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—— Peters, Iva L. A Questionnaire
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DYSGENIC INFLUENCES OF THE INSTITUTIONAL TABOO
Taboo survivals act dysgenically within the family
under present conditions; Conventional education of
girls a dysgenic influence; Prostitution and the family;
Influence of ancient standards of “good”
and “bad.” The illegitimate child;
Effect of fear, anger, etc., on posterity; The
attitude of economically independent women toward
marriage.
It is evident that in the working of old taboos as
they have been preserved in our social institutions
there are certain dysgenic influences which may well
be briefly enumerated. For surely the test of
the family institution is the way in which it fosters
the production and development of the coming generation.
The studies made by the Galton Laboratory in England
and by the Children’s Bureau in Washington combine
with our modern knowledge of heredity to show that
it is possible to cut down the potential heritage
of children by bad matrimonial choices. If we
are to reach a solution of these population problems,
we must learn to approach the problem of the sex relation
without that sense of uncleanness which has led so
many generations to regard marriage as giving respectability
to an otherwise wicked inclination. The task of
devising a sane approach is only just begun. But
the menace of prostitution and of the social diseases
has become so great that society is compelled from
an instinct of sheer self-preservation to drag into
the open some of the iniquities which have hitherto
existed under cover.
