MAGAZINE iss: 42.6.2

an article studying the origins of

what we and the universe finds to

be pleasing to the eye

what is BEAUTY

1. The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality.

beau - tyn. pl. beau·ties

Sheli Jeffry issearching for beauty.As a scout for Ford,one of theworld’s topmodel agencies, Jeffryscans up to 200 youngwomeneveryThursdayafternoon. Insideagency headquartersinNewYork,exquisitefaces stare down fromthe covers of Vogue,Glamour,andHarper’sBazaar.Outside,younghopefuls wait for theirbigchance.

Jeffry is looking forheight:atleastfivefeetnine(1.8meters).She’slooking for youth: 13to 19 years old. She’slooking for the rightbodytype.

What is the rightbodytype?

“Thin,”shesays.“Youknow, the skinny girlsin school who ate allthe cheeseburgers and

milk shakes they wantedanddidn’tgainanounce.Basically, they’re hangersforclothes.”

Whatisbeauty?Wegropearound the edges of thequestionasif tryingtogetatoe-holdonacloud.

Define beauty? One mayas well dissect a soapbubble.Weknow itwhenweseeit—orsowethink.Philosophers frame it asa moral equation. Whatis beautiful is good, saidPlato. Poets reach for thelofty. “Beauty is truth,truth beauty,” wrote JohnKeats, although AnatoleFrance thought beauty“moreprofoundthantruthitself.”

Science examinesbeauty and pronouncesit a strategy. “Beauty ishealth,” a psychologisttells me. “It’s a billboardsaying ‘I’m healthy andfertile. Icanpassonyour

whatisbeauty? pg3

genes.”

At its best, beautycelebrates. Fromthe Txikão warriorin Brazil painted injaguar-like spots toMadonna in her metalbra, humanity revelsin the chance to shedits everyday skin andmasquerade as amorepowerful, romantic, orsexybeing.

At its worst, beautydiscriminates. Studiessuggest attractivepeople make moremoney, get called onmore often in class,receive lighter courtsentences, and areperceived as friendlier.Wedojudgeabookbyitscover.

We soothe ourselveswith clichés. It’s onlyskin-deep, we cluck.It’s only in the eye of the beholder. Pretty is

asprettydoes.

In an era of feminist andpolitically correct values,nottomentionthecloselyheldbelief thatallmenandwomen are created equal,the fact that all men andwomen are not—and thatsome are more beautifulthan others—disturbs,confuses,evenangers.

Forbetterorworse,beautymatters. How much itmatterscantestourvalues.With luck, the more welive and embrace thewide sweep of the world,the more generous ourdefinitionbecomes.

I am standing behind aone-waymirrorwatchingasix-month-oldbabymakeachoice.Thebabyisshownaseriesof photographsof facesthathavebeenratedfor attractiveness by apanelof collegestudents.A slide isflashed;aclockticksasthebabystaresat

whatisbeauty? pg4

MARQUARD

T’S

BEAUTYM

ASK!

whatisbeauty? pg4

MALE MARQUARDT

BEAUTY MASK

FEMALE MARQUARDTBEAUTY MASK

American plastic surgeon Dr Stephen Marquardt has studied human beauty for

years. He believes that he has discovered a fundamental rule for facial beauty.

Whatever the race, period of history or gender, beautiful faces exhibit the Golden

Ratio in their shape. He has developed a ‘beauty mask’: a grid of lines in the form

of a face where the line’s geometry is determined using the Golden Ratio. By over-

laying this grid on a face and seeing how well an individual’s features match up to

the ‘perfect’ Golden Ratio face, you can ‘calculate’ how beautiful a person is. Dr

Marquardt has suggested the mask could be used to help with creating cosmetic

makeup, surgery and dentistry for people who have suffered facial disfigurement.

SYMMETRY Human beings as well as most

other species find symmetry or

mathmatically correct objects

asthetically pleasing or beautiful.

MARQUARD

T’S

BEAUTYM

ASK!

=1.680339887...

