Who are we to question the wisdom of our genes?
Large-breasted, narrow-waisted women have the highest reproductive potential, according to a new study, suggesting western men's penchant for women with an hourglass shape may have some biological justification.
Women with a relatively low waist-to-hip ratio and large breasts had about 30 per cent higher levels of the female reproductive hormone estradiol than women with other combinations of body shapes, found Grazyna Jasienska, at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland and colleagues.
Barbie is now defended by science.
Writing in Proceedings B, the researchers led by Dr Grazyna Jasienska of Harvard University, said the hourglass figure was popular in Western cultures, but not in others across the world.
She said men in non-Western societies did not seem to favour women with hourglass figures, and broader figures, indicating good nutritional status, were considered most attractive.
However, in Western societies, the cultural icon of Barbie as a symbol of female beauty seems to have some biological grounding," added Dr Jasienska.
In Europeans it may well be that the hourglass body shape for women is more highly correlated with fecundity than is the case with other groups and that this is due to average genetic differences. There may have been co-evolution of the hourglass body shape as more fecund along with genetic changes that increased the attraction to that body shape.
The higher level of estradiol translates into 3 times higher likelihood to get pregnant.
By Randall Parker at 2004 May 05 11:15 AM Biological Mind | TrackBack"If there are 30 per cent higher levels, it means they are roughly three times more likely to get pregnant," Jasienska, a human biologist, told New Scientist.
Hmmm... I 'm not so sure about this not applying to people in other cultures. I've read books that emphasize how people basically all over the planet prefer similar waist-hip ratios.
I am not surprised by this finding in the least. I do not have an hourglass figure and have been trying to get pregnant for the past year without success. Interesting.
Hi Dr. Jasienska.
I wanted to know if there was anything that an Android body type women could do to reshape her body to a more hourglass figure?
Thank you
hello, im kris, 17
for along time i have known the effects that estrogen has on the way males look at women. i am very familiar with the evolutionary benefits of these markers, and the great effect they have on society, even though their fundamental prupose has ultimately been lost (natural selection is no longer beneficial, nor the basis of human survival).
i am very curious as to what the "hourglass" measurement ratio actually is. i know that there is an ideal measurement for the "perfect" western female and male, but im having trouble finding out what it is.
if you have any idea, i would really like to know, and would appreciate it if you could enlighten me.
thank you
kris
Lulu,
You are probably looking at estrogen supplementation, which is not risk free.
Kris,
There is more to an hourglass figure than just the bust-hip-waist ratio. Absolute measurements are also relevant. Anyway, very feminine waist-to-hip ratios are in the 0.60-0.65 range. You will likely be interested in this page, this page and a series of pages beginning here (not work-safe) to learn what feminine and attractive looks are about. By the way, natural selection is still operating in humans.
I love women with an hourglass figure! They are the most beautiful and sexiest women alive on our planet! Now thats what a woman is supposed to look like! Women with hourglass figures were very common in the mid and late 1960s into the 1970s and 1980s and 1990s, but as of 2000 and beyond these women with hourglass figures have become very rare, how often does a guy see them? Not very. In this 2000 era- women with hourglass figures are very hard to find. Many European women mostly Italians have hourglass figures. But with the advent of all these fast foods and everyother kind of foods our women are eating-- they have gained far too much weight for their height, I mean the women are far too overweight! In for that reason, in this 2000 era, women no longer wear make up very much, dont have long sexy nails, the hair too short and not long down the back, and well they all look a bunch of guys! They just don't want to be feminine and sexy- because of being too overweight, todays woman no longer has an sexy hourglass figure, and I believe due to this radical changes in body, and depending how she is built, unless they make some radical changes in their weight and body- sadly enough, those women with hourglass figures are already extinct and no longer common like they once were 35 and 40 years ago.
Erik Holland,
Contrary to what you believe, northern european women are usually tall, have prominent noses, hard bone structures and no breasts whatsoever. If you want to talk about beautiful european women it has to be eastern/southern europeans but i guess it's the light hair/eyes combination that you find appealing. In my opinion having such a low contrast between hair colour, skin colour etc makes someone look very washed out. Without makeup the women in the site look like somebody squeezed the juice out of them not to mention the unsightly freckles and thin lips they had. Also you posted a picture of charlize Theron on your site and although she has cute facial features she does not even come close to an actress such as Monica Bellucci and has absolutely no sex appeal. At the same physical height, Monica Bellucci has a woman's body while Charlize has relatively no breasts/hips and large shoulders along with chicken legs. If they walked together in the same room, charlize would be invisible.
