Physical attractiveness

Venus de Milo on display at the Louvre.		Adonis restored and completed by François Duquesnoy, formerly in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin (Louvre Museum).

Physical attractiveness is the perception of the physical traits of an individual as being aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness.

Generally, physical attraction is dependent on three factors: universal perceptions common to all human cultures, cultural and social aspects, and individual subjective preferences. Despite universally held perceptions of beauty in both sexes, males tend to place significantly higher value on physical appearance in a partner than women do.^[1][2] This can be explained by evolutionary psychology as a consequence of ancestral humans who selected partners based on secondary sexual characteristics, as well as general indicators of fitness (for example, symmetrical features) enjoying greater reproductive success as a result of higher fertility in those partners ^[3], although a male's ability to provide resources for offspring was likely signalled less by physical features.^[1] This is because the most prominent indicator of fertility in women is youth, while the traits in a man that enhance reproductive success are proxies for his ability to accrue resources and protect.^[4] There appear to be universal standards regarding attractiveness both within and across cultures and ethnic groups.^[5]

Physical attractiveness can have a significant effect on how people are judged in terms of employment or social opportunities, friendship, sexual behavior, and marriage.^[6] In many cases, humans attribute positive characteristics, such as intelligence and honesty, to attractive people without consciously realizing it.^[7] In certain instances, physical attractiveness is distinct from sexual attraction; humans may regard the young as attractive for various reasons, for example, but without sexual attraction.

Women, on average, tend to be attracted to men who are slightly taller and who have a relatively narrow waist and broad shoulders. Men, overall, tend to be attracted by women who are slightly shorter, have a youthful appearance and exhibit features such as a symmetrical face, full breasts, full lips, and a low waist-hip ratio.^[8][9]

Determinants of male physical attractiveness

Facial features

Studies have shown that ovulating heterosexual women and homosexual men prefer faces with masculine traits associated with increased testosterone, such as heavy brows, prominent chins, heavy jaws, and broad cheekbones. Women who are in the late luteal or early follicular phases of the menstrual cycle (or those taking hormonal contraception) do not prefer masculine male faces.^[10][11][12] These are suggested to be a reliable indication of good health, or, alternatively, that dominant- and masculine-looking males are more likely to achieve high status.^[13] However, the correlation between attractive facial features and health has been questioned.^[14] Also, females tend to prefer different facial traits in short-term and long-term partners, and 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.^[15]

Symmetry

Symmetrical faces and bodies may be signs of good inheritance to women of child-bearing age seeking to create healthy offspring. Some studies suggested that women at peak fertility were more likely to fantasize about men with greater symmetry.^[16] Studies suggest women are more attracted to men with symmetrical features, while this symmetry has also been shown to correlate with other variables typically associated with masculinity, such as greater height, broader shoulders, and smaller hip-to-waist ratios.^[17] Facial and body symmetry may indicate good health, which is a desirable feature.^[17]

V-shaped torso and muscularity

The mesomorphic physique of a slim waist, broad shoulders and muscular chest are often found to be attractive.^[18] 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.^[19] A degree of hirsuteness and a waist-to-shoulder ratio of 0.6 is often preferred, when combined with a mesomorphic physique.^[20]

A normal level of the hormone testosterone is a possible indicator of good sexual health. In the absence of normal testosterone levels, a man may have reduced height and muscularity.

Height and erect posture

Females' sexual attraction towards males is sometimes partly determined by the height of the man.^[21] Height in men is associated with status in many cultures, which is beneficial to women romantically involved with them. This preference may have been passed on genetically.^[22] As a corollary, shorter men may be viewed as less attractive, all other things being equal, for casual and intended long-term relationships. 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 percent requested a height of 6 feet or taller.^[22] 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, over a man with above average height. Some sociologists theorize this may be because dominance is a sexually attractive characteristic of males, and a taller height subtly communicates dominance. Cosmopolitan Magazine published an article suggesting that women are most attracted to men who are 1.1 times their own height. The article also argued, on the basis of a survey of their readers, that women are statistically more likely to be attracted to men of average height when looking for long-term commitment, while the opposite is true when a short-term relationship is intended. In addition, the article claimed that women may have these different preferences for height depending on the phase of their menstrual cycle at the time.^[23] 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.^[24]

Additionally, women seem more receptive to an erect posture than men, though both prefer it as an element of beauty; this fact appears correlated to the preference for males who demonstrate confidence, physical strength, and a powerful bearing.^[22]

