idea) a tall
man tended to marry a woman who was shorter than the average, the
coefficient of correlation would be less than 0; it would have some
negative value.
Actual measurement shows that a man who exceeds the average height by a
given amount will most frequently marry a woman who exceeds the average
by a little more than one-fourth as much as her husband does. There is
thus assortative mating for height, but it is far from perfect. The
actual coefficient given by Karl Pearson is .28. In this case, then, the
idea that "unlikes attract" is found to be the reverse of the truth.
If other traits are measured, assortative mating will again be found.
Whether it be eye color, hair color, general health, intelligence,
longevity, insanity, or congenital deafness, exact measurements show
that a man and his wife, though not related by blood, actually resemble
each other as much as do uncle and niece, or first cousins.
In some cases assortative mating is conscious, as when two congenitally
deaf persons are drawn together by their common affliction and mutual
possession of the sign language. But in the greater number of cases it
is wholly unconscious. Certainly no one would suppose that a man selects
his wife deliberately because her eye color matches his own; much less
would he select her on the basis of resemblance in longevity, which can
not be known until after both are dead.
Sigmund Freud and Ernest Jones explain such selection by the supposition
that a man's ideal of everything that is lovely in womankind is based on
his mother. During his childhood, her attributes stamp themselves on his
mind as being the perfect attributes of the female sex; and when he
later falls in love it is natural that the woman who most attracts him
should be one who resembles his mother. But as he, because of heredity,
resembles his mother, there is thus a resemblance between husband and
wife. Cases where there is no resemblance would, on this hypothesis,
either be not love matches, or else be cases where the choice was made
by the woman, not the man. Proof of this hypothesis has not yet been
furnished, but it may very well account for some part of the assortative
mating which is so nearly universal.
The eugenic significance of assortative mating is obvious. Marriage of
representatives of two long-lived strains ensures that the offspring
will inherit more longevity than does the ordinary man. Marriage of two
persons from gifted families will endow the children with more than the
ordinary intellect. On the other hand, marriage of two members of
feeble-minded strains (a very common form of assortative mating) results
in the production of a new lot of feeble-minded children, while marriage
contracted between families marked by criminality or alcoholism means
the perpetuation of such traits in an intensified form. For alcoholism,
Charles Goring found the resemblance between husband and wife in the
following classes to be as follows:
Very poor and destitute .44
Prosperous poor .58
Well-to-do .69
The resemblance of husband and wife, in respect of possession of a
police record, he found to be .20. Of course alcoholism and criminality
are not wholly due to heredity; the resemblance between man and wife is
partly a matter of social influences. But in any case the existence of
assortative mating for such traits is significant.
3. Preferential mating occurs when certain classes of women are
discriminated against by the average man, or by men as a class; or _vice
versa_. It is the form of sexual selection made prominent by Charles
Darwin, who brought it forward because natural selection, operating
solely through a differential death-rate, seemed inadequate to account
for many phases of evolution. By sexual selection he meant that an
individual of one sex, in choosing a mate, is led to select out of
several competitors the one who has some particular attribute in a high
degree. The selection may be conscious, and due to the exercise of
æsthetic taste, or it may be unconscious, due to the greater degree of
excitation produced by the higher degree of some attribute. However the
selection takes place, the individual so selected will have an
opportunity to transmit his character, in the higher degree in which he
possesses it, to his descendants. In this way it was supposed by Darwin
that a large proportion of the ornamental characters of living creatures
were produced: the tail of the peacock, the mane of the lion, and even
the gorgeous coloring of many insects and butterflies. In the early
years of Darwinism, the theory of sexual selection was pushed to what
now seems an unjustifiable extent. Experiment has often failed to
demonstrate any sexual selection, in species where speculation supposed
it to exist. And even if sexual selection, conscious or unconscious,
could be demonstrated in the lower animals, yet the small percentage of
unmated individuals indicates that its importance in evolution could not
be very great.[96]
[Illustration: HOW BEAUTY AIDS A GIRL'S CHANCE OF MARRIAGE
FIG. 32.--Graph showing the marriage rate of graduates of a
normal school, correlated with their facial attractiveness as graded by
estimates. The column of figures at the left-hand side shows the
percentage of girls who married. Of the prettiest girls (those graded 80
or over), 70% married. As the less attractive girls are added to the
chart, the marriage rate declines. Of the girls who graded around 50 on
looks, only about one-half married. In general, the prettier the girl,
the greater the probability that she will not remain single.]
