Which ethnic group is the most beautiful? General Social Survey interviewers -- predominately middle-aged white women -- were asked to rate the physical attractiveness of female participants (US residents) with a range from 'very unattractive' (1) to 'very attractive' (5). Here are the means for various groups (with at least ten participants, N = 1,152):
Mean Physical Attractiveness
Spanish 3.93
Puerto Rican 3.76
Muslim 3.64
East Asian 3.57
Mexican 3.56
Italian 3.55
Asian Indian 3.55
Jewish 3.48
Russian 3.47
French 3.43
Total Sample 3.42
German 3.38
Irish 3.38
Czech 3.36
English/Welsh 3.35
Black 3.34
Dutch 3.27
Polish 3.25
American Indian 3.23
French Canadian 3.23
Scottish 3.16
Swedish 2.92
Asians and and darker Caucasian and Hispanic groups have high means, while fairer whites (e.g., Swedish!), American Indians, and blacks have low means. The gap between the highest group (Spanish) and the lowest (Swedish!) is over one standard deviation -- a huge difference.
This is somewhat consistent with my judgment -- I would give Spaniards a high score and blacks and American Indians low scores -- but north European women seem at least as beautiful to me as southern Europeans. I would give Greek women (with only four cases, too small include here), for example, a low score. Eastern European women are beautiful, but Czech, Polish, and Russian women don't do very well here.
I thought ratings by interviewers would be more valid than self-ratings, but now I'm not so sure. The tastes of middle-aged white women don't line up very well with this middle-aged white dude.
I imagine that many of these survey workers are liberals. Perhaps they penalize fair whites because they're too white.
UPDATE: I discussed this with my wife, and we wondered if intrasexual competition is influencing the ratings. With the Barbie-type being the traditional American ideal, perhaps interviewers penalize fairer white women. It is weird that these interviewers are giving low scores to the women most likely to match the supposed cultural ideal. (My wife says she is inclined to unfollow blondes who are just too perfect.)
Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Monday, November 19, 2018
Data: Which ethnic groups think art should aim for beauty?
Americans participating in the General Social Survey were asked by interviewers: "Please tell me which statement is closest to your opinion: 1. Art works should celebrate what is most beautiful about the world and the human spirit 2. Art works should freely express the artist's deepest thoughts and emotions, good or bad."
Here are the percent who agreed with the beauty option, listed by ethnic background (at least 25 respondents):
Percent agreeing that art should aim for beauty (N = 1,389)
Mexican 59.7
American only 51.7
Black 48.7
American Indian 43.1
German 38.2
Scottish 37.5
Whites 37.0
Irish 33.9
Italian 35.4
English 30.7
French 30.0
Polish 29.6
Jewish 0.0
There is a tendency for smarter groups to favor the "expression" school of art. Look how zero Jews (n = 25) prefer beauty. (This reminds me of the anti-Semitic belief that Jews are responsible for ugly art.) I suspect that more intelligent individuals are influenced by the elite view that beauty is old-fashioned.
I stand proudly with my less enlightened brothers. Who cares about an artist's "deepest thoughts and emotions"? Confessions by Jeffrey Dahmer would be fascinating, but it's not art. Now, if it's Nabokov putting sublime language into the mouth of a hebephile, that's art because the words are beautiful.
Beauty takes many unexpected forms, some of them very dark, so don't think that I am arguing for the Thomas Kinkade school of art. His paintings are beautiful like Smarties are delicious. I'm sure those of us who favor beauty would often disagree about what is beautiful.
Friday, March 04, 2016
"Make her ugly, dammit!"
The family of Nina Simone (left) is having a fit that Zoe Zaldana (right) was cast to play the singer in a biopic.
Simone's dark complexion and traditionally African features were central to her identity and concept of black beauty, so casting someone with Saldana's more European appearance is galling, said Miriam J. Petty, an assistant professor in the radio-television-film department at Northwestern University.
"It's disrespectful and demonstrates the depth of the ignorance of the person making the film of the very subject of the film," she said.
The Simone estate tweeted Wednesday: "Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful. Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing."
Why would you want to choose Nina Simone as a representative of having a classical African look? These Afrocentrists seem to be saying that "black is ugly." The moviemakers are trying to help. They want to avoid the embarrassment of making a movie that no one watches because of an homely lead.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Sex differences in the ideal body
From Time, here are the sex differences in the ideal man and woman. Women like the less extreme versions.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Ethnic differences in waist-to-hip ratio
Women participating in the Midlife Development in the United States Study (2004-06) were measured for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). A ratio of 0.7 is considered to be ideal for health and attractiveness. Here are means by race/ethnic group (N = 1,891).
