Shape and Significance of Feminine Beauty: An Evolutionary Perspective

Abstract

Evolutionary and feminist perspectives on female beauty are compatible in some respects, such as the oppressive and destructive outcomes for women as a consequence of the importance attached to female beauty. The perspectives tend to differ on the issue of the origins of (some) beauty standards. Evolutionary scientists have proposed that beauty is a reliable cue for women's health and fertility. However, as the factors regulating health and reproductive capabilities cannot be directly observed, sexual selection has fashioned psychological adaptations to attend to bodily features that are correlated with health and fertility. It is proposed that people resonate to such bodily features and find them attractive. One such bodily feature in women is gynoid body distribution (i.e., femalenormative body shape in which fat distribution is concentrated around hips and thighs). Gynoid body fat distribution is measured by the ratio of waist and hips circumferences (WHR). In this paper we summarize empirical evidence showing that WHR is an independent predictor for risks for major diseases, optimal hormonal profile, and reproductive capabilities. Next, we present findings from studies that demonstrate systematic variations in the size of WHR produce systematic changes in judgment of female attractiveness within diverse societies throughout the world. Such widespread appeal of low WHR suggests that people have evolved mental mechanisms to judge body features indicative of good health as attractive, meaning that some standards of beauty are not arbitrary or constructed. We conclude that a better understanding and appreciation of the beauty-health linkage can be empowering to women.

Lumbar curvature: a previously undiscovered standard of attractiveness

“…This view contrasts with evidence from non-human species that an organism's attractiveness as a mate is linked to traits that help solve adaptive challenges related to survival and reproduction (Norris, 1993;Petrie, 1994;Birkhead & Fletcher, 1995;Stacey, Eileen, Rebecca, & Kevin, 2011). We report independent studies testing the overarching proposal that human standards of attractiveness reflect the output of evolved psychological mechanisms designed to detect fitness-relevant traits (Symons, 1995;Thornhill & Gangestad, 1999;Gangestad & Scheyd, 2005;Sugiyama, 2005;Singh & Singh, 2011). Specifically, we tested novel hypotheses based on an adaptive challenge uniquely faced by ancestral hominin females: a bipedal fetal load.…”

Women gaze behaviour in assessing female bodies: the effects of clothing, body size, own body composition and body satisfaction

“…Indeed, factors such as body mass index (BMI), body fat and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have been shown to correlate with attractiveness judgements (Singh, 1993;Tovée, Reinhardt, Emery, & Cornelissen, 1998;Weeden & Sabini, 2005), and are predictive of both health and fertility (Singh & Singh, 2011). For instance, slender figures with a low WHR and large breasts are often rated as more attractive and considered for relationships (Singh & Young, 1995), furthermore these features have been shown to correlate with high fecundity as measured by levels of sex hormones (Jasieńska, Ziomkiewicz, Ellison, Lipson, & Thune, 2004).…”

The Relationships of Assertiveness and Responsiveness to Sexual Behavior

“…This is because body attractiveness is an important fitness-enhancing features, which signal health (e.g., lower rates of mortality and heart disease), social status, genetic quality (e.g., high physical symmetry), and fertility and are preferred as mates (Puts, Welling, Burriss, & Dawood, 2012;Singh & Singh, 2011;Welborn, Dhaliwal, & Bennett, 2003;Zaadstra et al, 1993). Thus, we examined the possible interaction effects of assertiveness and responsiveness on body attractiveness, as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for women and shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR) for men.…”

“…2D:4D is a sexually dimorphic trait that is influenced by the level of T relative to estrogen (E) in utero, as males tend to have lower 2D:4D, indicating higher T relative to E, than females (Lutchmaya, Baron-Cohen, Raggatt, Knickmeyer, & Manning, 2004;Manning, 2002). The surge of gonadal steroids at puberty affects the body shapes, with higher T/E ratios in men and women with higher WHR and SHR (Carranza-Lira, Velasco Diaz, Olivares, Chan Verdugo, & Herrera, 2006;Kasperk, Wakley, Hierl, & Ziegler, 1997;Singh & Singh, 2011). FA, an indicator of the developmental imprecision, also partially show the influence of sex hormones, with higher E levels in women with low finger FA than those with high finger FA (Jasienska, Lipson, Ellison, Thune, & Ziomkiewicz, 2006).…”

“…With regard to sexual behavior, attractive body shapes (high SHR in men and low WHR in women) and low FA, a marker of better genetic and phenotypic quality, predicted mate preferences and sexual behavior including earlier first sexual experiences, more lifetime sex partners, and higher sexual infidelity than their counterparts (Dijkstra & Buunk, 2001;Gangestad & Thornhill, 1997;Hughes & Gallup, 2003;Møller & Swaddle, 1997;Singh & Singh, 2011;Thornhill & Gangestad, 1994). Right 2D:4D (not left) was negatively associated with number of sex partners in college men (Honekopp, Manning, & Muller, 2006) and higher sociosexuality scores, indicating higher interested in casual sex and short-term relationships, in college women (Clark, 2004) although other studies did not find significant associations (Putz, Gaulin, Sporter, & McBurney, 2004;Rahman, Korhonen, & Aslam, 2005).…”