Feminine Beauty

[A_Wanderer]

Feminine beauty, the subject of philosophical and artistic musings for millennia, can be predicted by something as basic as hormones – in women, but not men. Researchers at the University of St Andrews in Fife, UK, have found that women’s facial attractiveness is directly related to their oestrogen levels.

Miriam Law Smith and colleagues photographed 59 women, aged between 18 and 25, every week for six weeks. On each occasion, they provided a urine sample for hormone analysis and gave information on where they were in their menstrual cycle. None of the women wore make-up, nor were they taking the contraceptive pill.

The researchers then selected the photograph of each woman that had been taken at the time of her highest urine-oestrogen level. As expected, this correlated to the point of ovulation in the women’s menstrual cycles. These photographs were rated by 14 men and 15 women, also aged 18 to 25, for attractiveness, health and femininity.

The group also rated two composite face images. One composite was an amalgamation of the 10 women with the lowest peak-oestrogen levels, while the other image was a combination of the 10 women with the highest levels (see image).

link

Alright and the composite image of the top 10 lowest and highest oestrogen level pictures is here

Now it is interesting that if I look closely I notice that skin tone and complexion, jawline, nose (interestingly not as much a fan of left nose on that count ~ left nose looks like it has a wider bridge).

Now right composite has a more pale complexion but also has a thinner jaw and apparently higher cheekbones, now it is interesting if you start to look at pictures of supermodels and the attributes you see there (while varied) can show features closer to right composite and then there the whole height thing. Also thinking along the lines of Sigourney Weaver, Glen Close as examples that don't match the LHS results.

Also interesting how makeup removed any statisticly significant correlations, makeup can obviously be a good thing ~ and in the case of composites it would have been in overall complexion.

I am reminded by that quote David S. Cohen quoted but couldn't remember who said it that *"there is no greater beauty than a face of imperfection". There may be an element of truth at play in perceptions of beauty, which are obviously tempered by cultural biases.

But then again the Greeks had formulas for beauty that looked at the geometry of it. I think that there are certain proportions that are aesthetically pleasing for instance Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren and Monica Belluci.

From an evolutionary perspective the benefits of higher oestrogen are linked to fertility so natural selection favours higher oestrogen in females. But that is offset by other factors, I wonder what genetic components control femininity and what behavioural effects come into play into it.

*Found the quote, Francis Bacon ~ "There is no excellent beauty which hath not some strangeness in the proportion".

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

is there one for male beauty?

 

[melon]

is there one for male beauty?

I've read that feminine features are preferred in both sexes. Particularly "manly" men and women are considered less attractive, which could possibly be why the "manly" men have an archetypical track record of being very misogynist and homophobic. Who knows.

Melon

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Then what about this estrogen theory? Not to be a grump , but I have a problem w/ some theory that correlates womens' beauty to when they are ovulating..seems like it could be a bit sexist to me. What would be the equivalent for men?

I think people are at their most beautiful when their faces reflect their inner beauty, I know that's incredibly corny..perfection is boring, and fleeting

 

[yolland]

Asymmetrical men 'are a turn-off'

Women whose partners have asymmetrical bodies are turned off by them and attracted to other men at certain times of the month, a US study suggests.

This is not down to conscious choice, but is related to survival of the fittest and a desire to pass healthy genes to offspring, say the authors. When a woman is fertile near ovulation her partner preference shifts, the New Mexico University team found. The study of 54 couples appears in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.

Researchers have already noted that women tend to be more attracted to men who have good symmetry, with the suggestion that this means they have "better" genes to pass on to offspring.

However, it is not always possible for a female to attract the most desirable male and some will settle for less but then seek out the genes they want by sleeping around, animal studies have found. (Males, by contrast, simply go for women younger than their current partner, to enhance their reproductive success.) This so-called "extra-pair copulation" peaks around the time that the female is most fertile.

Dr Steven Gangestad and colleagues reasoned that a woman's interest around the time of ovulation would depend on the qualities of their partner - if the partner had good symmetry she would not be tempted to look elsewhere for a mate.

The team recruited 54 heterosexual couples to take part in their study. All of the women were aged between 18 and 44 and were ovulating normally - none were taking the oral contraceptive pill. The women were asked to report on their sexual attraction to and fantasies about both their partners and other men at different times of the month, including both fertile and non-fertile days.

The researchers then compared the ratings with the symmetrical qualities of the partners' different body parts, such as ear length and width.

The women did report greater attraction to their own partners than to other men overall. Attraction also peaked around ovulation time. But, at this time many of the women whose partners were asymmetrical tended to fantasize and become attracted to men other than their partner. Women with symmetrical partners generally did not.

Dr Nick Neave, a psychologist at Northumbria University, said the findings made sense and backed what was already known about human attraction. "Females, like males, are always looking to enhance their reproductive success by trading upwards. They are always on the lookout for males with better genes or that have high social status/wealth as both enhance their reproductive success - offspring have better genes or access to better resources, both of which enhance their future reproductive success."

 

[Liesje]

I don't have time to read the entire first post yet, but speaking for myself, I think I feel and look more/less "beautiful" during certain times of the month. Sometimes I have a bit of hormone related acne and also I tend to look more tired and stressed (under the eyes) b/c of moodiness or mild depression related to my cycle.

 

[verte76]

How good I look, for me, really does depend on what kind of mood I'm in when I look at myself in the mirror. And that's all I know. I'm in a whole bunch of different moods all the time.

 

[nbcrusader]

Interesting objective observation. I doubt that a male partner realized the visual difference during the scope of the study.

 

[martha]

I miss ovulation. I was always so nice and horny during that time. Every man I saw offered something attractive to me during ovulation.

 

[martha]

So is the left comp. high or low?

 

[AvsGirl41]

Hmm. No one notices me no matter what time of the month it is.

I always knew it was my pheromones. I'm so out of the gene pool.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

left is cute

 

[Muggsy]

Then what about this estrogen theory? Not to be a grump , but I have a problem w/ some theory that correlates womens' beauty to when they are ovulating..seems like it could be a bit sexist to me. What would be the equivalent for men?

I think people are at their most beautiful when their faces reflect their inner beauty, I know that's incredibly corny..perfection is boring, and fleeting

well... but any of us can't deny that humans are still influenced by our own biological processes (like any living being). I think that we can talk about inner beauty (and I believe in its existence) cuz we know about our own existence, we have a conscience and we have an intelligence that allow us to turn all the things into symbols so we can interact with the world and other human beings beyond the material level.

 

[nbcrusader]

Hmm. No one notices me no matter what time of the month it is.

They are probably too freightened to approach you...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

They are probably too frightened to approach you...

I guess some men are intimidated by an intelligent woman, no matter what her estrogen level is at any particular time..

AvsGirl is intelligent and also very cute and pretty, I don't get it.

 

[dandy]

I guess some men are intimidated by an intelligent woman, no matter what her estrogen level is at any particular time..

sad but true.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

sad but true.

lol, I like that smiley

yeah that must be my problem too

hey Bill Maher says men just want women to shut up, so I guess I better start doing just that..shut up and get that estrogen going

 

[dandy]

pfft, i think you're fabulous just the way you are.

about bill maher's thoughts, looks like i'm going to be single for a long time.

 

[hiphop]

there are also men who will go for intelligent women by their side ...just for the record.