The sexual factor is, however, the simplest and most primitive element of
modesty, and may, therefore, be mentioned first. Anyone who watches a
bitch, not in heat, when approached by a dog with tail wagging gallantly,
may see the beginnings of modesty. When the dog's attentions become a
little too marked, the bitch squats firmly down on the front legs and hind
quarters though when the period of oestrus comes her modesty may be flung
to the air and she eagerly turns her hind quarters to her admirer's nose
and elevates her tail high in the air. Her attitude of refusal is
equivalent, that is to say, to that which in the human race is typified by
the classical example of womanly modesty in the Medicean Venus, who
withdraws the pelvis, at the same time holding one hand to guard the
pubes, the other to guard the breasts.[9] The essential expression in each
case is that of defence of the sexual centers against the undesired
advances of the male.[10]
Stratz, who criticizes the above statement, argues (with
photographs of nude women in illustration) that the normal type
of European surprised modesty is shown by an attitude in which
the arms are crossed over the breast, the most sexually
attractive region, while the thighs are pressed together, one
being placed before the other, the shoulder raised and the back
slightly curved; occasionally, he adds, the hands may be used to
cover the face, and then the crossed arms conceal the breasts.
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