In the primitive dances of many peoples, often of sexual
significance, the display of the sexual organs on the part of both men and
women is frequently a prominent feature. Even down to mediaeval times in
Europe the garments of men sometimes permitted the sexual organs to be
visible. In some parts of the world, also, the artificial enlargement of
the female sexual organs is practised, and thus enlarged they are
considered an important and attractive feature of beauty.
Sir Andrew Smith informed Darwin that the elongated nymphae (or
"Hottentot apron") found among the women of some South African
tribes was formerly greatly admired by the men (_Descent of Man_,
Chapter XIX). This formation is probably a natural peculiarity of
the women of these races which is very much exaggerated by
intentional manipulation due to the admiration it arouses. The
missionary Merensky reported the prevalence of the practice of
artificial elongation among the Basuto and other peoples, and the
anatomical evidence is in favor of its partly artificial
character. (The Hottentot apron is fully discussed by Ploss and
Bartels, _Das Weib_, bd. I, sec.
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