[Woman and race biology]

Early 20th century race biology takes a special interest in woman as part of the "intra-racial" project of bringing forth healthy and competitive individuals. But there are other motives as well for the race biologist to take an interest in woman. She is believed to develop fewer individual characteristics and is therefore a more typical representative of her race than man. The development level of the race is also presupposed to be discernible by the degree of "gender diformism": a race of higher standing would exhibit a greater difference between the sexes. The anthropologist, anatomist, gynaecologist--or whatever guise the race biologist may adopt-- will, in principle, stress that the relation between the sexes is not a matter of "more or less", but one of differences in kind. In reality, the "more-or-less of comparison is the very cornerstone of the issue. Quantitative differences, directly observed or obtained from statistics, are construed as signs of difference in kind. 18th century medical philosophy and sex-linked anthropology laid the theoretical foundation of the 19th century essentialist conception of woman, which is also that adopted by race biology. Eugenics of social Darwinist inspiration regarded prophylactic health care and social welfare programs with scepticism. A race biology founded on the man-woman dualism could sustain altogether different conclusions. An advanced culture calls for extensive division of labour. An extended childhood renders possible higher development but will also impose higher demands on woman. The protection of the female organism is thus an exigency for any people or race striving to survive and evolve. From society's care for the female organism health care for women and preventive maternity care will emerge. Race biology has been a preeminently German concern, as indicated by the selection of works taken to represent this perspective on woman: Bartels-Ploss' Das Weib, C.H. Stratz' Die Rassenschönheit des Weibes and Oskar Schultze's Das Weib: In anthropologischer und sozialer Betrachtung.