In man, however, there is--nowadays at least--a considerable percentage
of unmated individuals. The Census of 1910 shows that in the United
States one-fourth of all the men between 25 and 44 years of age, and
one-sixth of all the women, were unmarried. Many of the men, and a
smaller number of the women, will still marry; yet at the end there
will remain a large number, particularly in the more highly educated
classes, who die celibate. If these unmated individuals differ in any
important respect from the married part of the population, preferential
mating will be evident.
[Illustration: INTELLIGENT GIRLS ARE MOST LIKELY TO MARRY
FIG. 33.--Graph showing the marriage-rate (on the same scale as
in Fig. 32) of the graduates of a normal school, as correlated with
their class standing. The girls who received the highest marks in their
studies married in the largest numbers. It is evident that, on the
whole, girls who make a poor showing in their studies in such schools as
this are more likely to be life-long celibates than are the bright
students.]
At the extremes, there is no difficulty in seeing such mating. Certain
men and women are so defective, physically, mentally, or morally, as to
be unable to find mates. They may be idiots, or diseased, or lacking
normal sexuality, or wrongly educated.
But to get any adequate statistical proof of preferential mating on a
broad scale, has been found difficult. Two small but suggestive studies
made by Miss Carrie F. Gilmore of the University of Pittsburgh are
interesting, though far from conclusive. She examined the records of
the class of 1902, Southwestern State Normal School of Pennsylvania, to
find which of the girls had married. By means of photographs, and the
opinions of disinterested judges, the facial appearance of all the girls
in the class was graded on a scale of 100, and the curve in Fig. 32
plotted, which shows at a glance just what matrimonial advantage a
woman's beauty gives her. In general, it may be said that the prettier
the girl, the better her chance of marriage.
[Illustration: YEARS BETWEEN GRADUATION AND MARRIAGE
FIG. 34.--Curve showing period that elapsed between the
graduation of women at Washington Seminary (at the average age of 19
years) and their marriage. It includes all the graduates of the classes
of 1841 to 1900, status of 1913.]
Miss Gilmore further worked out the marriage rate of these normal school
girls, on the basis of the marks they obtained in their class work, and
found the results plotted in Fig. 33. It is evident that the most
intelligent girls, measured by their class standing, were preferred as
wives.
[Illustration: THE EFFECT OF LATE MARRIAGES
FIG. 35.--Given a population divided in two equal parts, one of
which produces a new generation every 25 years and the other every
33-1/3 years, the diagram shows that the former group will outnumber the
latter two to one, at the end of a century. The result illustrated is
actually taking place, in various groups of the population of the United
States. Largely for economic reasons, many superior people are
postponing the time of marriage. The diagram shows graphically how they
are losing ground, in comparison with other sections of the population
which marry only a few years earlier, on the average. It is assumed in
the diagram that the two groups contain equal numbers of the two sexes;
that all persons in each group marry; and that each couple produces four
children.]
It will be noted that these studies merely show that the brighter and
prettier girls were preferred by men as a class. If the individual men
whom the girls married had been studied, it would probably have been
found that the mating was also partly assortative.
If the choice of a life partner is to be eugenic, random mating must be
as nearly as possible eliminated, and assortative and preferential
mating for desirable traits must take place.
The concern of the eugenist is, then, (1) to see that young people have
the best ideals, and (2) to see that their matings are actually guided
by these ideals, instead of by caprice and passion alone.
1. In discussing ideals, we shall ask (a) what are the present ideals
governing sexual selection in the United States; (b) is it
psychologically possible to change them; (c) is it desirable that they
be changed, and if so, in what ways?
(a) There are several studies which throw light on the current ideals.
_Physical Culture_ magazine lately invited its women readers to send in
the specifications of an ideal husband, and the results are worth
considering because the readers of that publication are probably less
swayed by purely conventional ideas than are most accessible groups of
women whom one might question. The ideal husband was held by these women
to be made up of the following qualities in the proportions given:
Per cent.
Health 20
Financial success 19
Paternity 18
Appearance 11
Disposition 8
Education 8
Character 6
Housekeeping 7
Dress 3
---
100
Without laying weight on the exact figures, and recognizing that each
woman may have defined the qualities differently, yet one must admit
aside from a low concern for mental ability that this is a fairly good
eugenic specification. Appearance, it is stated, meant not so much
facial beauty as intelligent expression and manly form. Financial
success is correlated with intelligence and efficiency, and probably is
not rated too high. The importance attached to paternity--which, it is
explained, means a clean sex life as well as interest in children--is
worth noticing.