Lisa,
It is true that Northern European women tend to be taller, more prominent nosed and smaller breasted than Southern European women, but by no means are all Northern European women tall, prominent nosed and small breasted. Pigmentation is not relevant to my site because the focus is on skeletal traits, fat distribution and muscle structure. Speaking of skeletal traits, Northern European women tend to have finer facial features, partly explaining whey they are overrepresented among high-end models. I have only displayed Charlize Theron’s face, not her physique. I agree that her physique is nowhere close to being a good example of a feminine physique. On the other hand, whereas Monica Belluci has a better physique than Charlize Theron and is a good looking woman, neither her face nor her body is impressive enough for me to use as good examples of feminine beauty.
Speaking of hour glasunnys figures, there are still women that exist with that shape. I have an hour glass figure and I inherited it from my mother and grandmother. And its funny no matter how much weight I gain or lose I still keep my figure.
*I think that most men are stupid...they care so much about how women look and what body they have
This message is for all the girls:
If a man doesn't like you for who you are inside and and only cares about the body that you have then he's not worth it...It doesn't matter if you are overweight...hourglass...android ext
you are beautiful and if a man can't see it then like i said before HE'S NOT WORTH IT
I'm probably a bit older than most who have posted a comment. But I do not consider myself "a dirty old man." However, I admit that a woman with an hourglass figure has attracted me since I was a young boy in my teens. There is nothing that raises a man's spirits more than spotting a pretty woman with an hourglass figure that seems happy to be a woman. I have a lover who has an hourglass figure and I cannot keep my hands off her. Women who resent men who are attracted to hourglass figure women are kidding themselves thinking we are some sort of beast. But we are animals--human animals--and we are jus hardwired by nature to be atracted to the well proportioned female figure.
What is wrong with that, I ask?
Suddenly I feel like crying.
It doesn't matter how much I run/bike/swim. I can be at my fittest but I'll always have this stocky body shape. If only I had wanted to be a body builder. All I want to be is a woman. An attractive, physical, woman.
I can't have an hour glass.
And so I continue to get overlooked.
I need to go find a dark corner to sit in while I sink slowly into cat-lady spinsterdom.
Wish me luck.
I am an Italian hourglass figured woman. I have three beautiful children from three c-sections no less and I still kept my figure. They were all planned pregnancies and I conceived them on this first fertile tries. So science is very much correct about this theory. I am tall and I do have a prominent Italian nose, but men have always thought of me as very attractive to beautiful. However, I have two sister-in-laws who both have what I call square shaped figures. One had problems conceiving and the other one was not allowed to have children by my brother-in-law. They are very mean and nasty to me and use my Italian ethnicity against me. Often times rank about my nose. Is this just pure jealousy or do square- bodied woman just hate us? My husband would have had 10 kids with me if we could and can't keep his hands off of me.
Thanks, Fran
Hiya all,
First of all whats an android body shape look like?
I have an hourglass shape, and it really gives me the sh&ts
cause it's hidden under all my weight. I wish it wasn't so hard to lose the
weight.
Hmm. I'm not so sure about the fertility-hourglass link. I am a definate hourglass (33,24,33) however, I'm also infertile. So I guess I'm an exception to that theory.
I'm a young woman from Holland, i'm 5ft11 (180 cm) and i have an hour glass figure. Hips 40,5 inch (103 cm) and waist 28,3 inch (72 cm). I have heard from some short women that they more often have an hourglass figure than tall women, but i'm tall and i do have the hourglass figure, thank God. To tell the truth, i have seen more hourglass shapes in average and tall women than in really short women. Once short women hit their thirties, they start gaining weight which easily makes them becoming an apple shape or rectangle shape.
Regan
Ehi, not all the men have the same likes about women! I love tall women with large shoulder and small breast.
So if you are not big breasted, don't worry! There are still plenty of good looking men just waiting for you! Promise!
Jerry
I just had to laugh at some of the responses by some of the men here! I'm sure that the guy that said "They are the most beautiful and sexiest women alive on our planet!" certainly doesn't fit the ripped, muscular masculine look that a LOT of women drool over. An hourglass figure has nothing to do with what a woman eats or how often she exercises. It's genetics that determines whether a women will have an hourglass figure or not.
Although I will admit that I am an hourglass figure myself(38C-28.5-39) I have seen a lot of women that were not hourglasses that looked very feminine and beautiful. Jennifer Lopez is a good example. She's a pear shape and there are a lot of men from all over the world that drool over her.
As for Regan's comment. Whether you like to believe it or not, there are a lot of short women that still keep their trim shape when they hit their thirties and up. Age has nothing to do with a person packing on the pounds. If that were the case, then there would be a ton of elderly people that would weigh around 200+ pounds.
