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added citation from a book about the Romans and Greeks that claims the Roman ideal for men was beardlessness and a youthful appearance. I also moved the pictures down.
replaced the original research picture with one that was cited as "beautiful" and added a citation from the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture
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PNAS August 20, 2002 vol. 99 no. 17 11260-11264, Copyright © 2002, The National Academy of Sciences</ref>
PNAS August 20, 2002 vol. 99 no. 17 11260-11264, Copyright © 2002, The National Academy of Sciences</ref>


[[Image:Adonis Mazarin Louvre MR239.jpg|120px|thumb|right|[[Adonis]] represents the Roman ideal of youth and hairlessness<ref name="Williams" />]]
===Youth===
===Youth===

[[Image:Bishounen Oranges.jpeg|200px|thumb|right|[[Bishōnen]] or "beautiful boy"
<ref name="Buckley" />]]
In Greek and Roman societies, boys were considered a socially appropriate object of male desire while post-pubescent boys were considered to be "ἔξωροι" or "past the prime".<ref name="Williams">Williams, C. A. (1999). Roman homosexuality: ideologies of masculinity in classical antiquity. Oxford University Press, USA.</ref> For Greek and Roman men, the most desirable traits of boys were their "youth" and "hairlessness".<ref name="Williams" /> For the Romans especially, "beardlessness" and "smooth young bodies" were considered beautiful to both men and women.<ref name="Williams" />
In Greek and Roman societies, boys were considered a socially appropriate object of male desire while post-pubescent boys were considered to be "ἔξωροι" or "past the prime".<ref name="Williams">Williams, C. A. (1999). Roman homosexuality: ideologies of masculinity in classical antiquity. Oxford University Press, USA.</ref> For Greek and Roman men, the most desirable traits of boys were their "youth" and "hairlessness".<ref name="Williams" /> For the Romans especially, "beardlessness" and "smooth young bodies" were considered beautiful to both men and women.<ref name="Williams" />

In contemporary Japanese society, bishōnen, literally "beautiful boys", are "delicate", "svelte" and "beautiful" males who are drawn to appeal to "adolescent girls".<ref name="Buckley">Buckley (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. Taylor & Francis. pp. 188, 522, 553. ISBN 0415143446.</ref>


===V-shaped torso and muscularity===
===V-shaped torso and muscularity===

Revision as of 23:03, 1 May 2011

Physical attractiveness refers to a person's physical traits which are perceived to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be distinct from the two; for example, humans may regard the young as attractive for various reasons, but without sexual attraction. There are many factors which influence one person's attraction to another, with physical aspects being one of them.

Generally, physical attraction can be studied from a number of perspectives, including universal perceptions common to all human cultures, cultural and social aspects, and individual subjective preferences.

Standards for attractiveness vary across cultures and ethnic groups, and has varied over time. Its perception can have a significant effect on how people are judged in terms of employment or social opportunities, friendship, sexual behavior, and marriage.[1] In many cases, humans attribute positive characteristics, such as intelligence and honesty, to physically attractive people without consciously realizing it.[2]

Male physical attractiveness

Women, on average, tend to be more attracted to men who have a relatively narrow waist, a V-shaped torso, and broad shoulders, are taller than they are, and display a high-degree of facial symmetry, and relatively masculine facial dimorphism.[3][4]

Facial attractiveness

Sexual dimorphism

Studies have shown that ovulating heterosexual women (and homosexual men) prefer faces with masculine traits associated with increased exposure to testosterone during key developmental stages, such as prominent and broad cheekbones,[5] a relatively longer lower face, developed brows, and chiseled jawlines. The masculinity of male faces (and the femininity of female faces) is described as a sexual dimorphism. Female respondents in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle (n = 55) were significantly more likely to choose a masculine face than those in menses and luteal phases (n = 84),[6] (or in those taking hormonal contraception).[3][4][7] It is suggested that the masculinity of facial features is a reliable indication of good health, or, alternatively, that masculine-looking males are more likely to achieve high status.[8] However, the correlation between attractive facial features and health has been questioned.[9] Also, females tend to prefer masculine facial traits more for short-term partners than for long-term partners. Sociocultural factors, such as self-perceived attractiveness, status in a relationship and degree of gender-conformity, have been reported to play a role in female preferences for male faces.[10] Studies have found that women who perceive themselves as physically attractive are more likely to choose men with masculine facial dimorphism, than are women who perceive themselves as physically unattractive.[11] In men, facial masculinity significantly correlates with facial symmetry—it has been suggested that both are signals of developmental stability and genetic health.[12]