For comparison there is another census of the preferences of 115 young
women at Brigham Young College, Logan, Utah. This is a "Mormon"
institution and the students, mostly farmers' daughters, are probably
expressing ideals which have been very little affected by the
demoralizing influences of modern city life. The editor of the college
paper relates that:
Eighty-six per cent of the girls specifically stated that the young
man must be morally pure; 14% did not specifically state.
Ninety-nine per cent specifically stated that he must be mentally
and physically strong.
Ninety-three per cent stated that he must absolutely not smoke,
chew, or drink; 7% did not state.
Twenty per cent named an occupation they would like the young man
to follow, and these fell into three different classes, that of
farmer, doctor and business.
Four and seven-tenths per cent of the 20% named farmer; 2.7% named
doctor, and 1.7% named business man; 80% did not state any
profession.
Thirty-three and one-third per cent specifically stated that he
must be ambitious; 66-2/3% did not state.
Eight per cent stated specifically that he must have high ideals.
Fifty-two per cent demanded that he be of the same religious
conviction; 48% said nothing about religion.
Seventy-two per cent said nothing regarding money matters; 28%
stated what his financial condition must be, but none named a
specific amount. One-half of the 28% stated that he must be rich,
and three-fourths of these were under twenty years of age; the
other half of the 28% said that he must have a moderate income and
two-thirds of these were under twenty years of age.
Forty-five per cent stated that the young man must be taller than
they; 55% did not state.
Twenty per cent stated that the young man must be older, and from
two to eight years older; 80% did not state.
Fifty per cent stated that he must have a good education;
one-fourth of the 50% stated that he must have a college education;
95% of these were under twenty-one years of age; 50% did not state
his intellectual attainments.
Ninety-one per cent of all the ideals handed in were written by
persons under twenty years of age; the other 8-1/2% were over
twenty years of age.
_Physical Culture_, on another occasion, invited its male readers to
express their requirements of an ideal wife. The proportions of the
various elements desired are given as follows:
Per cent
Health 23
"Looks" 14
Housekeeping 12
Disposition 11
Maternity 11
Education 10
Management 7
Dress 7
Character 5
---
100
One might feel some surprise at the low valuation placed on "character,"
but it is really covered by other points. On the whole, one can not be
dissatisfied with these specifications aside from its slight concern
about mental ability.
Such wholesome ideals are probably rather widespread in the less
sophisticated part of the population. In other strata, social and
financial criteria of selection hold much importance. As a family
ascends in economic position, its standards of sexual selection are
likely to change. And in large sections of the population, there is a
fluctuation in the standards from generation to generation. There is
reason to suspect that the standards of sexual selection among educated
young women in the United States to-day are higher than they were a
quarter of a century, or even a decade, ago. They are demanding a higher
degree of physical fitness and morality in their suitors. Men, in turn,
are beginning to demand that the girls they marry shall be fitted for
the duties of home-maker, wife and mother,--qualifications which were
essential in the colonial period but little insisted on in the immediate
past.
(b) It is evident, then, that the standards of sexual selection do
change; there is therefore reason to suppose that they can change still
further. This is an important point, for it is often alleged as an
objection to eugenics that human affections are capricious and can not
be influenced by rational considerations. Such an objection will be
seen, on reflection, to be ill-founded.
As to the extent of change possible, the psychologist must have the
final word. The ingenious Mr. Diffloth,[97] who reduced love to a series
of algebraical formulæ and geometrical curves, and proposed that every
young man should find a girl whose curve was congruent to his own, and
at once lead her to the altar, is not likely to gain many adherents. But
the psychologist declares without hesitation that it is possible to
influence the course of love in its earlier, though rarely in its later,
stages. Francis Galton pointed this out with his usual clearness,
showing that in the past the "incidence" of love, to borrow a technical
term, had been frequently and sometimes narrowly limited by custom--by
those unwritten laws which are sometimes as effective as the written
ones. Monogamy, endogamy, exogamy, Australian marriages, tabu,
prohibited degrees and sacerdotal celibacy all furnished him with
historical arguments to show that society could bring about almost any
restriction it chose; and a glance around at the present day will show
that the barriers set up by religion, race and social position are
frequently of almost prohibitive effect.
There is, therefore, from a psychological point of view, no reason why
the ideals of eugenics should not become a part of the mores or
unwritten laws of the race, and why the selection of life partners
should not be unconsciously influenced to a very large extent by them.
