It should
be observed that it rests on feminine anatomical characteristics, and that
the natural walk of a femininely developed woman is inevitably different
from that of a man.
In an elaborate discussion of beauty of movement Stratz
summarizes the special characters of the gait in woman as
follows: "A woman's walk is chiefly distinguished from a man's by
shorter steps, the more marked forward movement of the hips, the
greater length of the phase of rest in relation to the phase of
motion, and by the fact that the compensatory movements of the
upper parts of the body are less powerfully supported by the
action of the arms and more by the revolution of the flanks. A
man's walk has a more pushing and active character, a woman's a
more rolling and passive character; while a man seems to seek to
catch his fleeing equilibrium, a woman seems to seek to preserve
the equilibrium she has reached.... A woman's walk is beautiful
when it shows the definitely feminine and rolling character, with
the greatest predominance of the moment of extension over that of
flexion." (Stratz, _Die Schoenheit des Weiblichen Koerpers_,
fourteenth edition, p.
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