Symmetry

Symmetrical faces and bodies may be signs of good inheritance to women of child-bearing age seeking to create healthy offspring. Studies suggest women are more attracted to men with symmetrical faces.[13] Studies have also suggested that women at peak fertility were more likely to fantasize about men with greater facial symmetry,[14] and other studies have found that male symmetry was the only factor that could significantly predict the likelihood of a woman experiencing orgasm during sex. Women with partners possessing greater symmetry reported significantly more copulatory female orgasms than were reported by women with partners possessing low symmetry, even with many potential confounding variables controlled.[15] This finding has been found to hold across different cultures. It has been argued that masculine facial dimorphism (in men) and symmetry in faces are signals advertising genetic quality in potential mates.[16] Low facial and body fluctuating asymmetry may indicate good health and intelligence, which are desirable features.[13] Studies have found that women who perceive themselves as being more physically attractive are more likely to favor men with a higher degree of facial symmetry, than are women who perceive themselves as being less physically attractive.[11] It has been found that symmetrical men (and women) have a tendency to begin to have sexual intercourse at an earlier age, to have more sexual partners, and to have more one-night stands. They are also more likely to be prone to infidelity.[17]

Body scent

A number of double-blind studies have found that women prefer the scent of men who are rated as facially attractive.[18] For example, a study by Anja Rikowski and Karl Grammer had individuals rate the scent of t-shirts slept in by test subjects. The photographs of those subjects were independently rated, and Rikowski and Grammar found that both males and females were more attracted to the natural scent of individuals who had been rated by consensus as facially attractive.[19] Additionally, it has also been shown that women have a preference for the scent of men with more symmetrical faces, and that women's preference for the scent of more symmetrical men is strongest during the most fertile period of their menstrual cycle. Within the set of normally cycling women, individual women's preference for the scent of men with high facial symmetry correlated with their probability of conception.[20]

MHC heterozygosity

See also: Heterozygote advantage

Male facial attractiveness is seen to correlate with MHC heterozygosity. Women judge the faces of men who are heterozygous at all three MHC loci to be more attractive than the faces of men who are homozygous at one or more of these loci. MHC heterozygosity across all three loci is independently seen as a genetic advantage. It is suggested that this is further evidence that male facial attractiveness is a mechanism by which genetic advantages (MHC heterozygosity is an example of just one such genetic advantage) are indicated. Additionally, a second experiment with genotyped women raters, found these preferences were independent of the degree of MHC similarity between the men and the female rater. Women raters are able to achieve a common consensus about the attractiveness of male faces. The results suggest that facial attractiveness in men is a measure of genetic quality.[21][22]

Youth

Bishōnen or "beautiful boy" [23]

In Greek and Roman societies, boys were considered a socially appropriate object of male desire while post-pubescent boys were considered to be "ἔξωροι" or "past the prime".[24] For Greek and Roman men, the most desirable traits of boys were their "youth" and "hairlessness".[24] For the Romans especially, "beardlessness" and "smooth young bodies" were considered beautiful to both men and women.[24]

In contemporary Japanese society, bishōnen, literally "beautiful boys", are "delicate", "svelte" and "beautiful" males who are drawn to appeal to "adolescent girls".[23]

V-shaped torso and muscularity

The mesomorphic physique of a slim waist, broad shoulders and muscular chest are often found to be attractive.[25] A near-universal sexually attractive feature of a man is a v-shaped torso: a relatively narrow waist offset with broad shoulders. While some cultures prefer their males huskier and others leaner, the rule of a v-shaped torso generally holds true. Consistently, men with a waist-to-shoulder ratio of 0.75 or lower are viewed as considerably more attractive than men with more even waists and shoulders.[26] A degree of hirsuteness (hairyness) and a waist-to-shoulder ratio of 0.6 is often preferred, when combined with a mesomorphic physique.[27]

