1. BIOLOGY AND SCIENCE OF
BEAUTY
BY: NSUBUGA IVAN
BMS/12264/182/DU
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2. INTRODUCTION
• Human nature is to a large extent universal.
• This includes certain beauty standards and the ways in which males
and females interact.
• Esp Sexual selection wic is concerned with ‘the advantages that
certain individuals have over others of the same sex and species, in
exclusive relation to reproduction’ (Darwin, 1871).
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3. What is sexual selection and why is it important
for judgments of human beauty standards?
• Sexual selection arises from sexual competition among individuals for
access to mates.
• It has given rise to the evolution of such bizarre traits as the antlers of
stags, the horns of antelopes, the tail of the peacock (Pavo cristatus),
bird song, frog croaks, and the extravagant colours of many fish and
birds.
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4. Continua……….
• Darwin in his 1871 treatise was the first person to realize the
explanation for the evolution.
• The maintenance of these bizarre traits that obviously do not
enhance the survival prospects of individuals and therefore cannot be
explained by natural selection.
• On the contrary, extravagant secondary sexual characters are costly,
often reduce survival prospects and can only be maintained by sexual
selection.
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5. Continua………..
• Two mechanisms are involved in sexual selection:
1. Mate competition btwn individuals of the chosen sex, usually males, for
access to females→resulted in the evolution of weaponry such as antlers
and horns, but also increases in mere male size that provides some
individuals with an advantage over others for access to females
2. Mate choice by individuals of the choosy sex, usually females→resulted in
the evolution of many bizarre traits such as the tail of the peacock, beautiful
coloration in birds and fish and many kinds of bird vocalizations (Andersson,
1994)
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6. Continua………….
• Humans are not much different from other organisms by having
evolved sexual size dimorphism due to male–male competition.
• ˃90% of all same-sex homicide involves men in their early twenties
when mate competition is intense (Daly & Wilson, 1988)],
musculature and other features due to the effects of testosterone at
puberty, and female breasts and facial beauty due to the effects of
oestrogens and male choice.
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7. Continua…………..
• Extravagant secondary sexual xtics in other species are considered to
be beautiful by humans and perhaps also by animals in general.
• If both non-human animals and humans find similar structures
attractive, the likely reason is that animal and human psychologies
have evolved to perceive and become agitated by and interested in
these impressions.
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8. Continua……….
• Sugar is only perceived to be sweet by humans coz the pleasant and
powerful feeling of sweetness during our evolutionary past has been
shaped by the benefits that we obtained in terms of energy and
nutrition from eating fruits.
• In the same way, particular features of faces of women and particular
proportions of waists and hips are only considered to be beautiful
bcoz our ancestors with such preferences left more healthy offspring
than the individuals in the population without the preferences.
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9. SEXUAL SELECTION AND WHY BEAUTY
MATTERS
• Sexual selection can work in a no. of different ways because sexual
signals may provide different kinds of information to potential
receivers.
• Human evolutionary psychological studies across a wide range of
cultures have shown that in consideration of mates men rank female
beauty higher than women rank male looks, while women rank male
resources higher than men rank female resources (Buss, 1994).
• Female beauty signals youth, fertility and health while male
resources signal male competitive ability and health.
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10. ATTRACTIVENESS AND PHYSICAL FEATURES
• Physical attractiveness is the degree to which a person's physical
features are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful.
• Men tend to be attracted to women who have a youthful appearance
and exhibit features such as a symmetrical face, full breasts, full lips,
and a low waist–hip ratio.
• Women tend to be attracted to men who are taller than they
themselves are and who display a high degree of facial
symmetry, masculine facial dimorphism, upper body strength, broad
shoulders, a relatively narrow waist, and a V-shaped torso
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11. Facial features
Research found that, in comparison with the reference group, the
attractive adolescents tended to have the following xtics:
• Ratio between the volume of the forehead and that of the total face
was larger
• Nasal volume was smaller
• The distance between outer canthi was larger
• Total facial height and depth were reduced
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13. 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 less attracted to men with asymmetrical
faces.
• Symmetrical faces correlate with long term mental performance and
are an indication that a man has experienced "fewer genetic and
environmental disturbances such as diseases, toxins, malnutrition or
genetic mutations" while growing.
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14. Body scent
• Double-blind studies found that women prefer the scent of men who
are rated as facially attractive.
