Most people would prefer to believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but evolutionary psychology tells a different story. In reality, everyone is likely to gravitate toward certain physical and material characteristics that make some people more desirable than others. These preferences exist for one basic reason: biological reproduction.
All in the Brain
Studies show that certain physical characteristics stimulate the brain’s hypothalamus, leading to elevated heart rate, perspiration, and feelings of sexual arousal. What leads to this response? Perhaps the most obvious is a youthful appearance, which is linked to reproductive capacity. Our ancestors found evidence of this in two ways, through “features of physical appearance, such as full lips, clear and smooth skin, clear eyes, lustrous hair, and good muscle tone” and through “features of behaviour, such as a bouncy, youthful gait and animated facial expressions.” [1]
Male Preferences
Cross-cultural studies have shown that men, regardless of their culture or country of origin, find similar traits attractive. Male preferences are biologically and evolutionarily programmed to find signs of youth and health attractive, so as to seek females that are best suited to carry on their genes.
Scientists have also discovered that scent plays an important role in the sexual attraction of males to females. At certain points during the menstrual cycle, women produce more or less estrogen, and accordingly, their scent is more or less appealing to men. Research shows that estrogen triggers blood flow to the hypothalamus in the male, but not the female, brain.
Female Preferences
Women are similarly attracted to men for what they have to offer in terms of reproduction. They are “judicious, prudent, and discerning about the men they consent to mate because they have so many valuable reproductive resources to offer.” [1]
While males produce sperm by the thousands, females only produce about 400 eggs in their entire lifetime. In addition, the process of pregnancy and child-rearing is long and risky, so preferences are based on the potential security and longevity of the relationship.
Physical strength is also important, indicating that the male is a good hunter and provider for a family. However, material success is not only desirable, but generosity as well. Women are attracted to more generous men as this is an indication of future treatment, of whether a male will share or withhold his resources from a female and their offspring.
1. Buss, David M. The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
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