Genitalia

Studies based in China, England, the United States, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Spain, and France have shown that most women consider men with a longer penis with greater circumference as more attractive.[28]

Height and erect posture

Females' sexual attraction towards males is sometimes partly determined by the height of the man.[29] Height in men is associated with status or wealth in many cultures (in particular those where malnutrition is common),[30] which is beneficial to women romantically involved with them. One study conducted of women's personal ads support the existence of this preference; the study found that in ads requesting height in a mate, 80% requested a height of 6 feet or taller.[30] However, this percentage was only of ads specifying height, and therefore possibly self-selected and/or biased by a third factor such as female height. Recent studies have shown that heterosexual women often prefer men taller than they are, rather than a man with above average height. While women usually desire men to be at least the same height as themselves or taller, several other factors also determine male attractiveness, and the male-taller norm is not universal.[31] In certain non-Western cultures, the relative heights of partners have been shown to be irrelevant in their choice of mate, which suggests that Western height preferences may be sociocultural, rather than genetic, in nature.[31] Professor Adam Eyre-Walker, from the University of Sussex, stated that there is, as yet, no evidence that these preferences are evolutionary preferences, as opposed to merely cultural preferences.[32]

Additionally, women seem more receptive to an erect posture than men, though both prefer it as an element of beauty.[30]

Hairiness

Studies based in the United States, New Zealand, and China have shown that women rate men with no body hair as most attractive, and that attractiveness ratings decline as hirsutism increases.[33][34] Another study found a moderate amount of trunk hair was most attractive, to the sample of British and Sri Lankan women.[27]

Variability in preferences

It has been shown that women prefer men with a more masculine facial dimorphism during the fertile period of the menstrual cycle and men with a more feminine facial dimorphism during other parts of the cycle.[35] This distinction supports the sexy son hypothesis, which posits that it is evolutionarily advantageous for women to select potential fathers who are more genetically attractive,[36] rather than the best caregivers.[37] According to one study, men with facial scars are more attractive to Western women seeking short-term relationships; the authors speculated that the facial scars could be seen by women as a symbol of masculinity, a possible indicator of genetically higher testosterone levels.[38]

According to strategic pluralism theory, men may have correspondingly evolved to pursue reproductive strategies that are contingent on their own physical attractiveness. More physically attractive men accrue reproductive benefits from spending more time seeking multiple mating partners and relatively less time investing in offspring. In contrast, the reproductive effort of physically less attractive men, who therefore will not have the same mating opportunities, is better allocated either to investing heavily in accruing resources, or investing in their mates and offspring and spending relatively less time seeking additional mates.[39]

Female physical attractiveness

Venus de Milo on display at the Louvre. "People show preference for features of their own group, culture or race when asked to rate facial attractiveness."[40]

Men, on average, tend to be more attracted to women who are shorter than they are, have a youthful appearance and exhibit features such as a symmetrical face, full breasts, full lips, and a low waist–hip ratio.[41]

The factors which men tend to find attractive in a woman include those features that display good health and fitness for reproduction and the sustenance of infants. These include the following correlates of fertility:

Features such as a symmetrical face, large breasts, and low waist-to-hip ratio are commonly considered attractive in women because they are thought to indicate physical health and high fertility to a potential mate.

Although it has been claimed that facial attractiveness and symmetry signal good health, this has been questioned.[49]

Voice

Men prefer women with higher pitch voices.[50]

Facial features

In a study by University of Louisville psychologist Michael Cunningham, dimensions and proportions of what was regarded as attractive emerged with remarkable consistency. The ideal attractive female face featured "eye width that is three-tenths the width of the face at the eyes' level; chin length, one-fifth the height of the face; distance from the center of the eye to the bottom of the eyebrow, one-tenth the height of the face; the height of the visible eyeball, one-fourteenth the height of the face; the width of the pupil, one-fourteenth the distance between the cheekbones; and the total area for the nose, less than 5 percent of the area of the face."[51] Very small differences mattered; for example, "the ideal mouth was half or 50 percent the width of the face at mouth level; if that percentage varied "by as little at 10 points," the face was rated as less attractive.[51] The study found the "beauty of the female face ... is mathematically quantifiable."[51]

