Reading this article on ABC News website about the results of a recent study:
Good news girls: you’re getting more beautiful. But the forecast isn’t so rosy for men.
Scientists have found that evolution is driving women to become more attractive, while men are not likely to advance in the looks department at all.
A study, led by Markus Jokela from the University of Helsinki, found beautiful women had up to 16 per cent more children than their plainer counterparts.
The research used data gathered in a US study, which involved 1,244 women and 997 men being followed through four decades of life.
Their beauty was assessed from photographs and data was also gathered on the number of children they had. Read the rest of the article
So what are your thoughts?
Haa..this is an interesting study, as led by a fellow countryman. I agree that symmetry in features is important, when judging the appearance of someone. I remember being amazed by the symmetry of features on my first born daughter.Naturally she was next to perfect for me. She still is, at the age of 32. I admit, that the fact, that my hb was good looking ( still is ), excited me in the beginning. I have never thought of myself being pretty, on the contrary. It is a myth that Scandinavian women are beautiful. The truth is different. Overweight is an increasing problem here too.
An obvious objection: symmerical women will have also sons who are more symmteical, and the ugly, old and rich men will also have daughters who look like them…I also find the ideas here a little dated – many women now don`t depend on a man anymore to support them and can choose the young and handsome ones before the old and rich ones.
Ummmm….evolution? I don't believe in that, but I do think it's a 100% society-driven pursuit of "perfection". There is nothing naturally beautiful about Botox and collagen injections, plastic surgery, "Lumineres" teeth, fake nails, tanning salons, etc. Joan Rivers is not my idea of growing old gracefully. I prefer a Diane Keaton approach. Nobody wants to be real anymore…real is considered unattractive. So what exactly do you think "evolution" has in mind for us?
I know a some rather unattractive woman who have 12 or more children. Something in this "scientific study" ain't adding up.
Very interesting, usually in the animal kingdom aren't the pretty ones all the males? Our local peacocks illustrate my point. The shes are as homely as a mud fence and the males are gloriously colored and radiant!
Sorry, but as with most scientific studies "reported" in the media, the press have got it all wrong.
"No one at the UK Times even interviewed Jokela, and he only found out his study was in the news after it was published. Not only did the media mangle the research, making it seem as though he exclusively studied women, but they also obscured some of its findings — for instance, hotter men are also more likely to have more children, though in different proportion to women, and it’s not the most attractive women who are likeliest to have more kids — it's the second prettiest group."
From http://preview.tinyurl.com/l8hfhf
The media mangle most scientific studies. It's a waste of time to even read most "scientific reporting".
I'm a neuroscientist, and it's a constant battle to have our stuff accurately reported. It's really distressing, actually. Newspapers just make stuff up.
Interesting article but as Neuroscientist says the original article needs to be looked at as well.
There was a legal case I read about a few years ago in Asia about a man divorcing his gorgeous wife because they had "ugly-looking" kids. (I put ugly in quotes because I don't believe in "ugly" as a descriptor for children.) Turns out his wife had had extensive plastic surgery and other procedures so she could attract a handsome, wealthy guy!
Just came across your blog……very informative.
Another fashion-loving scientist
I don't believe in the theory of evolution, either, but it seems to me that the more attractive females might be career oriented and choose to have less children. And what about not-so-attractive, rather plain women choosing to stay home and have a dozen kids? Then there's Octomom, but I won't even go there…