Attractiveness of Leg Length: Report From 27 Nations

Abstract

The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is a morphological index that has been shown to influence a person’s attractiveness. In our research, 3,103 participants from 27 nations rated the physical attractiveness of seven male and seven female silhouettes varying in LBR. We found that male and female silhouettes with short and excessively long legs were perceived as less attractive across all nations. Hence, the LBR may significantly influence perceptions of physical attractiveness across nations.

Are Preferences for Legs Length Universal? Data From a Semi-Nomadic Himba Population From Namibia

“…Both of these results imply that the average values are least disliked, which is consistent with the finding that the average values were most liked. This result is similar to preferences observed in other cultures (Sorokowski et al, 2011).…”

“…Generally, the present preference seems to be Downloaded by [Harvard Library] at 22:19 26 December 2014 376 The Journal of Social Psychology for a value lower than in previous research (Sorokowski et al, 2011). What is even more interesting, the present results show that relatively high LBR is a marker of attractiveness rather for men than women.…”

“…Sorokowski et al, 2011). For example, research that incorporated the same stimuli (Sorokowski & Pawlowski, 2008) demonstrated a preference for +5% LBR in both male and female silhouettes.…”

“Drawing” Conclusions About Perceptions of Ideal Male and Female Body Shapes

“…The current study replicated patterns found in previous research concerning other morphological trait preferences, with a few small differences from the specific values documented via stimulus sets. The traits that showed the greatest discrepancy (e.g., LBR of 0.43 vs. 0.50; Sorokowski et al 2011;Swami et al 2006) tended to be those that have been researched the least; thus, no specific value has yet been corroborated by multiple studies. Another reason for discrepancies could be that the most attractive value for a given trait might fall between the discrete intervals typically used in stimulus set research (e.g., WSR of 0.50, 0.55, 0.60, and 0.65; Dixson et al 2003), a constraint that has been eliminated in the current study.…”

“…Another trait that has been manipulated within stimulus sets is leg length or leg-to-body ratio (LBR), which represents the proportion of an individual's height that is accounted for by the legs (Swami et al 2006). Average (i.e., approximately 0.50) to slightly above-average LBR is considered maximally attractive for male and female figures (e.g., Sorokowski et al 2011;Swami et al 2006) possibly because low LBR signals poor cardiovascular health and interruptions in growth during development (Davey Smith et al 2001;Gunnell et al 2003).…”