In a cross-cultural study, more neotenized female faces were found to be most attractive to men while less neotenized female faces were found to be less attractive to men, regardless of the females' actual age.[52] Desired traits were a small jaw[50] and chin, a small nose and large eyes.[51] These "infantlike features draw out in them the same caretaking response a baby would—they make a woman seem cute and adorable."[51]

High wide cheekbones and narrow cheeks are "signs that a woman has reached puberty" and "high eyebrows, dilated pupils and wide smile" signal excitement and sociability.[51]

One psychologist speculated there were two opposing principles of female beauty: prettiness and rarity. So on average, symmetrical features are one ideal, while unusual, stand-out features are another.[53] A study performed by the University of Toronto found that the most attractive facial dimensions were those found in the average female face. However, that particular University of Toronto study looked only at white women.[54]

Youth

Female youthfulness tends to be a desirable characteristic. One study covering 37 cultures showed that, on average, a woman was 2.5 years younger than her male partner, with the age difference in Nigeria and Zambia being at the far extreme of 6.5 to 7.5 years. As men age, they tend to seek a mate who is even younger.[44] One study of 148 male American university students concluded that the most desirable age of marriage for a women to be 16.87 years old.[55] A study of the pre-industrial Sami showed that couples where the man was 15 years older and the woman was 15 years younger had the most reproductive success.[56] The Trivers-Willard hypothesis that the reproductive success of women is tied to their youth and physical attractiveness has been supported by empirical data from a number of historical societies across the world including contemporary USA.[57]

The reasons for this preference are currently debated. One hypothesis is that men look at a woman's child-bearing potential and that female fecundity typically declines after the late twenties[58] with female fecundity having declined "markedly" after age 30.[59] In fact, natural population data shows that women's fecundity actually ends at 39-41 years old even though menopause occurs in the mid-50s.[60]

An alternative hypothesis is that females tend to be younger than their male partners because females tend to mature sexually and emotionally earlier than males. This is especially important in the typical dating and courtship ages.

Furthermore, men tend to prefer their partner to have neotenic and youthful features, such as high, firm breasts,[61][62] Long and lustrous blonde hair was most preferred by men,[44][61][63][64][65] (however, Asian men preferred black-haired women over blondes) [40] full red lips,[66][67][68] clear smooth skin, and clear eyes. These features are viewed as attractive in women,[44] and many women strive to create and maintain a youthful appearance and accentuate those features associated with youthfulness.

Breasts

Research conducted at the Victoria University of Wellington showed that breasts are often the first thing men look at, and for a longer time than other body parts.[69] The writers of the study had initially speculated that the reason for this is due to endocrinology with larger breasts indicating higher levels of estrogen and a sign of greater fertility,[45][69] but the researchers said that "Men may be looking more often at the breasts because they are simply aesthetically pleasing, regardless of the size."[69]

Nevertheless, some men in Western societies prefer women with larger breasts. This is attributed to women with higher breast to under-breast ratios (i.e. large breasts) typically being seen as having higher levels of the sex hormone estradiol, which promotes fertility.[45] Larger breasts also display the aging process more noticeably, hence they are a relatively reliable indicator of long-term fertility.[70]

Proportion of body mass to body structure

This 1895 advertisement promotes a weight gain product for people who had lost significant weight through disease or age. Maintaining a healthy weight is a determinant of physical attractiveness.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is another important universal determinant to the perception of beauty.[48] The BMI refers to the proportion of the body mass to the body structure. However, the optimal body proportion is regarded differently in various cultures. The Western ideal considers a slim and slender body mass as optimal while many historic cultures consider an embonpoint or plump body-mass as appealing.[71][72] Men do not appear to have evolved to hold a particular build as more attractive, but rather to be drawn to whichever build associates with social status.[72]

In the United States, women overestimate men's preferences for thinness in a mate. In one study, American women were asked to choose what their ideal build was and what they thought the build most attractive to men was. Women chose slimmer than average figures for both choices. When American men were independently asked to choose the female build most attractive to them, the men chose figures of average build. This suggests that women tend to have misconceptions about how thin men prefer women to be.[72] Some speculate that thinness as a beauty standard is one way in which women judge each other.[53] A reporter surmised that thinness is prized among women as a "sign of independence, strength and achievement."[53] Some implicated the fashion industry for the promulgation of the notion of thinness as attractive.[73]

