61.

terities of protestantism as preached by Luther and Calvin also contributed greatly to the acceptance of drab clothing as the lot of the male.

Simultaneously with the decline of the nobility and the feudal system generally there was the rise of the middle class and of those who became wealthy as a result of the Industrial Revolution. These men, forbidden by social pressure from expressing their sense of their own ability and importance by personal extravagance began to do so in other ways. Not only did they build their big mansions and estates, have the finest horses (and subsequently pri- vate railway cars and expensive automobiles) but they also made their wives clothes horses and show pieces through whom they could show their wealth and importance Wives of the elite therefore were swathed in very fancy clothing of costly materials and beset with diamonds, rubies, egret feathers and what have you.

Naturally the girls of the less well-to-do classes attempted to imitate their betters so that similar clothing of cheaper materials and rhinestone diamonds and rubies led up to the "costume" jewelry of today. The point of all this is that the male for religious, economic and po- litical reasons abdicated his right to the pleasures and satisfactions of self decoration and partly bestowed them on women (and the rest the women took for themselves)

So what is the result socially and biologically in modern society? No longer does the female decide which male to accept because of his natural healthy physique, nor from his athletic prowess (except in college days when the fullback or the champion of any sport is admired and sought after by the girls). To what small extent she "accepts" him at all, it is usually on the basis of his financial and social possibilities and thus the "fitness" is no longer biological but social. As a matter of fact the female-male relationship is to a great degree reversed, because now what happens when a man sees two girls across the street? One of them has on a fetching dress, high heels, jewelry, a tricky hairdo and plenty of makeup.