Man and woman.
Woman has her rightful place and function in society. So has man his. Their places, while complementary, are distinct. In modern society, a variety of influences—competition in business, difficulty of finding suitable employment, the leveling tendency of the age, which is impatient even of distinctions that have their ground in nature-combine to thrust women into spheres and work not in keeping with womanly character. The distinction of the sexes is to be preserved:
1. In dress.
2. In manners. Unwomanly boldness and assertiveness in company or before the public is as unpleasant as foppish effeminacy is in men.
3. In occupations. Few would like to see women jostling men in the Exchange, pleading at the bar, or sitting in parliament. The feeling is not one of mere sentiment, but rests on inherent differences in the calling of the sexes. It deserves to be considered whether the line is not unduly crossed as it is in many forms of female occupation. It is certainly so crossed in some: barmaids; occupations involving an excessive tax on the female strength; manufactory work, where the system allows of the mingling of the sexes under conditions certain to demoralize, etc. (see Lecture on 'Sex in Industry,' by Joseph Cook—'Monday Lectures').—J.O.