Mandy
some times i wonder if God intended for me to be a man. I am 25 128lbs 5ft2 i have no hips and very small breast i would really like to have a better body i can't dress like a lady becausee i have no figure so i dress like a guy people ask me why don't you ever dress sexy i am sick of hearring this shit help
hello. im a long distance runner and i'm eighteen. i'm not very busty at all but my measurments fit that of an hour glass 34-29-36. i always seem to have trouble finding jeans that fit my waist as well as my hips and it makes shopping crazy difficult. my sister have a different build compared to me and both of them have a great trouble with their monthly cycles where as I do not. I'm very regular almost like clockwork. as far as male attraction? yes i do get hit on but its prob not for havin a great rack.
the relevancy of this comment is questionable but i just thought i might comment after reading everything here.
Monica Bellucci is not beautiful enough for that guy to use as an example of feminine beauty???? Wow. I am stunned. Pretty much everyone in existence knows that Monica Bellucci is practically the dictionary definition of beauty. They just have her picture there, that's it. No words.
Also, I bet you a million dollars the guy who posted that is ugly...Real ugly.
You're all gay if yall seriously believe bone thin women are the epitome of womanhood. Real women have breast and hips, not accentuated pelvic (and skeletal) bones.
I like having broad shoulders, a big chest, strong legs and a prominent facial structure. I like that I lose weight fast and gain muscle fast. I love that I don't get cellulite all over my thighs and butt! I like my android figure, and, if it keeps me from poping out lots of kids then I like it even more! lol
Just because some women don't have a little teeny tiny waists doesn't mean we can't look feminine.
Lol at Stephanie. I'm also what is known as the "banana" or rectangle shape, at 135 lb, 4'10", and 38-33-37. I find it quite fun and easy to lift heavy weights (70 lb squats, lunges), and though I tend to store weight everywhere, it is focused on the abdomen. I also love having shapely legs and a strong body, and I can manage to look very feminine as I have small facial features. I can use some of my skills as a artist to pull off a hyper-feminine look: I accentuate my hips (thus slimming the waist in comparison) with frilly skirts and wrap tops. I can also elongate my face by straightening my hair or using blush to create angles under the cheekbones.
As for the study, I think it's useful to pinpoint evolutionary roots of what is considered symmetrical or beautiful. It helps humans to understand themselves. I have no problem with men or women acting on their natural instincts, so long as nobody's rights have been violated.
But if the hourglass figure is used as a male yardstick against which woman must compete, or a way to validate male arrogance over how women "should" look in their Penthouse fantasy, then forget it. Screw them, I say. Women aren't limited to the eye candy of a .7 waist/hip ratio or the colors of an iris. Certainly man can find something more substantial to judge us for -- if they are worth our time.
It is amazing to me how often we as humans dwell on physical characteristics to determine beauty in someone else.Yes this may be instinctual,but get over it. You're beauty comes from inside . Look what we are teaching our daughters and sons to think is the right way to look in todays society.It is rather sad. It should be about eating right,exercising, drinking lots of water, taking time to love ones self, and most of all not giving a darn what others think about you , but how you feel about yourself!
It allways annoys me that people complain about the discussion of beauty and claiming that looks don't matter. This is ridiculous and the result of peoples rejection of the fact that we are just another animal with uncontrollable needs and instincts. This discussion is obviously about physical beaty and it is a biological fact that most straight men are more attracted to hourglass shaped women. All this moaning that inner beaty is more important is completely beside the point. And it dosn't matter what the man looks like who offers his opinion, just because somebody is not themselves particularly attractive doesn't meen he isn't a man and isn't attracted to the same type of woman everyone else is. And of course there are always exeptions, but we are talking about a norm that is perfectly justifyable by human biology and history. The hourglass figure, along with health, full lips and blonde hair(though not as significantly), are signs of high fertility, signs which men pick up and subconciously translate this into a high level of attractiveness in said woman. Woman do exactly the same for men and it is a completely natural phenomenon that exists to assist our basic purpose: reproduction. The more likely a person seems to reproduce successfully, the more attractive they are to the opposite sex. However, other body shapes can of course also be attractive and inner beauty is important when lust becomes love. This attraction is nothing anybody should ashamed of, it is completely natural. Also, don't be intimidated if you aren't an hourglass - people usually choose partners in their own league because of an underlying fear that a more attractive partner would always be on the lookout for something better. And being beautiful and/or an hourglass(like me), isn't always a good thing- although men will be attracted to you, many of them will not be brave enough to approach you. So everyone who has been posting coments about how physical attractiveness doesn't matter and that men who like sexy women are sick can do their homework before making yourself ridiculus again. People do not measure other's beauty conciously, and it is alsways interesting to discuss what it is that triggers these responses in us. Only when we understand beauty can we judge it with intellect instead of instict, which would lead us into a new generation of beauty ideals.
