The classical interpretation of physical attractiveness was that physical attractiveness is just arbitrary, it's in the eye of the beholder, beauty is skin deep, that kind of stuff. And what research has shown is that that is absolutely wrong. In fact, beauty is the promise of function in terms of the health of the individual, and function in terms of the ability to deal effectively with environments that are hostile -- environments of our evolutionary past.
--Randy Thornhill, interview for the PBS series Evolution, 2001
You can never be too rich or too thin.
--Anonymous
There is no evolutionary precedent for the slim ideal. Matter of fact, selection should work against such a preference. It has been known for some time that women with eating disorders suffer disruptions in fertility and reproduction ... Extreme thinness is a fashion, a fashion set by the highest social classes, as most fashions are. Our bodies reflect not only Darwinian forces, which impel us to reproduce, but cultural ones.
--Nancy Etcoff, Survival of the Prettiest, 1999
Did Cyrano de Bergerac woo Roxanne with displays of a "healthy" intellect? Some evolutionary psychologists might argue so.
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British model "Twiggy," at the peak of her career, weighed 92 pounds. In other cultures, fat is fashionable -- and considered a sign of prosperity.
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Huge "pecs" and broad chests are more for show than fending off predators today, but they may have helped our ancestors thrive.
Can a woman detect the scent of a man who can help her bear healthy offspring? One study suggests she can.
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