 To contest this gendered differentiation in the sphere of study and work, women must recognize that the set of beliefs supporting this sexual segregation is simply a “custom and corruption of our time” [FI,  426]. In fact, society offers numerous counter-examples of men who focus on the development of physical beauty and social charm and of women who excel in scientific culture and intellectual debate. Both men and women can develop the powers of analysis and judgment as well as those of imagination. To refuse women the right to develop their intellectual gifts is to oppose Nature itself, which has clearly equipped women with such capacities. 