• E.g, both males and females were more attracted to the natural scent
of individuals who had been rated by consensus as facially attractive.
• 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.
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15. Youthfulness
• A 2010 OkCupid study on 200,000 of its male and female dating site
users found that women are, except those during their early to mid-
twenties, open to relationships with both somewhat older and
somewhat younger men; they have a larger potential dating pool than
men until age 26.
• At age 20, women, in a "dramatic change", begin sending private
messages to significantly older men. At age 29, they become "even
more open to older men".
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16. Continua……..
• Male desirability to women peaks in the late 20s and does not fall
below the average for all men until 36.Other research indicates that
women, irrespective of their own age, are attracted to men who are
the same age or older
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17. Leg-to-body ratio
• Leg-to-body ratio is seen as an indicator of physical attractiveness but
there appears to be no single accepted definition of leg-length: the
'perineum-to-floor' measure is the most frequently used, but
arguably the distance from the ankle bone to the outer hip bone is
more rigorous.
• With the latter metric, the most attractive male leg-to-body ratio
(judged by American women) is 1:1
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18. Genitalia
• A 2006 study of 25,594 men found that "men who perceived
themselves as having a large penis were more satisfied with their own
appearance.
• Women on average preferred the 6.5-inch (17 cm) penis in length
both for long-term and for one-time partners. Penises with larger
girth were preferred for one-time partners.
• Evidence from various cultures suggests that heterosexual men tend
to find the sight of women's genitalia to be sexually arousing.
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19. Skin color
• Manual laborers who spent extended periods of time outside
developed a darker skin tone due to exposure to the sun.
• Thus, an association btwn dark skin and the lower classes developed.
Light skin became an aesthetic ideal bcoz it symbolized wealth. “
• Over time society attached various meanings to these colored
differences. Including assumptions about a person's race,
socioeconomic class, intelligence, and physical attractiveness.
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20. Hands
• The type of hands that are physically attractive are those with longer
index and ring fingers.
• Men have a smaller index-to-ring-finger ratio than women. Maybe
influenced by exposure to testosterone within the womb.
• In a study where participants were shown computer-based images of
hands, male participants found feminine hands with a smaller index
finger less attractive. Whereas females found masculine hands with a
longer ring finger more attractive.
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21. Continua…………
• The study suggests that finger length has an effect on physical
attraction bcoz it gives indication of the desirable sex-hormone
dependent traits which one may possess.
• The healthier-looking the skin on the hands, the more attractive they
appear. Reasons given for this say skin health may reflect an
individual's overall health.
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22. Height
• Females' sexual attraction towards males may be determined by
the height of the man.
• The online dating Website eHarmony only matches women with men
taller than themselves, because of complaints from women matched
with shorter men.
• Other studies have shown that heterosexual women often prefer men
taller than they are, rather than a man with above average height
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23. Continua………
• Professor Adam Eyre-Walker, from the University of Sussex, has stated
that there is, as yet, no evidence that these preferences are
evolutionary preferences, as opposed to merely cultural preferences.
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24. Body language
Standing postures
• Standing in a contrapposto posture (with bodyweight predominantly
supported by one leg which is either straight, or very slightly bent,
and with the other leg slightly bent) has been found to be more
attractive looking than standing in a more plain, upright posture.
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25. Continua………
Movement patterns
• A study reflecting the views of 700 individuals and that involved
animated representations of people walking, found that the physical
attractiveness of women increased by about 50 percent when they
walked with a hip sway.
• Similarly, the perceived attractiveness of males doubled when they
moved with a swagger in their shoulders
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26. References
• Grammer, K., Fink, B., Møller, A. P., & Thornhill, R. (2003). Darwinian
aesthetics: sexual selection and the biology of beauty. Biological
reviews, 78(3), 385-407.
• Grammer K, Thornhill R (October 1994). "Human (Homo sapiens) facial
attractiveness and sexual selection: the role of symmetry and
averageness". Journal of Comparative Psychology. 108 (3): 233–
42. doi:10.1037/0735-7036.108.3.233. PMID 7924253. S2CID 1205083.
Retrieved May 4, 2019
• Zeigler-Hill V, L M Welling L, Shackelford TK (2015). Evolutionary
Perspectives on Social Psychology. United States: Springer Science+Business
Media. p. 329. ISBN 978-3-319-12697-5. ...why, despite broad agreement,
we see a wide variety of personal preferences
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