Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty

The Survival of the Prettiest is an eminently readable, wisdom-filled, witty and very well-documented report on the human concept and experience of beauty and its utility, especially human beauty, or the perceived lack thereof. It is an example of a way of looking at ourselves that is becoming increasingly of value, both in terms of the insights it affords, and in the way it frees us from the muddled delusions of the past. This point of view is from the fledgling science of evolutionary psychology of which Professor Etcoff is a very persuasive spokesperson and practitioner."Pretty is as pretty does" and "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,-that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know" (Keats) are two widely differing attitudes toward beauty, but each in its way contains an essence of truth. However, rather than bring these or other presuppositions to what Etcoff has to say (as some readers have), I suggest we actually read what she has to say, and then draw our conclusions. What I predict will happen is that even the most ardent beauty-phobe will find something of value and enlightenment here.Unfortunately (and understandably) not all readers have been able to approach the subject with an open mind. I noticed that an anonymous "reader" brought anorexia and bulimia into the discussion and blamed the rise in their instance on "media images" of beauty. No doubt media images are partly to blame (if indeed these disorders have become more prevalent). But it is more likely that the apparent rise in anorexia and bulimia is the result of the fact that the counseling professions now recognize that these eating disorders exist. In the past the symptoms had no commonly agreed upon locus such as "anorexia" or "bulimia" to adhere to, so we really do not know how prevalent they were. But more important in terms of being a public health problem is the enormous increase in obesity in this country, now often identified as an eating disorder due to "carbohydrate intolerance." The numbers of obese Americans hugely overwhelms the number of anorexics and bulimics, and obesity can hardly be blamed on "media images." We can point to the "super-sizing" of fast food dispensers if we want to fix blame. However--and this is one of Etcoff's important points--it is not the media or advertizing that is primarily responsible for our perceptions of beauty (or our tendency to eat too much), but an inborn, predisposition that has proven adaptive in the past that makes us find some people pretty and some others not so pretty.Another "reader" claimed that Etcoff did not consider ideas of beauty in other cultures. That is incorrect, as anybody who has read the book knows. She devotes considerable ink to standards and ideals of beauty in cultures around the world and her observation is that ideals of beauty tend to be culture specific; that is, Ache tribesmen find their women and women of a neighboring tribe more attractive than European women. Indeed Etcoff repor

In "Survival of the Prettiest," Nancy Etcoff states that beauty is *not* (ahem) in the eye of the beholder. Instead, she claims that beauty exists beyond personal preference, and offers evidence that our "love of beauty is deeply rooted in our biology." This argument is quite convincing. Below is a summary of just two of the points she makes:1. While the ideal of beauty changes with the times, Etcoff pinpoints similarities across time and cultures. First and foremost, people are attracted to those who are similar to them. For example, Brazilians might feel that beautiful Brazilians are more attractive than beautiful Asians. Yet when asked to pick attractive Asians out of a crowd, Brazilians will generally identify Asians who are considered attractive by other Asians. So, people who are very different in appearance can still agree on some level about beauty in others! This indicates that preferences are at work which transcend continent and culture, making "the role of individual taste is far more insignificant" than we want to believe.2. All people everywhere are hardwired to think that babies are beautiful; after all, babies are so needy that their survival depends on their appealingness. Intuitive, yes -- but when the research on infant beauty is juxtaposed with research confirming the worldwide male preference for women who look young, lots of things begin to make sense. For example, it shows that the common male desire for women to be "infant-like" -- or helpless, weak, and in need of a caregiver -- is part of the same process.These are just a two of the interesting points that Etcoff raises in this worthwhile book. It's well written, enjoyable, and unapologetic about its finding that instinct triumphs over common sense. Thus, although the book is about biology, the analysis it presents is sure to provoke thought among those who are interested in Darwinism, the media, and/or women's issues. Etcoff's conclusion: Although we may be dissatistfied with the emphasis our culture places on beauty, our desire to seek out beauty is neither good nor bad. It just is. And that's a good thing to know.

This book is readable and interesting. I recall a "20/20" program where they put hidden cameras on a man and woman who were beautiful, and on a man and woman who were plain, and sent them out for job interviews WITH THE SAME RESUMES. The attractive man and woman got MANY more job offers than the plain pair. And these were not fashion-model jobs, but stock-brokerages etc., I used to work in a plastic surgeon's office. One woman brought her baby in to have a cleft-lip repaired. The mother used to sit and read magazines in the waiting room while the baby cried next to her. After the baby's lip was fixed, and he now looked like a normal baby, that mother never touched a magazine in the waiting room, but cooed and cuddled him the whole wait. BUT if looks were everything, how come John Lennon and Paul McCartney both in 1969--when John and Paul were arguably the most desirable men on the planet--married Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney?! Yoko and Linda were not that attractive!! But they snared two Beatles. I mean, I'm a nobody, and I don't think I'D even go out with Yoko or Linda. To each his own! So looks matter, but they ain't everything.Anyway, this book delves into the appearance aspect of our species in an accessible manner, and I recommend it.

Although Dr Etcoff and I live in the same town and are both psychologists (but not in the same field), I had read and admired this book BEFORE I ever met her, so this opinion isn't cronyism. There were only a couple of customer reviews when I first read the book, and today I scrolled through all of them -- which prompted me to put in my 2 cents worth: I really don't understand the perception of this book as a political statement -- it seems to me in the best tradition of the burgeoning field of evolutionary psychology as exemplified by R Wright, R Dawkins, S Pinker, M Ridley, A Dugatkin, J Tooby & L Cosmides, etc etc etc. Dr Etcoff's book is a unique combination of clinical acumen, breadth of research interests, and beautiful writing style. It's so unusual to read a book that presents powerful ideas first of all, and presents these ideas accessibly to the nonspecialist who nonetheles has read broadly to acquire broad general knowledge. Survival of the Prettiest pulls together all original research literature on the psychophysics of human attraction (including Etcoff's own work on facial recognition), the relevant literature on evolutionary psychology, and an enormously amusing storehouse of illustrations from art, poetry, and literature -- everywhere in short -- not even scorning scandalous gossip if it proves her point. The book is organized to gallop along, yet the text is scrupulously documented in endnotes and exhaustive bibliography. This is a work of real scholarship -- yet without a single turgid paragraph or opaque footnote. Anybody that reads it with even a half-open mind can see that Etcoff has presented a careful and balanced account of the current state of the art. And the research supports her conclusions: like it or not, we are hard-wired to respond to what is called "beauty."

I bought this book two days ago and read it cover to cover in one sitting. This book puts to rest all of the feminist platitudes about beauty that has become dogma in the last thirty years. Nancy Etcoff demonstrates that the appreciation of beauty is not just a patriarchal tool used to keep women in line, but a genetic imperative that encompass all cultures, societies and races. She shows that while women are more rewarded for their beauty (or punished for lack therof), men are also harshly judged by their appearance. A short, balding guy is as likely remain dateless as an overweight woman. Etcoff also makes a point of comparing and contrasting the differences in what male and females find attractive and the genetic reasoning behind this. Despite the fact that straight and gay males are attracted to different genders, they both share a common trait of placing high importance on the youth and appearance of their partners. And while there is a thriving gay porn market, no such lesbian equivalent exist in the world. Beauty is currency and anyone interested in finding out more about this most human of commerce should pick up this book.