The attraction for a proportionate body also influences an appeal for erect posture.[74]

Waist–hip ratio

Main article: Waist–hip ratio

Notwithstanding wide cultural differences in preferences for female build, scientists have discovered that the waist-hip ratio (WHR) of any build is very strongly correlated to perception of attractiveness across cultures.[72] Women with a 0.7 WHR (waist circumference that is 70% of the hip circumference) are invariably rated as more attractive by men, regardless of their cultures. Such diverse beauty icons as Jessica Alba,[75][76] Marilyn Monroe, Salma Hayek, Sophia Loren, and the Venus de Milo all have ratios around 0.7.[77] In other cultures, preferences vary,[78] ranging from 0.6 in China,[79] to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa,[80][81][82] and divergent preferences based on ethnicity, rather than nationality, have also been noted.[83][84] The hourglass shape characterized by a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 has been described as attractive.[85]

Height

Most men tend to be taller than their female partner[45] and it has been found that, in Western societies, most men prefer shorter women[86], men tend to view taller women as less attractive[86] and men view couples where the woman is taller to be less ideal.[86] Women who are 0.7 to 1.7 standard deviations below the mean female height have been reported to be the most reproductively successful,[45] since fewer tall women get married compared to shorter women.[86]

However, in some non-Western cultures, height is irrelevant in choosing a mate, which suggests that the preference among Western men for women shorter than themselves may be sociocultural in nature.[31]

Long legs

One study suggested men prefer women with longer legs. Research compared the attractiveness of women of similar height but with different lengths of their legs and concluded that men found longer legs to be more attractive. Researchers hypothesized that longer legs were not only an aesthetic feature but indicated good health.[87] Some women wear high-heel shoes to make their legs appear longer.

Studies have also shown that women find men with long legs more attractive than men whose legs are of average length.[88][89]

Small feet

Most men prefer women with small feet.[90][91]

Prototypicality as beauty

See also: Averageness and Koinophilia

Besides biology and culture, there are other factors determining physical attractiveness. The more common features a face bears, the more highly it is usually judged to be attractive. This may be a result of the familiarity of common facial features, an example of the mere exposure effect. When many faces are combined into a composite image (through computer morphing), people usually view the resulting image as more familiar, attractive, and beautiful than the faces that were combined to make the composite.[92]

One interpretation is that this shows an inherent human preference for prototypicality. That is, the resultant face emerges with the salient features shared by most faces, and hence becomes the prototype. The prototypical face and features is therefore perceived as symmetrical and familiar. This may reveal an "underlying preference for the familiar and safe over the unfamiliar and potentially dangerous."[42] However, critics of this interpretation point out that compositing computer images also has the effect of removing skin blemishes such as scars, and generally softens sharp facial features.

Classical conceptions of beauty are essentially a celebration of this "prototypicality." This may show the importance of prototypicality in the judgment of beauty, and also explain the emergence of similarity of the perception of attractiveness within a community or society, which shares a gene pool.

Skin tone

Main article: Human skin color – Cultural effects

Skin tone preferences vary by culture. Many historically favored and continue to favor lighter skin in women. In his foreword to Peter Frost's 2005 Fair Women, Dark Men, University of Washington sociologist Pierre L. van den Berghe writes: "Although virtually all cultures express a marked preference for fair female skin, even those with little or no exposure to European imperialism, and even those whose members are heavily pigmented, many are indifferent to male pigmentation or even prefer men to be darker."[93] According to Frost, a consequence of this is that, since higher-ranking men get to marry the perceived more attractive women, who tend to have fair skin, the upper classes of a society generally tend to develop a lighter complexion than the lower classes by sexual selection (see also Fisherian runaway).[94]

Studies have shown that lighter skin has generally been preferred in most cultures and races. Exceptions to this have appeared in modern times in Western culture, where tanned skin is often considered more attractive.[95][96][97][98][99] Tanned skin has been shown in the United States to be viewed both as more attractive and more healthy than pale skin.[95][96][97][98] Though sun-tanned skin used to be associated with the sun-exposed manual labor of the lower-class, the associations became dramatically reversed in the mid-20th century, a change usually credited to the trendsetting French woman Coco Chanel making tanned skin seem fashionable, healthy, and luxurious.[100]

