The Man‐Made World
Women wear beautiful garments when they happen to be the
fashion; and ugly garments when they are the fashion, and show no
signs of knowing the difference. They show no added pride in the beautiful, no hint of mortification in the hideous, and are not even sensitive under criticism, or open to any persuasion or argument.
Why should they be?
Their condition, physical and mental, is largely abnormal, their whole passionate absorption in dress and decoration is abnormal, and they have never looked, from a frankly human standpoint, at their position and its peculiarities, until the present age.
In the effect of our wrong relation on the world‘s health, we have spoken of the check to vigor and growth due to the housebound state of women and their burdensome clothes. There follow other influences, similar in origin, even more evil in result. To roughly and briefly classify we may distinguish the diseases due to bad air, to bad food, and that field of cruel mischief we are only now beginning to discuss—the diseases directly due to the erroneous relation between men and women.
We are the only race where the female depends on the male for a livelihood. We are the only race that practices prostitution. From the first harmless‐looking but abnormal general relation follows the well recognized evil of the second, so long called “a social necessity,” and from it, in deadly sequence, comes the “wages of sin;” death not only of the guilty, but of the innocent. It is no light part of our criticism of the Androcentric Culture that a society based on masculine desires alone, has willingly sacrificed such an army of women; and has repaid the sacrifice by the heaviest punishments.
That the unfortunate woman should sicken and die was held to be her just punishment; that man too should bear part penalty was found unavoidable, though much legislation and medical effort has
been spent to shield him; but to the further consequences society is but now waking up.