As a necessary preliminary to such a condition, intelligent people must
cultivate the attitude of conscious selection, and get away from the
crude, fatalistic viewpoint which is to-day so widespread, and which is
exploited _ad nauseam_ on the stage and in fiction. It must be
remembered that there are two well-marked stages preceding a betrothal:
the first is that of mere attraction, when reason is still operative,
and the second is that of actual love, when reason is relegated to the
background. During the later stage, it is notorious that good counsel is
of little avail, but during the preliminary period direction of the
affections is still possible, not only by active interference of friends
or relatives, but much more easily and usefully by the tremendous
influence of the mores.
Eugenic mores will exist only when many intelligent people become so
convinced of the ethical value of eugenics that that conviction sinks
into their subconscious minds. The general eugenics campaign can be
expected to bring that result about in due time. Care must be taken to
prevent highly conscientious people from being too critical, and letting
a trivial defect outweigh a large number of good qualities. Moreover,
changes in the standards of sexual selection should not be too rapid, as
that results in the permanent celibacy of some excellent but
hyper-critical individuals. The ideal is an advance of standards as
rapidly as will yet keep all the superior persons married. This is
accomplished if all superior individuals marry as well as possible, yet
with advancing years gradually reduce the standard so that celibacy may
not result.
Having decided that there is room for improvement in the standards of
sexual selection, and that such improvement is psychologically feasible,
we come to point (c): in what particular ways is this improvement
needed? Any discussion of this large subject must necessarily be only
suggestive, not exhaustive.
If sexual selection is to be taken seriously, it is imperative that
there be some improvement in the general attitude of public sentiment
toward love itself. It is difficult for the student to acquire sound
knowledge[98] of the normal manifestations of love: the psychology of
sex has been studied too largely from the abnormal and pathological
side; while the popular idea is based too much on fiction and drama
which emphasize the high lights and make love solely an affair of
emotion. We are not arguing for a rationalization of love, for the terms
are almost contradictory; but we believe that more common sense could
profitably be used in considering the subject.
If a typical "love affair" be examined, it is found that propinquity and
a common basis for sympathy in some probably trivial matter lead to the
development of the sex instinct; the parental instinct begins to make
itself felt, particularly among women; the instincts of curiosity,
acquisitiveness, and various others play their part, and there then
appears a well-developed case of "love." Such love may satisfy a purely
biological definition, but it is incomplete. Love that is worthy of the
name must be a function of the will as well as of the emotions. There
must be a feeling on the part of each which finds strong satisfaction in
service rendered to the other. If the existence of this constituent of
love could be more widely recognized and watched for, it would probably
prevent many a sensible young man or woman from being stampeded into a
marriage of passion, where the real community of interest is slight;[99]
and sexual selection would be improved in a way that would count
immensely for the future of the race. Moreover, there would be much more
real love in the world. Eugenics, as Havelock Ellis has well pointed
out,[100] is not plotting against love but against those influences that
do violence to love, particularly: (1) reckless yielding to mere
momentary desire; and (2) still more fatal influences of wealth and
position and worldly convenience which give a factitious value to
persons who would never appear attractive partners in life were love and
eugenic ideals left to go hand in hand.
"The eugenic ideal," Dr. Ellis foresees, "will have to struggle with the
criminal and still more resolutely with the rich; it will have few
serious quarrels with normal and well-constituted lovers."
The point is an important one. To "rationalize" marriage, is out of the
question. Marriage must be mainly a matter of the emotions; but it is
important that the emotions be exerted in the right direction. The
eugenist seeks to remove the obstacles that are now driving the
emotions into wrong channels. If the emotions can only be headed in the
right direction, then the more emotions the better, for they are the
source of energy which are responsible for almost everything that is
done in the world.
There is in the world plenty of that love which is a matter of mutual
service and of emotions unswayed by any petty or sordid influences; but
it ought not only to be common, it ought to be universal. It is not
likely to be in the present century; but at least, thinking people can
consciously adopt an attitude of respect toward love, and consciously
abandon as far as possible the attitude of jocular cynicism with which
they too often treat it,--an attitude which is reflected so disgustingly
in current vaudeville and musical comedy.
It is the custom to smile at the extravagantly romantic idea of love
which the boarding-school girl holds; but unrealizable as it may be,
hers is a nobler conception than that which the majority of adults
voice. Very properly, one does not care to make one's deepest feelings
public; but if such subjects as love and motherhood can not be discussed
naturally and without affectation, they ought to be left alone. If
intelligent men and women will set the example, this attitude of mind
will spread, and cultured families at least will rid themselves of such
deplorable habits as that of plaguing children, not yet out of the
nursery, about their "sweethearts."
