Secular changes in standards of bodily attractiveness in women: Tests of a reproductive model

✍ Scribed by Barber, Nigel

• Book ID: 101263380
• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 24 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199805)23:4<449::aid-eat14>3.0.co;2-r

✦ Synopsis

Objective: Since success at work is favored by a more slender body build while reproduction is favored by curvaceousness, standards of women's bodily attractiveness should be predictable from economic and reproductive variables. Method: This hypothesis was tested in a replication and extension of a study by Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, Vogel, and Fantini (1986) which looked at correlates of curvaceousness of Vogue models over time. Results: As economic prosperity increased, and as women's participation in the economy, and higher education, increased, curvaceousness of the standards declined. As the proportion of single women to men, both aged 20-24 years, increased, and as the birth rate declined, curvaceousness was reduced. Discussion: Results suggest that cultural standards of attractiveness are influenced by an evolved psychology of mate selection.