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.^[25][26] Another study found a moderate amount of trunk hair was most attractive, to the sample of British and Sri Lankan women. ^[20]

Variability in preferences

It has been shown that women prefer more masculine men during the fertile period of the menstrual cycle and more feminine men during other parts of the cycle.^[27] This distinction supports the sexy son hypothesis, which posits that it is evolutionarily advantageous for women to select potential fathers who are traditionally masculine rather than the best caregivers.^[28] Masculine facial features are characterized by a prominent chin, strong brow, a strong nose, pronounced mouth and lips, a high forehead and a prominent lower jaw whereas feminine features are less pronounced. According to one study, men with facial scars are more attractive to Western women seeking short-term relationships; this may be due to the perception that facial scars are a symbol of high testosterone and masculinity.^[29]

Determinants of female physical attractiveness

The determinants of female attractiveness include those features that display good health and fitness for reproduction and the sustenance of infants. These include the following correlates of fertility:

• Youth^[30]

• Waist-to-hip ratio^[31]

• Breast size^[32]

• Breast symmetry^[33]

• Body mass proportion^[34]

• Facial symmetry^[35][36]

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 .^[37]

Facial alignment

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."^[38] 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.^[38] The study found the "beauty of the female face ... is mathematically quantifiable."^[38]

Desired traits were large female eyes, small chin and nose, and these "infantlike features draw out in them the same caretaking response a baby would–they make a woman seem cute and adorable."^[38] Further, 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.^[38] One psychologist speculated there were two opposing principles of female beauty: prettiness and rarity. So average, symmetrical features is one ideal, while unusual, stand-out features is another.^[39] A study performed by the University of Toronto found that the most attractive facial dimensions were those found in the average female face. However, the study looked only at white women.^[40]

Signals of youth

Because female fecundity typically declines after the late twenties, youth is an important aspect of physical attractiveness.^[41] One study across 37 cultures showed men desire, on average, a woman 2.5 years younger than themselves for a wife, with men in Nigeria and Zambia at the far extreme, desiring their wives to be 6.5 to 7.5 years younger. As men age, they also desire a larger age gap from their mates.^[30] The reasons for this preference are currently debated.

This preference for youth has also led to a preference of neotenic and youthful-appearing features. High, firm breasts,^[42][43] or long and lustrous hair (or a combination of the three),^{[30][42][44][45][46]} full red lips,^[47][48][49] clear smooth skin, and clear eyes, are viewed as attractive in women.^[30]

Breast size

Full breasts may be attractive to some men in Western societies because women with higher breast to under-breast ratios typically have higher levels of the sex hormone, estradiol, which promotes fertility.^[50] Larger breasts also display the aging process more noticeably, hence they are a relatively reliable indicator of long-term fertility.^[51]

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.^[34] The BMI refers to the proportion of the body mass to the body structure. However, the optimal body proportion is interpreted 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.^[52][53] 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.^[53]

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, though when American men were independently asked to choose the female build most attractive to them, they (the men) chose figures of average build, indicating that women may be misled as to how thin men prefer women to be.^[53] Some speculate that thinness as a beauty standard is one way in which women judge each other.^[39] A reporter asked: "Why do women suffer to look like skeletons even when men don’t want them to?" and wondered whether "women's aesthetic judgments are so influenced by other women."^[39] The reporter surmised that thinness is prized among women as a "sign of independence, strength and achievement."^[39] Some implicated the fashion industry for the promulgation of the notion of thinness as attractive.^[54]

The attraction for a proportionate body also influences an appeal for erect posture.^[55]

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 attractiveness across cultures.^[53] Women with a 0.7 WHR (waist circumference that is 70% of the hip circumference) are usually rated as more attractive by men from European cultures. Such diverse beauty icons as Jessica Alba,^[56][57] Marilyn Monroe, Salma Hayek, Sophia Loren, and the Venus de Milo all have ratios around 0.7.^[58]

Marilyn Monroe "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."