No sane man would deny the desirability of beauty in a wife,
particularly when it is remembered that beauty, especially as determined
by good complexion, good teeth and medium weight, is correlated with
good health in some degree, and likewise with intelligence.
Nevertheless, we are strongly of the opinion that beauty of face is now
too highly valued, as a standard of sexual selection.[101]
Good health in a mate is a qualification which any sensible man or woman
will require, and for which a "marriage certificate" is in most cases
quite unnecessary.[102] What other physical standard is there that
should be given weight?
Alexander Graham Bell has lately been emphasizing the importance of
longevity in this connection, and in our judgment he has thereby opened
up a very fruitful field for education. It goes without saying that
anyone would prefer to marry a partner with a good constitution. "How
can we find a test of a good, sound constitution?" Dr. Bell asked in a
recent lecture. "I think we could find it in the duration of life in a
family. Take a family in which a large proportion live to old age with
unimpaired faculties. There you know is a good constitution in an
inheritable form. On the other hand, you will find a family in which a
large proportion die at birth and in which there are relatively few
people who live to extreme old age. There has developed an hereditary
weakness of constitution. Longevity is a guide to constitution." Not
only does it show that one's vital organs are in good running order, but
it is probably the only means now available of indicating strains which
are resistant to zymotic disease. Early death is not necessarily an
evidence of physical weakness; but long life is a pretty good proof of
constitutional strength.
Dr. Bell has elsewhere called attention to the fact that, longevity
being a characteristic which is universally considered creditable in a
family, there is no tendency on the part of families to conceal its
existence, as there is in the case of unfavorable characters--cancer,
tuberculosis, insanity, and the like. This gives it a great advantage as
a criterion for sexual selection, since there will be little difficulty
in finding whether or not the ancestors of a young man or woman were
long-lived.[103]
Karl Pearson and his associates have shown that there is a tendency to
assortative mating for longevity: that people from long-lived stocks
actually do marry people from similar stocks, more frequently than would
be the case if the matings were at random. An increase of this tendency
would be eugenically desirable.[104] So much for the physique.
Though eugenics is popularly supposed to be concerned almost wholly with
the physical, properly it gives most attention to mental traits,
recognizing that these are the ones which most frequently make races
stand or fall, and that attention to the physique is worth while mainly
to furnish a sound body in which the sound mind may function. Now men
and women may excel mentally in very many different ways, and eugenics,
which seeks not to produce a uniform good type, but excellence in all
desirable types, is not concerned to pick out any particular sort of
mental superiority and exalt it as a standard for sexual selection. But
the tendency, shown in Miss Gilmore's study, for men to prefer the more
intelligent girls in secondary schools, is gratifying to the eugenist,
since high mental endowment is principally a matter of heredity. From a
eugenic point of view it would be well could such intellectual
accomplishments weigh even more heavily with the average young man, and
less weight be put on such superficial characteristics as "flashiness,"
ability to use the latest slang freely, and other "smart" traits which
are usually considered attractive in a girl, but which have no real
value and soon become tiresome. They are not wholly bad in themselves,
but certainly should not influence a young man very seriously in his
choice of a wife, nor a young woman in her choice of a husband. It is to
be feared that such standards are largely promoted by the stage, the
popular song, and popular fiction.
In a sense, the education which a young woman has received is no
concern of the eugenist, since it can not be transmitted to her
children. Yet when, as often happens, children die because their mother
was not properly trained to bring them up, this feature of education
does become a concern of eugenics. Young men are more and more coming to
demand that their wives know something about woman's work, and this
demand must not only increase, but must be adequately met. Woman's
education is treated in more detail in another chapter.
It is proper to point out here, however, that in many cases woman's
education gives no great opportunity to judge of her real intellectual
ability. Her natural endowment in this respect should be judged also by
that of her sisters, brothers, parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents.
If a girl comes of an intellectual ancestry, it is likely that she
herself will carry such traits germinally, even if she has never had an
opportunity to develop them. She can, then, pass them on to her own
children. Francis Galton long ago pointed out the good results of a
custom obtaining in Germany, whereby college professors tended to marry
the daughters or sisters of college professors. A tendency for men of
science to marry women of scientific attainments or training is marked
among biologists, at least, in the United States; and the number of
cases in which musicians intermarry is striking. Such assortative mating
means that the offspring will usually be well endowed with a talent.
Finally, young people should be taught a greater appreciation of the
lasting qualities of comradeship, for which the purely emotional factors
that make up mere sexual attraction are far from offering a satisfactory
substitute.