well I have always had an hourglass figure.....people always were soo envious and I always hated it. Go figure... having the "perfect" shape does not satisfy you. Trust me, I always wanted to be less curvy and I am 25 with three kids. I have bad cellulite and huge saggy breasts. With clothes on... I look great, naked however I am disgusting. And I hate attention from men. I get it so much that I want to scream sometimes.....I've been asked so many times if I had implants, and I am so tired of it. I just want to go out and be normal... not stared at for my body. Yes you can get tired from too much attention, trust me. I am not beautiful in the face, just average. But it doesn't seem to matter to other girls who are always telling me how lucky I am to have such a great body after three kids.I just don't know how to get it through to them that they are all beautiful too....each one in her own way.
Fran, you're very full of yourself. It's possible that it's jealousy or maybe it could be your arrogant attitude.
Also, there are plenty of thin, ruler shaped women who are VERY fertile, trust me, I know. J. Lo didn't have the easiest time concieving. Don't put these women down.
Yes, well, I'd be the thinner, taller type, smallish breasts (about a B), thin waist, hips - yeah bit bigger than I'd like - but in rough proportion (and cellulite low and behold). Had no problem conceiving in my early 20s (to my horror as unfortunately I was not ready).
My Sister on the other hand is slightly shorter, bigger breasted (double D), slightly broader shoulders than myself, quite narrowish hips and waist (and yes, Im sure we absolutely have the same Mother and Father), and has certainly tried for a while to fall pregnant with her second child, and only just managed to after about 2 1/2 years of trying (and Im absolutely thrilled for her).
My point being, I don't think this research really proves a lot? I think, unless women have other problems, every female of child bearing age has a pretty reasonable chance at it!
hmmm, I'm an hourglass, 38,27,38. I'm only 5'3. I got more curves I need. It seems like old men can't stop looking at me. I'm shy! I just wish they made more fitted clothes shirts with (smaller waist), zippers and pants with smaller waist.
My mom is a pear, her side are mostly apples. Apple big boobs and shoulders, big tummy and small legs. Pear have big butts, small shoulders, and tummy. I'm like my dad's side an hourglass. Hourglass, top and hips about the same tummy 9 or more inches smaller and shapely legs. Oh, yes the ruler, boy shape, hips,shoulders,tummy all about the same size.
Wow Anna, you need to get over yourself. Good thing you're so damn *beautiful* which is why you had the time to write that awfully long response because you are so busy with men fawning over you all the time right? Please.
It's true that overall, women with higher estrogen levels will have more of a reproductive capacity. But people are also forgetting that half of it depends on the partner as well-- if your partner is infertile, it doesn't matter how much estrogen you have.
Humans are animals but the reason why we happen to have a civilized society is because we use our prefrontal cortex and contrary to popular belief, we DO have control over our desires and needs, or else most of the population would already have an STD from an *uncontrollable* unprotected one-night stand, or almost 3/4 would be considered obese because we certainly *couldn't* control ourselves from eating that one-pound cheesecake and downing all the chardonnay in the fridge.
Please, indulge my poor english, since this isn't my natural language.
To Anna : I admire your lucidity and your wisdom. You seem to be aware of what is human nature. Congratz! I wish, someday. i could meet a woman like you. :)
To Tina :
First off, why would we repress our boiling sexual desires for hourglass figure? Because, in your idea, its not politically correct to prefer them over other kind of shapes? Why it wouldn't be proper? In the name of what? Would you have sex with a man who you dont find sexually attractive?
I'm sorry but i'm a down to earth person, i don't live in an idealistic world. I considere that the needs and desires expressed by my genes are beautiful and deserves too be fully satisfied. As long as i respect others, i feel responsible to fulfill my deepest and wildness sexual desires. I wasn't created to respond to YOUR definitation of correctness.
Life is short. Occasions to fulfull dreams are rare. We all have 24 hours a day and full of responsibilities to respond to. When its time to feel alive and seduced, i am addicted like crazy to hourglass figured women. That's the way it is. i cant deny my nature neither willing to ignore it. I dont care about the reason i crave for those women. All i know is that i can't get enough of those while other women arent sexy for me. They can be nice, brillant and fantastic as a friend and tender confident. But i just cant get a boner whit such a woman. i'm sorry for those who don't fit my criterias. But that's reality.
Look at it frim women point of view when it's time to find a sex partner. You also have your own criterias. And its your right to define them. Or even to realize that some of them are just part of who you are inside of you.
Instead of trying to change human nature, why don't you just learn to accept it the way it is?