Today, and in much of the West, though tanned skin remains desirable, lighter skin is often seen as more attractive, especially in African, Asian, and Latin cultures. Skin whitening products sales grew from $40 billion to $43 billion in 2008.[101] In Africa, skin whitening is not uncommon,[102] but in the African American community, lighter skin is generally considered more attractive than darker skin. During slavery, light-skinned African Americans were perceived as intelligent, cooperative, and beautiful.[103] Regarding this perception of beauty influenced by racial stereotypes about skin color; the African American journalist Jill Nelson wrote that "to be both prettiest and black was impossible."[104]

In Mexico and in Brazil, light skin represents power, as well as attractiveness.[105] A dark-skinned person is more likely to be discriminated against in Brazil.[106] Most South American actors and actresses have European features—blue eyes and pale skin. A light-skinned person is considered to be more privileged and have a higher social status; a person with light skin is considered more beautiful and it means that the person has more wealth. Skin color is such an obsession in these countries that specific words describe distinct skin tones from hincha, Puerto Rican slang for "glass of milk" to morena, literally "brown."[107]

In ancient China and Japan, pale skin can be traced back to ancient drawings depicting women and goddesses with fair skin tones. In ancient China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, pale skin was seen as a sign of wealth. Thus, skin whitening cosmetic products are popular in East Asia.[108] 4 out of 10 women surveyed in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea used a skin-whitening cream, and more than 60 companies globally compete for Asia's estimated $18 billion market.[109] This also occurs in South Asian countries, and in India, pale skin is considered more attractive and skin whitening is prevalent. Most actors and actresses have light skin.[110]

Possible gender differences for preferences

David Buss has argued that men tend to place a higher value on physical appearance in a partner than women do.[111] According to this view, Buss and other academics hypothesise that this may be explained by evolutionary psychology as a possible consequence of ancestral humans who selected partners based on secondary sexual characteristics, as well as general indicators of fitness which allowed for greater reproductive success as a result of higher fertility in those partners,[112] although a male's ability to provide resources for offspring was likely signaled less by physical features.[111] It is argued that the most prominent indicator of fertility in women is youth,[58][113] while the traits in a man which enhance reproductive success are proxies for his ability to accrue resources and protect.[113] However, for both men and women, there appear to be universal criteria of attractiveness both within and across cultures and ethnic groups.[114] Some researchers conclude that little difference exists between men and women in terms of sexual behavior.[115][116]

Studies have shown that women pay greater attention to physical traits than they do to earning capability or potential to commit,[117] including muscularity, fitness and masculinity of features; the latter preference was observed to vary during a woman's period, with women preferring more masculine features during the late-follicular (fertile) phase of the menstrual cycle.[118][119] Additionally, women process physical attractiveness differently, paying attention to both individual features and the aesthetic effect of the whole face.[120] A 2003 study in the area concluded that heterosexual women are about equally aroused when viewing men or women. Heterosexual men were only aroused by women. This study verified arousal in the test subjects by connecting them to brain imaging devices.[121][122][123][124] It is also worth mentioning that the same study reported arousal for women upon viewing animals mating.

Like attracts like

Studies about attraction indicate that people are strongly attracted to look-a-likes ("like attracts like"), in physical and social appearance. There is a high correlation between the proportion of attitudes shared, and the degree of interpersonal attraction. Cheerful people like to be around other cheerful people and negative people would rather be around other negative people.[125] Penton-Voak, Perrett, and Peirce (1999) found that subjects rated the pictures with their own face morphed into it as more attractive. DeBruine (2002) demonstrated in her research how subjects entrusted more money to their opponents in a game play, when the opponents were presented as similar to them. Little, Burt, & Perrett (2006) examined similarity in sight for married couples and found that the couples were assessed at the same age and level of attractiveness.