It will not be out of place here to point out that a change in the
social valuation of reputability and honor is greatly needed for the
better working of sexual selection. The conspicuous waste and leisure
that Thorstein Veblen points out as the chief criterion of reputability
at present have a dubious relation to high mental or moral endowment,
far less than has wealth. There is much left to be done to achieve a
meritorious distribution of wealth. The fact that the insignia of
success are too often awarded to trickery, callousness and luck does not
argue for the abolition altogether of the financial success element in
reputability, in favor of a "dead level" of equality such as would
result from the application of certain communistic ideals. Distinctions,
rightly awarded, are an aid, not a hindrance to sexual selection, and
effort should be directed, from the eugenic point of view, no less to
the proper recognition of true superiority than to the elimination of
unjustified differentiations of reputability.
This leads to the consideration of moral standards, and here again
details are complex but the broad outlines clear. It seems probable that
morality is to a considerable extent a matter of heredity, and the care
of the eugenist should be to work with every force that makes for a
clear understanding of the moral factors of the world, and to work
against every force that tends to confuse the issues. When the issue is
clear cut, most people will by instinct tend to marry into moral rather
than immoral stocks.
True quality, then, should be emphasized at the expense of false
standards. Money, social status, family alignment, though indicators to
some degree, must not be taken too much at their face value. Emphasis is
to be placed on real merit as shown by achievement, or on descent from
the meritoriously eminent, whether or not such eminence has led to the
accumulation of a family fortune and inclusion in an exclusive social
set. In this respect, it is important that the value of a high average
of ancestry should be realized. A single case of eminence in a pedigree
should not weigh too heavily. When it is remembered that statistically
one grandparent counts for less than one-sixteenth in the heredity of an
individual, it will be obvious that the individual whose sole claim to
consideration is a distinguished grandfather, is not necessarily a
matrimonial prize. A general high level of morality and mentality in a
family is much more advantageous, from the eugenic point of view, than
one "lion" several generations back.
While we desire very strongly to emphasize the importance of breeding
and the great value of a good ancestry, it is only fair to utter a word
of warning in this connection. Good ancestry does not _necessarily_ make
a man or woman a desirable partner. What stockmen know as the "pure-bred
scrub" is a recognized evil in animal breeding, and not altogether
absent from human society. Due to any one or more of a number of causes,
it is possible for a germinal degenerate to appear in a good family;
discrimination should certainly be made against such an individual.
Furthermore, it is possible that there occasionally arises what may be
called a mutant of very desirable character from a eugenic point of
view. Furthermore a stock in general below mediocrity will occasionally,
due to some fortuitous but fortunate combination of traits, give rise to
an individual of marked ability or even eminence, who will be able to
transmit in some degree that valuable new combination of traits to his
or her own progeny. Persons of this character are to be regarded by
eugenists as distinctly desirable husbands or wives.
The desirability of selecting a wife (or husband) from a family of more
than one or two children was emphasized by Benjamin Franklin, and is
also one of the time-honored traditions of the Arabs, who have always
looked at eugenics in a very practical, if somewhat cold-blooded way. It
has two advantages: in the first place, one can get a better idea of
what the individual really is, by examining sisters and brothers; and in
the second place, there will be less danger of a childless marriage,
since it is already proved that the individual comes of a fertile stock.
Francis Galton showed clearly the havoc wrought in the English peerage,
by marriages with heiresses (an heiress there being nearly always an
only child). Such women were childless in a much larger proportion than
ordinary women.
"Marrying a man to reform him" is a speculation in which many women have
indulged and usually--it may be said without fear of contradiction--with
unfortunate results. It is always likely that she will fail to reform
him; it is certain that she can not reform his germ-plasm. Psychologists
agree that the character of a man or woman undergoes little radical
change after the age of 25; and the eugenist knows that it is largely
determined, _potentially_, when the individual is born. It is,
therefore, in most cases the height of folly to select a partner with
any marked undesirable trait, with the idea that it will change after a
few years.
All these suggestions have in general been directed at the young man or
woman, but it is admitted that if they reach their target at all, it is
likely to be by an indirect route. No rules or devices can take the
place, in influencing sexual selection, of that lofty and rational ideal
of marriage which must be brought about by the uplifting of public
opinion. It is difficult to bring under the control of reason a subject
that has so long been left to caprice and impulse; yet much can
unquestionably be done, in an age of growing social responsibility, to
put marriage in a truer perspective. Much is already being done, but not
in every case of change is the future biological welfare of the race
sufficiently borne in mind. The interests of the individual are too
often regarded to the exclusion of posterity. The eugenist would not
sacrifice the individual, but he would add the welfare of posterity to
that of the individual, when the standards of sexual selection are being
fixed. It is only necessary to make the young person remember that he
will marry, not merely an individual, but a family; and that not only
his own happiness but to some extent the quality of future generations
is being determined by his choice.
