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The mystery of female beauty

Author

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  • M. J. Tovée

    (Ridley Building, Newcastle University)

  • P. L. Cornelissen

    (Ridley Building, Newcastle University)

Abstract

Evolutionary psychology suggests that a woman's sexual attractiveness might be based on cues of reproductive potential. It has been proposed that a major determinant of physical attractiveness is the ratio between her waist and hip measurements (the waist-to-hip ratio, or WHR): for example, a woman with a curvaceous body and a WHR of 0.7 is considered to be optimally attractive1,2,3, presumably because this WHR is the result of a fat distribution that maximizes reproductive potential4. It follows that the preference for a curvaceous body shape in women should be universal among men and not be culturally based, because natural selection presumably favours cues indicative of the most fertile body shape.

Suggested Citation

  • M. J. Tovée & P. L. Cornelissen, 1999. "The mystery of female beauty," Nature, Nature, vol. 399(6733), pages 215-216, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:399:y:1999:i:6733:d:10.1038_20345
    DOI: 10.1038/20345
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    Cited by:

    1. Esping-Andersen, Gøsta & Schmitt, Christian, 2020. "Multi-dimensional couple bargaining and housework allocation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 63(1), pages 3-22.

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