Idiot boys, who are often sexually undeveloped, tend to
have a high voice, while idiot girls (who often manifest marked sexual
proclivities) not infrequently have a deep voice.[153]
Bright dilated eyes are among the phenomena of detumescence, and are very
frequently noted in persons of a pronounced erotic temperament. This is,
indeed, an ancient observation, and Burton says of people with a black,
lively, and sparkling eye, "without question they are most amorous,"
drawing his illustrations mostly from classic literature.[154] Tardieu
described the erotic woman as having bright eyes, and Heywood Smith states
that the eyes of lascivious women resemble, though in a less degree, those
of the insane.[155] Sexual excitement is one among many
causes--intellectual excitement, pain, a loud noise, even any sensory
irritation--which produce dilatation of the pupils and enlargement of the
palpebral fissure, with some protrusion of the eyeball. The influence of
the sexual system upon the eye appears to be far less potent in men than
in women.[156] Sexual desire is, however, by no means the only irritant
within the sexual sphere which may thus influence the eye; morbid
irritations may produce the same effect.
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