Curvy may be sexy, but cylindrical-shaped females are better

William Atkins
Saturday, 06 December 2008 23:25

Science - Biology

Dr. Cashdan contends that since most societies in the world prefer cylindrical-shaped bodies for women because such bodies have the most advantages for women.

For instance, Cashdan stated that “In Japan, Greece and Portugal, where women tend to be less economically independent, men place a higher value on a mate's thin waist than men in Britain or Denmark, where there tends to be more sexual equality.” [Newsweek]

She adds, “And in some non-Western societies where food is scarce and women bear the responsibility for finding it, men actually prefer larger waist-to-hip ratios.” [Newsweek]

Cashdan states, "Waist-to-hip ratio may indeed be a useful signal to men, then, but whether men prefer a [waist-to-hip ratio] associated with lower or higher androgen/estrogen ratios (or value them equally) should depend on the degree to which they want their mates to be strong, tough, economically successful and politically competitive.” [Newsweek]

She concludes, "And from a woman's perspective, men's preferences are not the only thing that matters." [Newsweek]

The Newsweek article concludes by stating, “Can we please stop telling young women that if they don’t meet the hourglass ideal there is something wrong with them, that they are doomed to infertility and will never form a relationship?"

"NEWSWEEK was complicit in that message a dozen years ago; it’s long past time to realize that it is wrong both empirically and in terms of evolutionary theory.”