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Best Female Figure Not an Hourglass
www.livescience.com ^
Posted on 12/03/2008 8:36:45 AM PST by Lucky9teen
An imperfect body might be just what the doctor ordered for women and key to their economic success, an anthropologist now says.
While pop culture seems to worship the hourglass figure for females, with a tiny waist, big boobs and curvy hips à la Marilyn Monroe, this may not be optimal, says Elizabeth Cashdan of the University of Utah.
That's because the hormones that make women physically stronger, more competitive and better able to deal with stress also tend to redistribute fat from the hips to the waist.
So in societies and situations where women are under pressure to procure resources and otherwise bring home the bacon, they may be less likely to have the classic hourglass figure, Cashdan hypothesizes in the December issue of the journal Current Anthropology.
Curve crazy
Until now, scientists (and apparently Western society) thought a curvy figure trumped other body shapes. The idea was based on results from medical studies that suggested a curvy waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 or lower (meaning the waist is significantly narrower than the hips) is associated with higher fertility and lower rates of chronic disease.
In addition, past research has revealed that men prefer a ratio of 0.7 or lower when looking for a mate. The preference makes perfect sense, according to evolutionary psychologists, because the low ratio is a reliable signal of a healthy, fertile woman. Along those lines, Playboy centerfolds tend to have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.68, Cashdan found.
However, women around the world tend to have larger waist-to-hip ratios (more cylindrical than hourglass-shaped) than is considered optimal by these medical and social standards.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anthropologist; anthropology; culturewar; currentanthropology; damnedintellectuals; elizabethcashdan; female; feminism; figure; sociologist
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To: Hacklehead
According to what?
----------------------------
According to EVERY guy (except maybe one or 2) that I've ever talked to....
Most want a woman with a bit of "meat" on her, something they can grab on to.
41
posted on
12/03/2008 9:00:12 AM PST
by
Lucky9teen
(The only foes that threaten America r the enemies at home; ignorance, superstition and incompetence!)
To: HamiltonJay
Sophia Loreen at 35 had a drop dead gorgeous body. Hell she still looks good. By todays standards of what Hollywood and Fashion consider beautiful Sophia Loreen would have been considered too fat.
Those girls today look like victims of starvation which they are.
42
posted on
12/03/2008 9:00:25 AM PST
by
cpdiii
(roughneck, oilfield trash and proud of it, geologist, pilot, pharmacist, iconoclast.)
To: Lucky9teen
Pure male bovine excrement.
43
posted on
12/03/2008 9:01:10 AM PST
by
Psycho_Bunny
(By Obama's own reckoning, isn't Lyndon LaRouche more qualified? He's run since the 70's)
To: Blueflag
"How does a person like that maintain personal sanitation?"
44
posted on
12/03/2008 9:01:16 AM PST
by
Enterprise
(No Presidency for illegal aliens from Kenya.)
To: Melas
> Vargas. Antonio Vargas.
That’s the artist!
45
posted on
12/03/2008 9:01:17 AM PST
by
DieHard the Hunter
(Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fà g am bealach.)
To: Bobalu
That’s an hourglass figure, with all the sand at the bottom.
46
posted on
12/03/2008 9:01:21 AM PST
by
caver
(Yes, I did crawl out of a hole in the ground.)
To: Lucky9teen
I'm sorry but that's just wrong. Get those hips swinging and watch out. Something’s gotta give.
47
posted on
12/03/2008 9:01:27 AM PST
by
eggman
(Obama's Spread the Wealth will work just as well as Spread the Liabilities (sub-prime mortgages))
To: Red Badger
Ahnold. Proof that steroid usage causes brain damage.
48
posted on
12/03/2008 9:01:31 AM PST
by
pgkdan
To: Lucky9teen
To: Lucky9teen
Women seem to come in three basic designs:
Way too thin at 18 - perfect at 40.
Perfect at 18 - considerably overweight at 40.
Soft and flabby at 18 - walrus at 40.
Exceptions made, of course, for the occasional demonstration of willpower in the face of an incredibly challenging dessert. ;)
50
posted on
12/03/2008 9:02:44 AM PST
by
Mr. Jeeves
("One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null word." -- Robert Heinlein)
To: day10
51
posted on
12/03/2008 9:02:52 AM PST
by
Canedawg
(The media is a ass, a idiot.," said Mr. Bumble.)
To: HamiltonJay
“Biology is at play here folks, I know the feminists dont like it and want to blame it on environmental conditioning but its just not true.”
Agreed. Besides, it is difficult to identify what possible use this “study” might have other that satisfying someone’s idle curiosity.
52
posted on
12/03/2008 9:03:26 AM PST
by
Hacklehead
(Liberalism is the art of taking what works, breaking it, and then blaming conservatives.)
To: Neoliberalnot
Lots of people still walked to go places then. Or biked. And had to do a lot more physical labor in their work.
53
posted on
12/03/2008 9:03:52 AM PST
by
Secret Agent Man
(I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
To: Blueflag
hmmm, Im thinking a Y is better than a V for the best male figure ... You are bad. I would spank you, but you might enjoy it. Go to your room!
To: Lucky9teen
Disgusting.
How old are these guys you’re talking to?
55
posted on
12/03/2008 9:05:11 AM PST
by
Arguendo
To: day10
Here, this will help your eyes:
56
posted on
12/03/2008 9:05:51 AM PST
by
MeanWestTexan
(Beware of Obama's Reichstag Fire; Don't permit him to seize emergency powers.)
To: cpdiii
Sophia Loreen at 35 had a drop dead gorgeous body.Sophia Loren in "Houseboat" woke up my hormones and got them raging! I can still see her in that gown she was going to wear to the country club dance....ooh la la.
57
posted on
12/03/2008 9:05:59 AM PST
by
pgkdan
To: Mamzelle
1962 - Big John
“Every morning at the mine
you could see him arrive.
He stood 6 foot six,
and weighed 295.
Kinda broad at the shoulders,
narrow at the hips,
and everyone knew you didn’t give no lip to
Big Bad John”
58
posted on
12/03/2008 9:06:08 AM PST
by
jwparkerjr
(God Bless America!)
To: Free State Four
I am in my room. Meet me there! HA!
Just kidding ...
59
posted on
12/03/2008 9:06:23 AM PST
by
Blueflag
(Res ipsa loquitur)
To: Loud Mime
The Professor is cute, too.
60
posted on
12/03/2008 9:06:59 AM PST
by
PLMerite
("Unarmed, one can only flee from Evil. But Evil isn't overcome by fleeing from it." Jeff Cooper)
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