Sexual Science: The Victorian Construction of Womanhood

257 Pages·1991·9.78 MB·English

by  Cynthia Russett

SEXUAL SCIENCE

S·E·X·U·A·L
S·C·I·E·N·C·E
The Victorian Construction
ofWomanhood
CYNTHIA EAGLE
RUSSETT
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
Copyright© 1989bythePresidentandFellowsofHarvardCollege
Allrights reserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
FirstHarvardUniversityPresspaperbackedition, 1991
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Russett, CynthiaEagle.
Sexualscience.
Includesindex.
I. Sexdifferences. 2. Sexrole-HistorY-19th
century. 3. Women'sstudies-HistorY-19thcentury.
I. Title.
QP8I.5.R87 1989 305.3'09'034 88-24521
ISBN0-674-8029O-X (alk. paper)(cloth)
ISBN0-674-80291-8(paper)
For Bruce, who never needed alooking-glass

Contents
Acknowledgments VIII
Introduction I
1 How to Tell the Girls from the Boys 16
2 Up and Down the Phyletic Ladder 49
3 Hairy Men and Beautiful Women 78
4 The Machinery ofthe Body 104
5 The Physiological Division ofLabor 130
6 The Victorian Paradigm Erodes 155
7 Women and the Cosmic Nightmare 181
Notes 209
Index 237
Acknowledgments
This study originated in my interest in two areas ofhistory-the
intellectual impact ofDarwinism and the history ofwomen. As
longago as 1965 AndrewSinclair, in TheEmancipation oftheAmeri
can Woman, gave anod to what Victorian science had to say about
women. DarwinandHuxley, henoted, "werenotonthesideofthe
feminists." Thomas Higginson, who was, worriedthat their writ
ings "make woman simply a lesser man, weaker in body and
mind." RemarkingthatHuxleyhadflatlydeniedtheequalityofthe
sexes, Sinclair concluded: "In fact, the very popularity ofDarwin
and Huxley in conservative American circles was due to their
emphasis on motherhood as woman's vital role."
Since Sinclair's pioneering work, much has been written about
women'shealthandthetreatmentofwomenbythemedicalprofes
sioninthelatenineteenth century. Less attentionhas beendevoted
to the more strictly scientific appraisal ofwoman's nature. This
book builds on the studies ofElizabeth Fee, StephenJay Gould,
John and Robin Haller, and Rosalind Rosenberg in particular.
A rewarding year spent at the National Humanities Center in
Research TrianglePark, North Carolina, got thebookunder way,
and a term at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the
HumanitiesandSocialScienceshelpedmoveittowardcompletion.
The chapter on recapitulation benefited from the comments of
RosalindRosenbergandoftheaudienceatasessionoftheBerkshire
Conference ofWomen Historians in 1982. I am also indebted to
members ofthe history and American studies departments at Rut
gers University for their criticisms at a seminar last year.
Frank Turner shared with me his knowledge ofVictorian En
gland and directed me to specific references. Beth Auerbach and
especially Florence Thomas helped with the typing. Betty Paine
provided an acerbic perspective on history and historians. Above
all, IwanttoacknowledgetheconcernandsupportofJohnMorton
Blum, mentor and-what is rarer-friend.
SEXUAL SCIENCE