General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "I've started telling my daughters I'm beautiful" [View all]Laelth
(32,017 posts)I wish that worked. In fact, as I review my own history as a sexual being, I think I have been telling women for years that what they really want is me. That strategy has failed me repeatedly. LOL.
I think the science is a much better indicator of what women really want (and what men really want). It doesn't appear flawed to me.
You are absolutely right to note that human mating behavior is very complicated. I will add, though, that it appears men are much less complicated than women (on this particular subject). Men appear to be more sexually-attracted to women who have a .7 hip to waist ratio, 30% body fat, a small jaw and full lips (signs of high estrogen), a clear complexion, and a 16-30 age range (for maximum fertility). A woman with those things is highly desirable as a mate to almost all men. Women, on the other hand, while they all seem to find men sexually desirable who are tall, with a full head of hair, 15% body fat, and with signs of high testosterone, are also attuned to much more subtle pheromone indicators. Mrs. Laelth says that, in part, she judges a man's sexual attractiveness by his smell, and it seems likely that women are hard-wired to determine, by smell, which particular men would make a good genetic mixes with their own genetic code ... for what that's worth.
The fact that many people choose life mates based upon other factors (compatibility, money, social status, etc.) does not, in my mind, change the fact that humans seem to be hard-wired to find certain biological traits desirable, i.e. beautiful. The fact that many people choose to mate with people who do not share the traits people find most desirable does not prove that the research described here is flawed in any way.
-Laelth