The choice of a mate.

  • Ludovici, Anthony M. (Anthony Mario), 1882-1971.
Date:
[1935]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: The choice of a mate. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Dr. Alice E. Sanderson Clow, in a material of 1137 English schoolgirls, found that onset of catamenia occurred in 57.04 per cent before 14, and 26.82 per cent at 14. So that in only 16.14 per cent did the onset occur later than 14. 1 Dr. Janet E. Lane-Claypon, in a material consisting of 1017 women, 508 with, and 509 without, cancer, all British except 14 (and 17 did not remember the age of onset of the catamenia), it was found that 20 per cent of the non-cancerous started menstru ating before 13, and only 13 .34 of the cancerous did so. 1 2 A careful study of the figures on which these estimates are based reveals that, while in the majority of cases the onset occurs before 14, most authorities, baffled by the number of girls who to-day begin menstruating at from 15 to 17, try to strike a balance, and give the average age at onset instead of the normal. In view of the confusion, even in expert minds, regarding the ideas represented by “ average ” and “ normal ”, this is perhaps not surprising, but it makes their findings seriously misleading. For, if there is such a thing as a normal onset for healthy English girls—say at 12 or 13—then, owing to the appreciable number of less healthy girls whose onset is at 15, 16, or 17, we may get our notions of normality distorted if we consider averages. I should like the reader to dwell on this, and for the following reasons :— (1) I strongly suspect that any onset of the catamenia after 14 is actually abnormal. (2) I think the experts (particularly some of the female doctors) do not like admitting this, chiefly because of the conclusions that may be drawn from it, as we shall see. (3) Averages are untrustworthy guides to normality. (4) Ideas of health are so devoid of precision and reasonable ness in the expert mind, that the average medical man of minus- humanity, and minus- knowledge of normality, would scoff at me and, owing to his academic degrees, try to induce the lay world to scoff with him, for saying that a healthy girl is unlikely to begin menstruating later than 14. Truth to tell, medical men are far too prone to judge health from a lay and inexpert standard. The fact that a girl looks well, can get about, is active, eats heartily, and shows average weight, 1 10.9.27. The Prevention of Menstrual Troubles, p. 446. 2 Reports on Public Health and Medical Subjects, No. 32 (London, 1926, pp. 20-21).