Sex Appeal

Animal magnetism. That certain je ne sais quoi. Whatever you call it, sex appeal has some serious scientific backing.

No matter which branch of science you subscribe to, we have it on good authority that sexual attraction comes down to a primal human quest: to reproduce and nurture healthy offspring. Levels of attractiveness, and what both men and women consider attractive in each other, appear to be a function of both evolution and psychology.

Of course, every man and woman has their unique taste, but an overwhelming number of studies show that our biological need to procreate leads most of us to pick mates who have certain physical traits over those who don’t. These physical characteristics stimulate the brain’s hypothalamus, leading to elevated heart rate, perspiration and feelings of sexual arousal.

It is also a chemical state, with six or seven hormones at play. ‘Being on drugs is like falling in love (or vice versa),’ says Prof Rob Brooks, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of NSW and author of Sex, Genes and Rock ‘n’ Roll: How Evolution Has Shaped The Modern World.

Perhaps the most obvious physical trait that arouses attraction is a youthful appearance, which is linked to reproductive capacity. In humans, mate ‘value’ therefore declines with age, beginning in early adulthood. It follows, then, that we are naturally inclined to enhance our appearance.

But what attracts a man to a woman fundamentally differs from what women seek in a male partner. ‘In virtually all of the human populations sampled, males rated physical attractiveness (usually associated with youth) significantly more important in mate choice than females did,’ says Australian evolutionary anthropologist Sean McBride.

‘Females, by contrast, mostly rated earning potential and ambition-cum-industriousness as more important factors when choosing a mate.’ In other words, the attractiveness of the man is directly linked to his skills and prowess rather than his looks.

‘An evolutionary perspective on human behaviour suggests that human beings, like members of other animal species, are likely to have adaptations for assessing the “value” of potential sexual partners, using visual and other cues, and that our standards of physical attractiveness arise from these adaptations,’ McBride continues.

Regardless of culture or country of origin, men find similar female traits attractive. Their 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.

Studies have found that female gures with slender bodies, a low waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and large breasts are rated as the most attractive, healthy, feminine-looking and desirable for both casual and long-term romantic relationships.

‘Large breasts consistently enhance the attractiveness rating of both slender and heavy figures, so long as they have a low WHR,’ says McBride. ‘Polish research has shown that women with large breasts and a small waist had larger amounts of female hormones than women with a broad waist and large hips; narrow waist and small breasts; or broad waist and small breasts.’

The significance of the WHR is directly linked to fertility, as a low WHR is believed to correspond to the optimal fat distribution for high fertility. If a woman is seen to be more fertile, she is also seen to be more attractive.

‘Women with a low WHR may also be healthier, given that a high WHR resulting from a bloated abdomen can be a sign of parasite infection.

A high WHR in a female can also predict menstrual irregularity, hirsutism (excess hairiness), elevated plasma triglycerides, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, gall bladder disease and cancer of the endometrium, ovaries and breast,’ McBride explains.

But large breasts and a small waist aren’t the only physical assets men are drawn to. Other characteristics said to be prized by our male ancestors in their potential mates were full red lips, clear and smooth skin, clear eyes, lustrous hair and good muscle tone; all indications of a healthy, youthful woman.

‘These in-built preferences seem to be aimed at ensuring males find suitably fertile females who are healthy enough to reproduce and, in turn, produce healthy children,’ says McBride. ‘These mechanisms are instinctual and generally subconscious. Men don’t think to themselves: “I must find a woman with a WHR of 0.7 and smooth skin”. We just find these characteristics appealing and they are almost universally sought after,’ he adds.

Mathematics of Beauty

Could being attractive be less in the eye of the beholder and more to do with a mathematical equation involving our waist and hip measurements?

It’s human nature to want to know whether we’re attractive and how we can make ourselves more appealing. But a new study suggests that to calculate our real assets all we need to do is an easy sum.

So perhaps beauty isn’t in the eye of the beholder, it comes down the far less subjective mathematical equation.

It has been found a woman’s attractiveness relates to the size of her waist compared with her hips. Scientists have discovered the ratio they say makes for the perfect figure.
A waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) of 0.7, or a waist measurement at 70 per cent of the hip circumference, is the magic number.