In other cultures, preferences vary,^[59] ranging from 0.6 in China,^[60] to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa,^[61][62][63] and divergent preferences based on ethnicity, rather than nationality, have also been noted.^[64][65] The hourglass shape characterized by a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 has been described as attractive.^[66]

Height

Most men exhibit a preference for females of shorter physical stature than themselves.^[67][68] Women .7 to 1.7 standard deviations below the mean in height have been reported to be the most reproductively successful. One explanation for this observation is that since most men demonstrate a preference for women shorter than themselves, being shorter allows a woman access to a larger potential dating pool.^[67] 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.^[24]

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.^[69]

Prototypicality as beauty

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.^[70]

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."^[35] 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

Skin tone preference varies 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."^[71] A consequence of this is that, since higher-ranking men get to marry the more attractive women, the upper classes of a society generally tend to develop a lighter complexion than the lower classes by sexual selection (see also Fisherian runaway).^[72]

Contrasting this is the recent Western preference for tanned skin.^[73][74][75] Tanned skin has been shown in Western culture to be viewed both as more attractive and more healthy than pale skin.^[76]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.^[77]

In eastern parts of Asia, including Southeast Asia, a preference for lighter skin remains prevalent.^[78] This is not a recent development, and in China, for example, can be traced back to ancient drawings depicting women and goddesses with fair skin tones. Western culture has been credited with reinforcing this ideal as advertisements featuring Western models and light-skinned Asians associated paleness with social class. In East Asia in particular, fair skin is associated with beauty and youth, since skin darkens with exposure to the sun and aging. Thus, skin whitening cosmetic products are popular in East Asia. Despite the risks of skin damage and skin cancer, 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.^[78]

The perception of beauty can be influenced by racial stereotypes about skin color; the African American journalist Jill Nelson wrote that "to be both prettiest and black was impossible"^[79] and elaborated:

As a girl and young woman, hair, body, and color were society's trinity in determining female beauty and identity, the cultural and value-laden gang of three that formed the boundaries and determined the extent of women's visibility, influence, and importance. For the most part, they still are. We learn as girls that in ways both subtle and obvious, personal and political, our value as females is largely determined by how we look. As we enter womanhood, the pervasive power of this trinity is demonstrated again and again in how we are treated by the men we meet, the men we work for, the men who wield power, how we treat each other and, most of all, ourselves. For black women, the domination of physical aspects of beauty in women's definition and value render us invisible, partially erased, or obsessed, sometimes for a lifetime, since most of us lack the major talismans of Western beauty. Black women find themselves involved in a lifelong effort to self-define in a culture that provides them no positive reflection.^[79]

Gender differences on importance of physical attractiveness

Studies generally show that men on average place greater emphasis on physical attractiveness than women do, with women being more attracted to personality-based traits by comparison.^[1] 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.^{[80][81][82][83]}

Social effects of attractiveness

When a person is seen as attractive or unattractive, 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.^[84][85] But 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.^[86]

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.^[87] 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 incidents of depression.^[88]

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.^[84][85][89]

Both men and women use physical attractiveness as a measure of how 'good' another person is.^[90] Some have proposed that discrimination against or prejudice towards others based on their appearance should be referred to as Lookism.

Some researchers conclude that little difference exists between men and women in terms of sexual behavior.^[91][92] 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.^[93] Additionally, they have the most reproductive success. Therefore, their physical characteristics are most likely to be inherited by future generations.^{[94][95][96][97]}

Columnist Maureen Dowd thought that the feminist movement would have changed the rules regarding beauty, but concluded after forty years that "the ideal of feminine beauty is more rigid and unnatural than ever" and she still felt imprisoned by the "tyranny of the girdled, primped ideal of the 50's."^[98] She wrote:

What I don't like now is that the young women rejecting the feminist movement are dressing alike, looking alike and thinking alike. The plumage is more colorful, the shapes are more curvy, the look is more plastic, the message is diametrically opposite - before it was don't be a sex object; now it's be a sex object - but the conformity is just as stifling.^[98]

Embracing ugliness

Abraham Lincoln was characterized as "ugly", but his appearance also generated sympathy and support.^[99]

Physical ugliness is the subjective perception that a person is aesthetically unattractive or repulsive.^[100] 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.^[101] 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.^[101] 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."^[99] The Israeli statesman and military leader Moshe Dayan was facially disfigured fighting fascists 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."^[102] 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

• Adornment
• Body proportions
• Body shape
• Erotic capital
• Female body shape
• Human physical appearance
• Sexual attraction
• Sexual fetishes

Notes

References and bibliography

External links

• "Science gives beauty some of its mystery back—for now". world-science.net. December 22, 2007. http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/071222_beauty.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
• The Bikini Effect Makes Men Impulsive
• It's Not Always Smooth Sailing For The Physically Attractive
• Beauty Is Bad
• Why I Like to Hire Ugly People