We must have (1) the proper ideals of mating but (2) these ideals must
be realized. It is known that many young people have the highest kind of
ideals of sexual selection, and find themselves quite unable to act on
them. The college woman may have a definite idea of the kind of husband
she wants; but if he never seeks her, she often dies celibate. The young
man of science may have an ideal bride in his mind, but if he never
finds her, he may finally marry his landlady's daughter. Opportunity for
sexual selection must be given, as well as suitable standards; and while
education is perhaps improving the standards each year, it is to be
feared that modern social conditions, especially in the large cities,
tend steadily to decrease the opportunity.
Statistical evidence, as well as common observation, indicates that the
upper classes have a much wider range of choice in marriage than the
lower classes. The figures given by Karl Pearson for the degree of
resemblance between husband and wife with regard to phthisis are so
remarkable as to be worth quoting in this connection:
All poor +.01
Prosperous poor +.16
Middle classes +.24
Professional classes +.28
It can hardly be argued that infection between husband and wife would
vary like this, even if infection, in general, could be proved.
Moreover, the least resemblance is among the poor, where infection
should be greatest. Professor Pearson thinks, as seems reasonable, that
this series of figures indicates principally assortative mating, and
shows that among the poor there is less choice, the selection of a
husband or wife being more largely due to propinquity or some other more
or less random factor. With a rise in the social scale, opportunity for
choice of one from a number of possible mates becomes greater and
greater; the tendency for an unconscious selection of likeness then has
a chance to appear, as the coefficients graphically show.
If such a class as the peerage of Great Britain be considered, it is
evident that the range of choice in marriage is almost unlimited. There
are few girls who can resist the glamor of a title. The hereditary peer
can therefore marry almost anyone he likes and if he does not marry one
of his own class he can select and (until recently) usually has selected
the daughter of some man who by distinguished ability has risen from a
lower social or financial position. Thus the hereditary nobilities of
Europe have been able to maintain themselves; and a similar process is
undoubtedly taking place among the idle rich who occupy an analogous
position in the United States.
But it is the desire of eugenics to raise the average ability of the
whole population, as well as to encourage the production of leaders. To
fulfill this desire, it is obvious that one of the necessary means is to
extend to all desirable classes that range of choice which is now
possessed only by those near the top of the social ladder. It is hardly
necessary to urge young people to widen the range of their
acquaintance, for they will do it without urging if the opportunity is
presented to them. It is highly necessary for parents, and for
organizations and municipalities, deliberately to seek to further every
means which will bring unmarried young people together under proper
supervision. Social workers have already perceived the need of
institutional as well as municipal action on these lines, although they
have not in every case recognized the eugenic aspect, and from their
efforts it is probable that suitable institutions, such as social
centers and recreation piers, and municipal dance halls, will be greatly
multiplied.
It is an encouraging sign to see such items as this from a Washington
newspaper: "The Modern Dancing Club of the Margaret Wilson Social Center
gave a masquerade ball at the Grover Cleveland school last night, which
was attended by about 100 couples." Still more promising are such
institutions as the self-supporting Inkowa camp for young women, at
Greenwood Lake, N. J., conducted by a committee of which Miss Anne Morgan
is president, and directed by Miss Grace Parker. Near it is a similar
camp, Kechuka, for young men, and during the summer both are full of
young people from New York City. A newspaper account says:
There is no charity, no philanthropy, no subsidy connected with
Camp Inkowa. Its members are successful business women, who earn
from $15 to $25 a week. Board in the camp is $9 a week. So every
girl who goes there for a vacation has the comfortable feeling that
she pays her way fully. This rate includes all the activities of
camp life.
Architects, doctors, lawyers, bookkeepers, bank clerks, young
business men of many kinds are the guests of Kechuka. Next week 28
young men from the National City Bank will begin their vacations
there.
Inkowa includes young women teachers, stenographers, librarians,
private secretaries and girls doing clerical work for insurance
companies and other similar business institutions.
Saturday and Sunday are "at home" days at Camp Inkowa and the young
men from Kechuka may come to call on the Inkowa girls, participate
with them in the day's "hike" or go on the moonlight cruise around
the lake if there happens to be one.
