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 ...
Boy on a Dolphin
So what this study tells us is that women who are stressed out and under the gun to support themselves and their families will look more like men than women....
No thanks....
36-24-36 Only if she is 5’3. So girl drives a honda, playing work out tapes by Fonda, but Fonda aint got motor in the back of her honda.
The words of the wise Sir Mix alot!
Elizabeth Cashdan on left, John Tooby and Leda Cosmides on right
Wow, now I can say I have a body just like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s !!!
Fat Elvis Impersonator - now with new and improved Camel Toe!
She stole a placemat from a table at Bob Evans and uses it as a thong?
“She has an hourglass figure, but it’s a lot later than she thinks.....”
BARFOLA! The name of that magazine should be “Harper’s BIZARRE”
I bet he could still throw you through a wall, though.
So THAT’s why I can’t get a date! - LOL
“Lots of people still walked to go places then. Or biked. And had to do a lot more physical labor in their work. “
Agreed, but people also consumed far fewer calories. The volume of food some people consume today is amazing. Dad always said, if it comes in a bag or a box, don’t eat it. —high calorie junk food.
Absolutely, but there a very few with very big mouths that want the skinnies, and want everyone else to want them too. Makes no sense to me.
great picture. Looks like real guys.
Mmmmm! I’ll take one of those... to go!
Thanks.
Societies where women are “under pressure to bring home the bacon” are failing to reproduce and will soon vanish.
T&A, on the other hand, are in it for the long haul.
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