Social effects

When a person is seen as attractive or unattractive, generalized assumptions are brought into play. Across cultures, what is beautiful is assumed to be good. Attractive people are assumed to be more extroverted, popular, and happy. This could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy; from a young age, attractive people receive more attention that helps them develop these characteristics.[126][127] However, attractiveness varies by society; in ancient China, a small foot was considered attractive, so foot binding was practiced by confining young girls' feet in tightly bound shoes to prevent the feet from growing to normal size.[128]

People make judgments of physical attractiveness based on what they see, but also on what they know about the person. Specifically, perceptions of beauty are malleable such that information about the person's personality traits can influence one's assessment of another person's physical beauty. A 2007 study had participants first rate pictures for attractiveness. After doing distracting math problems, participants saw the pictures again, but with information about the person's personality. When participants learned that a person had positive personality characteristics (e.g., smart, funny, kind), that person was seen as more physically attractive.[129] Conversely, a person with negative personality characteristics (e.g., materialistic, rude, untrustworthy) was seen as less physically attractive. This was true for both females and males.

Physical attractiveness can have various effects. A survey conducted by London Guildhall University of 11,000 people showed that those who subjectively describe themselves as physically attractive earn more income than others who would describe themselves as less attractive.[130] People who described themselves as less attractive earned, on average, 13% less than those who described themselves as more attractive, while the penalty for being overweight was around 5%. It is important to note that other factors such as self-confidence may explain or influence these findings as they are based on self-reported attractiveness as opposed to any sort of objective criteria; however, as one's self-confidence and self-esteem are largely learned from how one is regarded by his/her peers while maturing, even these considerations would suggest a significant role for physical appearance. One writer speculated that "the distress created in women by the spread of unattainable ideals of female beauty" might possibly be linked to increasing incidence of depression.[131]

Many have asserted that certain advantages tend to come to those who are perceived as being more attractive, including the ability to get better jobs and promotions; receiving better treatment from authorities and the legal system; having more choices in romantic partners and, therefore, more power in relationships; and marrying into families with more money.[126][127][132]

Both men and women use physical attractiveness as a measure of how "good" another person is.[133] Discrimination against or prejudice towards others based on their appearance is sometimes referred to as lookism.

Some researchers conclude that little difference exists between men and women in terms of sexual behavior.[134][135] Symmetrical men and women have a tendency to begin to have sexual intercourse at an earlier age, to have more sexual partners, to engage in a wider variety of sexual activities, and to have more one-night stands. They are also prone to infidelity and are more likely to have open relationships.[136] Additionally, they have the most reproductive success. Therefore, their physical characteristics are most likely to be inherited by future generations.[137][138][139][140]

Embracing ugliness

Abraham Lincoln was characterized as "ugly," but his appearance also generated sympathy and support.[141]

Physical ugliness is the subjective perception that a person is aesthetically unattractive or repulsive.[142] For some, ugliness is a central aspect of their persona. Jean-Paul Sartre had a lazy eye and a bloated, asymmetrical face; he attributed many of his philosophical ideas to his life-long struggle to come to terms with his self-described ugliness.[143] Socrates also used his ugliness as a philosophical touch point, concluding that philosophy, through finding beauty in truth, can save us from our outward ugliness.[143] Famous in his own time for his perceived ugliness, Abraham Lincoln was described by a contemporary: "to say that he is ugly is nothing; to add that his figure is grotesque, is to convey no adequate impression." However, his looks proved to be an asset in his personal and political relationships, as his law partner William Herndon wrote, "He was not a pretty man by any means, nor was he an ugly one; he was a homely man, careless of his looks, plain-looking and plain-acting. He had no pomp, display, or dignity, so-called. He appeared simple in his carriage and bearing. He was a sad-looking man; his melancholy dripped from him as he walked. His apparent gloom impressed his friends, and created sympathy for him—one means of his great success."[141] The Israeli statesman and military leader Moshe Dayan was facially disfigured fighting Vichy French during World War II. At first the loss of his eye caused him emotional pain, he wrote in his autobiography "I reflected with considerable misgivings on my future as a cripple without a skill, trade, or profession to provide for my family." He added that he was "ready to make any effort and stand any suffering, if only I could get rid of my black eye patch. The attention it drew was intolerable to me. I preferred to shut myself up at home, doing anything, rather than encounter the reactions of people wherever I went."[144] However, as he rose in the Israeli government his disfigurement became an asset—an always visible reminder of his sacrifices—which made him instantly recognizable and sympathetic.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ Lorenz, Kate. (2005). "Do Pretty People Earn More?" www.CNN.com.
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