Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

's views on women were based on his view of natural selection. Darwin believed that the difference between males and females were partly due to "

sexual selection Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ( ...

". Darwin's theory of sexual selection, which can be found in his book ''

The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex ''The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex'' is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871, which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biolo ...

,'' states that women, and some men, will choose to mate with someone that is most suitable to culture. This proposition of sexual selection readily tied into his theory of

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...

in the way that evolution will have different outcomes depending on the traits of the male that females chooses to reproduce with. This also supports his principle of " survival of the fittest" in the human species. Darwin concludes in his book, ''The Descent of Man'', saying that men attain "a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can women—whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and hands." More research has been centered around letters that Darwin wrote and exchanged with about 150 women in his lifetime which includes both women close to him and women from other places in the world. The letters show private thoughts and actions which are different to the gender ideology held by common middle-class Victorians. The letters show that in private Darwin relied on various women for some of his work including his daughter

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

who helped in editing ''The Descent of Man''. Darwin also helped many of these women progress their scientific careers. He wrote to Eleanor Mary Dicey in 1877 about his concern that some women might not want to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

only because they are women. There is also evidence of Darwin's correspondence with women of that time who challenged the gender ideology such as

Florence Dixie Lady Florence Caroline Dixie (née Douglas; 25 May 18557 November 1905) was a Scottish writer, war correspondent, and feminist. Her account of travelling ''Across Patagonia'', her children's books ''The Young Castaways'' and ''Aniwee; or, The ...

, a traveler, writer and hunter who endorsed equality in marriage and Caroline Kennard, an American writer and feminist. Dixie also wrote a book which created the fantasy of a world where men and women were equals.

References

{{Charles Darwin Charles Darwin