What is beauty?
“In all the arts, something is being explored
that has to do with beauty” – David Trubridge
Beauty can be
defined as a characteristic that ‘provides a perceptual experience of pleasure
or satisfaction’, but what really is the meaning of beauty? Why is it that we
find some people attractive and others unattractive, and why does the concept
of beauty play such an important role in our lives?
Many scientific
studies have been carried out in order to discover what it is that makes
someone attractive and the reasoning behind it. One of the greatest links that
has been found to explain what makes someone attracted to someone else is the
link between attractiveness and evolution; the concepts of what we find attractive
often lie behind what we look for in a partner and what characteristics will be
beneficially passed on to our offspring. It has been found that our
subconscious brains look for desirable traits that we wish to pass on to our
offspring so that they may have a higher probability of finding a mate and
consequently reproducing.
Results have also
shown that one of the key ideas behind the science of beauty is the idea of
symmetry; a face which consists of a high degree of symmetry is often seen as
more attractive than one where the features may be slightly distorted.
According to a study carried out at the University of Louisville, where a group
of individuals were shown pictures of people of different ethnicity they all
showed the same general preferences – that which showed the highest rate of
symmetry. A superficial formula has been
created that show the ideal proportions for a female face, including:
- Eyes should be 1/5 the width of the face
- Chin should have a length 1/5 the height of the
face
- Lip edges should line up with the pupil of the
eye, no thicker that the closed eyelids
- The nose area should be less than 5% of the area
of the whole face, with the bridge of the nose extended straight.
These features are
often seen as what makes people beautiful and any deviations, such as a crooked
nose, disrupt this perception of beauty.
It has also been
demonstrated that men are attracted to features that signal youth, including
full lips and a good muscle tone. Features that represent good health such as
clear and smooth skin are also seen of as desirable.
Many studies have
been conducted in order to comprehend the question of what beauty means. These
include studies of what causes a person to be attracted to someone else, and
what influences this attraction. Studies at Stockholm University have proposed
the idea that our attraction to other people is caused by hormones that we are
exposed to both in the uterus and also when going through puberty. Studies from
the University of Montreal have also shown that we are generally attracted to
people who both look and smell like our own parents; this theory has been proven
with a study at the University of Chicago where a ‘fragrance test’ was taken to
see what smells people were most attracted to and the majority chose ones that
had vast similarities to their parents.
How does being beautiful affect day-to-day life?
The way we look
affects us from birth; as of the day we are bought into the world we are judged
on our appearance, from being treated differently as babies through to the
careers that we pursue in later life. Studies have shown that children who are
thought to be less attractive often get less attention in class than their
attractive counter parts. They also receive fewer awards and gain less approval
from parents. Later in life beauty may even stretch to saving someone’s life,
as you are about 20% more likely to be assisted by strangers in an emergency if
you are attractive.
Most advantages associated
with beauty can be explained by the ‘Halo Effect’. This is a theory of when a
beautiful person is thought to be better in some way by those who don’t know
them, due merely to their appearance. Their attractiveness may lead to the
assumption that they are more desirable, confident, competent, trustworthy or
likeable. These perceived traits have a
range of effects, from being paid more to receiving lighter court sentences.
Those considered beautiful are more likely to get promotions, as they are generally
more persuasive. This may be due to a greater self-confidence, or any bias, due
to the ‘Halo Effect’. However, companies with an attractive executive have
actually been proven to have higher sales (according to a study conducted on
300 Dutch advertising agencies), so these seemingly unreasonable promotions are
actually to an extent beneficial and can therefore be somewhat justified.
There are few
negative assumptions associated with beauty and they tend to stem from
jealousy. This is especially common between people of the same sex, who are
seen as rivals when trying to find a mate. People may see those who are more
attractive as less talented, more materialistic, snobbish, vain and shallow. However
no studies have ever been carried out to support these ideas. There is also the
“dumb blonde” stereotype, although it is thought that those with symmetrical
bodies (also linked with beauty), are more intelligent.
While generally
it is presumed that if you are more attractive, you are more likely to find a
mate, beauty may also carry certain disadvantages. Some beautiful people
struggle to attain satisfaction or settle on one person, as they have too many
choices, and so just one person may never be good enough.
Beauty and the body
When it comes to
the body, most of what is considered attractive is down to evolution. Desirable
bodies are ones which we, normally subconsciously, think will be best for
reproduction and passing on our genes. This is where the stereotype of all men liking
women with large breasts, slim bodies and wide hips come from (these form the
ideal hour glass figure). Large breasts indicate an ability to feed offspring,
and slim bodies are a suggestion of fitness and general health. The most
attractive bodies have a waist-to-hip ratio of 7:9, as wide hips help reduce
problems when giving birth. However, these body ideals vary from country to
country. In Brazil they prefer “small breasts and big derrieres, whereas
Americans want big chests” according to the well-known plastic surgeon, Dr Ivo
Pitanguay. In areas where food is scarce, or in the past in Britain, the larger
you are, the more attractive you are considered to be, which contrasts with the
size zero culture found in Britain and America today. These disparities, like the comings and goings
of beards throughout the ages, are thought to reflect cultural variations and
fashions.
As with facial
symmetry, body symmetry is considered most attractive. It is considered an
indicator of social dominance, fitness and overall health. Body symmetry, along
with general attractiveness has been linked to intelligence according to
Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist.
An overall conclusion can be drawn that
beauty stems generally from symmetry and the idea of ‘normal sized’ features,
which are generally perceived as more desirable.
‘If vanity is not our chief feature, it is at least our
secondary feature’ – Robert Burton
However while the
impacts of beauty are widespread, and the influence it has on life is
substantial, it is crucial that we, as a species, do not let our lives be run
by our appearance. Beauty is only one factor of what makes us attractive and in
its very nature cannot be studied; the research of this topic therefore is not
the study of beauty, merely the study of conventional attractiveness.
Emily Lauterpacht and Lauren Carter
