Sexist Ideas from Darwin

Darwin made several sexist presumptions throughout the text, On Evolution. One striking example is when he states that, "Man is more courageous, pugnacious and energetic than woman, and has a more inventive genius"( 266). Darwin seems to hold Victorian ideas of his time that the sexes are distinctly different in that the female is shy, passive, and dainty; the male is strong, courageous and bold. These Victorian ideas may be true in some cases, but darwin cannot assume that all men and women fit this model of masculineness and femineness. There are some women who display masculine qualities and men who display female qualities.