"Young men and women need clean, healthy association with each
other," Miss Parker told me yesterday, when I spent the day at Camp
Inkowa. "Social workers in New York city ask me sometimes, 'How
dare you put young men and women in camps so near to each other?'
"How dare you not do it? No plan of recreation or out-of-door life
which does not include the healthy association of men and woman can
be a success. Young men and women need each other's society. And if
you get the right kind they won't abuse their freedom."
The churches have been important instruments in this connection, and the
worth of their services can hardly be over-estimated, as they tend to
bring together young people of similar tastes and, in general, of a
superior character. Such organizations as the Young People's Society of
Christian Endeavor serve the eugenic end in a satisfactory way; it is
almost the unanimous opinion of competent observers that matches "made
in the church" turn out well. Some idea of the importance of the
churches may be gathered from a census which F. O. George of the
University of Pittsburgh made of 75 married couples of his acquaintance,
asking them where they first met each other. The answers were:
Church 32
School (only 3 at college) 19
Private home 17
Dance 7
--
75
These results need not be thought typical of more than a small part of
the country's population, yet they show how far-reaching the influence
of the church may be on sexual selection. Quite apart from altruistic
motives, the churches might well encourage social affairs where the
young people could meet, because to do so is one of the surest way of
perpetuating the church.
An increase in the number of non-sectarian bisexual societies, clubs
and similar organizations, and a diminution of the number of those
limited to men or to women alone is greatly to be desired. It is
doubtful whether the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. are, while separated,
as useful to society as they might be. Each of them tends to create a
celibate community, where the chance for meeting possible mates is
practically nil. The men's organization has made, so far as we are
aware, little organized attempt to meet this problem. The women's
organization in some cities has made the attempt, but apparently with
indifferent success. The idea of a merger of the two organizations with
reasonable differentiation as well would probably meet with little
approval from their directors just now, but is worth considering as an
answer to the urgent problem of providing social contacts for young
people in large cities.
It is encouraging that thoughtful people in all walks of life are
beginning to realize the seriousness of this problem of contacts for the
young, and the necessity of finding some solution. The novelist Miss
Maria Thompson Davies of Sweetbriar Farm, Madison, Tenn., is quoted in a
recent newspaper interview as saying:
"I'm a Wellesley woman, but one reason why I'm dead against women's
colleges is because they shut girls up with women, at the most
impressionable period of the girls' lives, when they should be meeting
members of the opposite sex continually, learning to tolerate their
little weaknesses and getting ready to marry them."
"The city should make arrangements to chaperon the meetings of its young
citizens. There ought to be municipal gathering places where, under the
supervision of tactful, warm-hearted women--themselves successfully
married--girls and young men might get introduced to each other and
might get acquainted."
If it is thought that the time has not yet come for such municipal
action, there is certainly plenty of opportunity for action by the
parents, relatives and friends of young persons. The match-making
proclivities of some mothers are matters of current jest: where subtly
and wisely done they might better be taken seriously and held up as
examples worthy of imitation. Formal "full dress" social functions for
young people, where acquaintance is likely to be too perfunctory, should
be discouraged, and should give place to informal dances, beach parties,
house parties and the like, where boys and girls will have a chance to
come to know each other, and, at the proper age, to fall in love. Let
social stratification be not too rigid, yet maintained on the basis of
intrinsic worth rather than solely on financial or social position. If
parents will make it a matter of concern to give their boys and girls as
many desirable acquaintances of the opposite sex as possible, and to
give them opportunity for ripening these acquaintances, the problem of
the improvement of sexual selection will be greatly helped. Young people
from homes where such social advantages can not be given, or in large
cities where home life is for most of them non-existent, must become the
concern of the municipality, the churches, and every institution and
organization that has the welfare of the community and the race at
heart.
To sum up this chapter, we have pointed out the importance of sexual
selection, and shown that its eugenic action depends on young people
having the proper ideals, and being able to live up to these ideals.
Eugenists have in the past devoted themselves perhaps too exclusively to
the inculcation of sound ideals, without giving adequate attention to
the possibility of these high standards being acted upon. One of the
greatest problems confronting eugenics is that of giving young people of
marriageable age a greater range of choice. Much could be done by
organized action; but it is one of the hopeful features of the problem
that it can be handled in large part by intelligent individual action.
If older people would make a conscious effort to help young people widen
their circles of suitable acquaintances, they would make a valuable
contribution to race betterment.