IS THERE ANY JUSTIFICATION FOR THE
DOUBLE STANDARD OF MORALITY IN THE SEXES?
THE history of sexual morality, which is really the history of the evolution of marriage,
shows that every advanced step in the development of marriage was made in the
interest of the race.
1st Stage: If we take Morgan's "Ancient Society" as the basis of our inquiry we find that
in the lowest conceivable stage of savagery, men living in hordes, mankind lived in a state of
promiscuous intercourse like the gregarious animals.
2nd Stage: From this irregular state the consanguineous family develops. It is founded
upon intermarriage of brothers and sisters in a group, but marriage between parents and
children is now prohibited.
3rd Stage: Experience having taught even these primitive men that the off spring of such
marriages is often in some respect deficient and sickly, the next step was the prohibition of
intermarriage in the same tribe. This prohibition had the effect to exclude own brothers and
sisters from the marriage relation. This so called Punaluan family was founded upon
inter marriage of several sisters, from one tribe, with each others' husbands in a group, the
joint husbands not being necessarily kinsmen of each other, but belonging to other tribes than
their wives, or of several brothers with each others' wives in a group. In this so called
exogamous marriage each group of men were conjointly married to the group of women. The
children naturally know only their mother, and inheritance follows in the female line. The
common mother of the tribe is the origin and ruler of the same.
4th Stage: The next step is the pairing family. Communal marriage is replaced by
individual marriage. It was founded upon marriage between single pairs, but without an
exclusive cohabitation. The marriage continued during the pleasure of the parties. Marriage
between any relatives is entirely prohibited, consequently marriage in a group is impossible.
The male leaves his tribe and marries into another tribe. The children know now their father
also. Yet they still belong to their mother's tribe. The fortune of the tribe belongs to the
ancestress. Matriarchate prevails. Woman is yet the undisputed mistress of the house and
clan. The males have only to provide the clan with food and all the other conveniences of
life from day to day. They have no other authority. The husband being subject to his wife,
property and descent go in the female line. Kinship is counted thru the mother. When a man
dies his arms and dress, his only personal property, are handed over to the tribe to which he
formerly belonged. The main fortune remains in the clan of the female.
5th Stage: With the training of animals and the breeding of herds, sources of wealth
hitherto unthought of develop. Now, the males have always been the providers and possessors
of the food supply of the clan, and the herds being now the main source of food they
consequently belong to the males. Lest with the death of the father the flocks should be
handed over to his former clan, change of descent from the female line to the male line is
now established. The man is now the ruler. He is the head of the clan, manager of its
possessions and leader in war. Hitherto lands and herds belonged in common to the entire
clan or even tribe.
But in the frequent wars, at this period in human history, powerful leaders
were necessary, and the latter became pre eminent among the other members of the tribe.
As a reward they often receive individual allotments from the common property of the tribe.
These allotments ripen finally into individual ownership to be inherited by the children. Now
inheritance in the male line requires that the father should know his children. He exacts,
therefore, strict fidelity from his wife. This leads to the patriarchal family of the Bible. It is
founded upon the marriage of one man with one or several wives.
Thus we see that the changes in the marriage relations of the sexes were all made in the
interest of the welfare of the offspring. Promiscuity, consanguineous marriage, punaluan
family and the pairing family followed each other in the interest of the health of posterity.
The last change into female monogamy was made in the economic interest of the progeny.
The husband in sacrificing his own comfort while providing food and shelter for his
children must be certain that he is the father of these children. Uncertainty would make him
negligent, and the existence of the race would be jeopardized.