In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the

ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio

of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The golden ratio is an irrational

mathematical constant, approximately 1.6180339887. Other names

frequently used for the golden ratio are the golden section (Latin: sectio

aurea) and golden mean.Other terms encountered include extreme and mean

ratio, medial section, divine proportion, divine section (Latin: sectio divina),

golden proportion, golden cut, golden number, and mean of Phidias.

the picture. The babylooks away; the clockstops. Then it’s on tothenextslide.

After more than adecade of studies likethese, Judith Langlois,professorof psychologyat the University of Texas in Austin, isconvinced that thisbaby, like others shehas tested, will spendmore time looking attheattractivefacesthantheunattractiveones.

What’s an attractiveface?It’sasymmetricalface. Most important,it’s an averagedface, says Langlois.Averaged, that is, interms of position andsize of all the facialfeatures. As the slidesflash in front of thebaby, I see what shemeans.Some facesaremore pleasing to lookat than others. It’s a

question of harmony andtheplacementof features.Thepicturesof theyounggirl with wide-set eyesandasmallnose iseasieron the eye that the oneof the young girl withclose-seteyesandabroadnose. Extremes are off-putting and generally notattractive,Langloissays.

Theideathatevenbabiescan judge appearancemakes perfect senseto Don Symons, ananthropologist at theUniversityof CaliforniaatSantaBarbara.

“Beauty isnotwhimsical.Beauty has meaning.Beauty is functional,” hesays.Beauty,hisargumentgoes,isnotsomuchintheeyeasinthebraincircuitryof thebeholder.

whatisbeauty? pg7

=1.680339887...

MAN

SHOULDER TO WAIST RATIO: 1.6HEIGHT: 1.1 TIMES TALLER THAN HER

BROAD SHOULDERS

LARGE MUSCULE

CHARISMA

NICE BUTT

whatisbeauty? pg9

WOMAN

HIP TO WAIST RATIO: 0.7HEIGHT: 5 FOOT 7 INCHMEASURES: 34 - 24 - 34

BROAD SHOULDERS

CHARISMA...

NICE BUTT

CURVES

SMOOTH LEGS

TEDdennis dutton tries to find the origins of and experience of beauty

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/denis_dutton_a_darwinian_theory_of_beauty.html

NATURAL SELECTION? SEXUAL SELECTION?VSBEAUTY

THE ACHEULIAN HAND-AXE

EARLIEST FORM OF ART

EVER DISCOVERED

“THE TOOL” USED BY HOMO ERECTUS

2.500.000 YEARS OLD

whatisbeauty? pg11

In studies bypsychologists suchas Victor Johnston atNew Mexico StateUniversity and DavidPerrett at St. AndrewsUniversity in Scotland,men consistentlyshowed a preferencefor women with largereyes, fuller lips, and asmaller nose and chin.StudiesbypsychologistDevendra Singh at theUniversity of Texasshow a preference forthe classic hourglass-shaped body with awaist-hipratioof seventoten.

“That men preferwomen with smoothskin, big eyes,curvaceous bodies,andfulllipsisanythingbut random,” Symonsinsists. All these traitsare reliable cues toyouth, good health,and fertility. Take lips,which, plumped up

by estrogen, reach theirfullness at 14 to 16 whenwomen enter the fertilestage of their life. Withmenopause and the lossof fertility, lips lose theirfullness. Likewise lesionsorsoresontheskinsignalthepresenceof infectiousdiseaseorparasites.Clear,smooth skin speaks of youthandgoodhealth.

Inthescenarioenvisionedby Symons and otherevolutionaryscientists,themind unconsciously tellsmenthatfulllipsandclearskinequalhealth,fertility,andgeneticsoundness.It’san instinct honed over ahundredthousandyearsof selection,Symonsbelieves.Becausewearemortgagedtoourevolutionaryhistory,theinstinctpersists.

SEXUAL SELECTION?

THE ACHEULIAN HAND-AXE

“THE TOOL” USED BY HOMO ERECTUS

Newman, Cathy. “Enigma of Beauty.” National Geographic 1-4. Web. 4 May 2011. <http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/enigma-beauty.html#page=4>.

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MAN