How to be happy though human / by W. Béran Wolfe.
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Ruth, now five years old, climbs, rides a small bicycle, swims, and has already begun to play golf. She has no use for dolls, small tea-sets, or the other toys that girls in her neighbourhood play with. She wants to be a boy, and she has already shown that she can beat her younger brother in swimming. She is not very clear as to the physical differences between boys and girls. Her mother is an unimportant member of the household. Masculine ideals of sport and courage and fair play rule the house¬ hold.. Golf is the chief topic of conversation at the table. Her ideal in life is to “ hole out in one ” Ruth is a strong healthy girl, and at the present nothing stands between her and her ideal to be “ a boy among the boys ”, She is innately ashamed of other members of her own sex, and year by year she has less contact with them. At the age of fourteen Ruth begins to menstruate. This is a calamitous occasion in her life. Her mother tells her timidly about sex. Ruth is not very encouraged. She calls her menstrual period “ the curse ”, She regards her femininity as a distinct drawback in the attainment of her ideal. She is not allowed to swim at her menstrual period which is accompanied by a great deal of pain. This pain and the attendant unhappiness are the indicators of a very unhappy future. Ruth is attempting to use the material given her by nature, being a girl, to a false end. This leads to conflicts with nature and society. She cannot make a confidante of her mother because her mother does not share her ideals. Her mother suffers her femininity in silence. Ruth is determined that she will be a “ modern ” woman. She wants to be a physical instructor at college, and at the age of seventeen she has already definitely made up her mind that she will never marry and never have children. “ It plays havoc with your figure and your strength, you know ! ” she adds by way of explanation. In this case we see a very common, and tragically mistaken, pattern of life. Here is a woman who has tried to make a man of herself. Life does not teach her the fallacy of her actions, for she stuffs every new experience