New Zealand anthropologist Barnaby Dixson set out to find what makes a woman attractive to men. A group of volunteers were presented with various pictures of a woman in which her bust, waist and hips had been digitally altered and asked to rate the image for attractiveness. Infra-red cameras tracked their eyes as they looked at the photos.
Although most were initially drawn to the woman’s cleavage, her hips and waist were key to attraction.

Perennially curvy beauties like Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Jessica Alba and Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio are all examples of the perfect ratio. Interestingly though, it isn’t a ratio dependent on curves or lack there of, it’s all simply proportion of the waist to hips. (So interestingly waif-like Kate Moss also matches up to the ideal WHR of 0.7.

The concept and significance of WHR as an indicator of attractiveness was first theorised by psychologist Devendra Singh in 1993, who argued that the WHR was a consistent oestrogen marker.

Some researchers have found that the waist-hip ratio is a significant measure of female attractiveness, although this has been found to be dependent on cultural values. Women with a 0.7 WHR are usually rated as more attractive by men from European cultures, while China favours a WHR of 0.6 which rose to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa.

However, the attractiveness of the hourglass figure holds true across countries and cultures. Research shows. Men across the world can all agree – from the UK, Cameroon, Germany and China, to New Zealand. German research released last year indicated an hourglass figure to be more attractive than even athletic types or long-legged, big-chested ‘Barbies’.

It is thought that a small waist-to-hip ratio is equated in the mind with good health and high fertility. ‘It is likely that perfect 0.7 ratio sends a biological signal to men that this woman is most fertile and most likely to produce a healthy offspring, no matter what size that woman is,’ says Dr Dixson. ‘It is all about the distribution of fat which is directly linked to fertility.’

In fact, it looks like we’re all encouraged to celebrate our curvy bits according to the research data. Dr Dixson says men were wasting their time pumping iron in the gym because women have indicated they invariably prefer a leaner, less muscle-bound physique.

‘On a biological level, women are more likely to pick a leaner, even slightly more effeminate man as they equate those physical traits with being more caring and gentle and therefore a better prospect as a partner,’ he explains. ‘Humans simply do not mate randomly.’

Makeup & Attraction

Women who wear makeup appear more trustworthy, likeable and competent – not to mention attractive – to those around them, or so a relatively recent study tells us.

‘As we have evolved, the brain has become capable of making complex social judgments on some very basic visual cues,’ says Dr Arnaud Aubert, an experimental psychologist and associate professor in the department of neurosciences at the Universitè François-Rabelais, France.

These visual cues typically revolve around the idea of attractiveness and trustworthiness, elements that the right style of makeup can certainly assist with. ‘First you see the face and then, after a quick visual decoding, a signal is relayed to the limbic area of the brain where an emotional level is assigned to what you have seen – either pleasant or unpleasant,’ Dr Aubert says. ‘This information is then translated to the forebrain where it’s decided whether the face is trustworthy or untrustworthy. The whole process is carried out almost instantaneously.’

By minimising flaws and enhancing our best features, makeup – when applied effectively – can make for a more “pleasant” translation process. Highlighter and illuminator, for instance, can detract from a larger nose, while the right shade of lip colour can go a long way in boosting that first impression.

‘All the social information is in the centre of the face,’ Dr Aubert explains. ‘If the brain is distracted by imperfections, it processes less and so has a weaker social assessment of the person it is looking at.’

A study conducted by Harvard University with Proctor and Gamble supports Aubert’s findings. Participants of the study were asked to rate how likeable, trustworthy and competent particular women were, based on their makeup. They were presented with images of women with no makeup, and then the same women made up in different ways – natural, professional and glamorous.

One participant group was shown the images for a couple of seconds and the other group could inspect the images for as long as they liked.

Lead author and assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard University, Nancy Etcoff explains the effects of makeup were the same, regardless of length of exposure. ‘When flashed quickly, every cosmetic look significantly increased how attractive, competent, likeable and trustworthy the faces appeared to the same faces without makeup,’ she says. ‘When people could look at the faces as long as they wanted to, all makeup looks increased competence and attractiveness once again.’ CBM