Male preferences for female waist‐to‐hip ratio and body mass index in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

Dixson, Barnaby J.; Sagata, Katayo; Linklater, Wayne L.; Dixson, Alan F.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.21181

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Probably because of the consistent inverse relationship between WHR and reproduction and health, low values of this trait were suggested to be a relatively universal attractiveness marker. Similar results to the Singh [1] study were obtained for, among others, Europe [46]–[47], Asia [48]–[49], Africa [50]–[51] and New Guinea [14], [52]. Therefore, it can be presumed that men's attraction to women of certain body proportions might indicate a natural and universal preference for healthy and fertile partners.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Preference for Women's Body Mass and Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Tsimane' Men of the Bolivian Amazon: Biological and Cultural Determinants

et al. 2014

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The issue of cultural universality of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) attractiveness in women is currently under debate. We tested men's preferences for female WHR in traditional society of Tsimane'(Native Amazonians) of the Bolivian rainforest (N = 66). Previous studies showed preferences for high WHR in traditional populations, but they did not control for the women's body mass.We used a method of stimulus creation that enabled us to overcome this problem. We found that WHR lower than the average WHR in the population is preferred independent of cultural conditions. Our participants preferred the silhouettes of low WHR, but high body mass index (BMI), which might suggest that previous results could be an artifact related to employed stimuli. We found also that preferences for female BMI are changeable and depend on environmental conditions and probably acculturation (distance from the city). Interestingly, the Tsimane' men did not associate female WHR with age, health, physical strength or fertility. This suggests that men do not have to be aware of the benefits associated with certain body proportions - an issue that requires further investigation.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Preference for Women's Body Mass and Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Tsimane' Men of the Bolivian Amazon: Biological and Cultural Determinants

et al. 2014

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“…However, even in these contexts, men prefer low WHRs that approach (Sugiyama, 2004(Sugiyama, , 2005 or are below the locally observed minimum WHR (Dixson, Sagata, et al, 2010;Marlowe, Apicella, & Reed, 2005;Singh et al, 2010;Sorokowski, Koscinski, Sorokowska, & Huanca, 2014;Sorokowski & Sorokowska, 2012).…”

Section: Whr Bmi and Attractivenessmentioning

confidence: 95%

What Makes Jessica Rabbit Sexy? Contrasting Roles of Waist and Hip Size

Lassek

Gaulin

2016

Evol Psychol

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While waist/hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) have been the most studied putative determinants of female bodily attractiveness, BMI is not directly observable, and few studies have considered the independent roles of waist and hip size. The range of attractiveness in many studies is also quite limited, with none of the stimuli rated as highly attractive. To explore the relationships of these anthropometric parameters with attractiveness across a much broader spectrum of attractiveness, we employ three quite different samples: a large sample of college women, a larger sample of Playboy Playmates of the Month than that has been previously examined, and a large pool of imaginary women (e.g., cartoon, video game, graphic novel characters) chosen as the ''most attractive'' by university students. Within-sample and between-sample comparisons agree in indicating that waist size is the key determinant of female bodily attractiveness and accounts for the relationship of both BMI and WHR with attractiveness, with between-sample effect sizes of 2.4-3.2. In contrast, hip size is much more similar across attractiveness groups and is unrelated to attractiveness when BMI or waist size is controlled.

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“…WHR also changes over women's lifetimes (Kirschner & Samojlik, 1991) and so indicates residual reproductive value (Marlowe, 1998). It has therefore been proposed that WHR serves as an important ornament display (Perilloux, Webster, & Gaulin, 2010;Singh, 1993) and much is now known about the effects of this (e.g., Dixson, Sagata, Linklater, & Dixson, 2010;Karremans, Frakenhuis, & Arons, 2010;Platek & Singh, 2010;Singh, Dixson, Jessop, Morgan, & Dixson, 2010;Swami, Jones, Einon, & Furnham, 2009;Vaidya et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence to Suggest that Women’s Sexual Behavior is Influenced by Hip Width Rather than Waist-to-Hip Ratio

2014

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Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is an important ornament display that signals women's health and fertility. Its significance derives from human development as a bipedal species. This required fundamental changes to hip morphology/musculature to accommodate the demands of both reproduction and locomotion. The result has been an obstetric dilemma whereby women's hips are only just wide enough to allow the passage of an infant. Childbirth therefore poses a significant hip width related threat to maternal mortality/risk of gynecological injury. It was predicted that this would have a significant influence on women's sexual behavior. To investigate this, hip width and WHR were measured in 148 women (M age = 20.93 + .17 years) and sexual histories were recorded via questionnaire. Data revealed that hip width per se was correlated with total number of sexual partners, total number of one night stands, percentage of sexual partners that were one night stands, number of sexual partners within the context of a relationship per year sexually active, and number of one night stands per year sexually active. By contrast, WHR was not correlated with any of these measures. Further analysis indicated that women who predominantly engaged in one night stand behavior had wider hips than those who did not. WHR was again without effect in this context. Women's hip morphology has a direct impact on their risk of potentially fatal childbirth related injury. It is concluded that when they have control over this, women's sexual behavior reflects this risk and is therefore at least in part influenced by hip width.

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Male preferences for female waist‐to‐hip ratio and body mass index in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

Cited by 32 publications

References 47 publications

Preference for Women's Body Mass and Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Tsimane' Men of the Bolivian Amazon: Biological and Cultural Determinants

Preference for Women's Body Mass and Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Tsimane' Men of the Bolivian Amazon: Biological and Cultural Determinants

What Makes Jessica Rabbit Sexy? Contrasting Roles of Waist and Hip Size

Evidence to Suggest that Women’s Sexual Behavior is Influenced by Hip Width Rather than Waist-to-Hip Ratio

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