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.
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