Mean waist-to-hip ratio
Mexican .88
Amerindian .88
French .87
Black .86
Scottish .86
Swedish .86
English .85
Irish .85
Polish .85
Russian .85
Norwegian .84
German .84
Asian .84
Jewish .84
Italian .83
The differences seem small, but the gap between Italian and Mexican Americans is sixth-tenths of a standard deviation. The groups are roughly 1 1/2 to 2 standard deviations above the ideal--they're all fat--but keep in mind that this is a sample of middle-aged women, with most of the sample between the ages of 40 and 60.
Mean waist-to-hip ratio
Mexican .88
Amerindian .88
French .87
Black .86
Scottish .86
Swedish .86
English .85
Irish .85
Polish .85
Russian .85
Norwegian .84
German .84
Asian .84
Jewish .84
Italian .83
The differences seem small, but the gap between Italian and Mexican Americans is sixth-tenths of a standard deviation. The groups are roughly 1 1/2 to 2 standard deviations above the ideal--they're all fat--but keep in mind that this is a sample of middle-aged women, with most of the sample between the ages of 40 and 60.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
One tiny complaint about The Dark Knight: The Dark Knight was a heck of a movie--at least in some ways--but someone has got to state the obvious. A movie this big, this spectacular, this impressive, has got to have a leading lady who is not homely. I know Maggie Gyllenhaal is a good actress with lots of personality. The word "personality" is a tip-off that the girl is in the wrong movie. I spent half the movie thinking, "This girl is not beautiful enough for Bruce Wayne... Not even close to being beautiful enough for Bruce Wayne... Not even close."
Why does Hollywood do this? You know, I couldn't even remember the actress in Batman Begins, but guess what--that's a GOOD thing. Twenty years from now, I'll be discussing movies with someone and will say, "Oh yeah, The Dark Knight was good, but why did they put Maggie Gyllenhaal in it?" You know you have a problem when people are contemplating casting decisions while they're watching the movie. I mean, geez, Aaron Eckhart is about 10 times better looking than she is. Maggie's brother would have been a better choice. He's played catcher before.
So if any Hollywood people are reading this, I'm just an ordinary moviegoer, but that's what most of us are, and we buy the tickets. Do not, under any circumstances, cast Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sarah Jessica Parker, or Cameron Diaz in a role that calls for a beautiful woman. Allow me to suggest a minimum cutoff: never, never choose someone who is not at least as attractive as Kate Winslett. I only bitched a little during Titanic. Bare minimum.
Why does Hollywood do this? You know, I couldn't even remember the actress in Batman Begins, but guess what--that's a GOOD thing. Twenty years from now, I'll be discussing movies with someone and will say, "Oh yeah, The Dark Knight was good, but why did they put Maggie Gyllenhaal in it?" You know you have a problem when people are contemplating casting decisions while they're watching the movie. I mean, geez, Aaron Eckhart is about 10 times better looking than she is. Maggie's brother would have been a better choice. He's played catcher before.
So if any Hollywood people are reading this, I'm just an ordinary moviegoer, but that's what most of us are, and we buy the tickets. Do not, under any circumstances, cast Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sarah Jessica Parker, or Cameron Diaz in a role that calls for a beautiful woman. Allow me to suggest a minimum cutoff: never, never choose someone who is not at least as attractive as Kate Winslett. I only bitched a little during Titanic. Bare minimum.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
A study conducted in line at the supermarket
In this blog's brief life, the most frequented post by far addressed the question of whether black men prefer white women. My tentative conclusion was that they like light-skinned blacks with European-ish features, but I haven't run across the data to test the idea.
Standing in line at the supermarket last night, I opened the latest issue of Ebony which featured an article on "Who is Dating Who?" [sic]. The magazine also featured other famous couples. I counted 19 couples, and the darkest, most African looking women by a wide margin was Mrs. Barack Obama shown in the top photo. (Evidently, Barry wanted to prove he was black enough when he chose Michelle). She really was an outlier.
Much more common were women like Porschla Coleman who is dating Russell Simmons (shown in the bottom photo). So, my second (unscientific) stab at the same question produces the same results.
This pattern is consistent with my tastes, by the way, only in the reverse direction. Lighter white women can be beautiful, indeed, but beautiful like a painting. It's the darker white women who really stir the blood, as if a little dose of the exotic is necessary. There were few black men with pasty girlfriends. Too much exotic can turn someone off.
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