"Cashdan's work addresses what has long been a huge flaw in the biology-of-beauty claims, namely that few women in any society (Victoria's Secret models do not constitute a "society") have that 0.7 ratio. They tend to be much higher, with a cylindrical rather than hourglass shape. Surely, given that evolution cares only about whether your traits enable you to leave offspring, there would have been tremendous selection pressure for women to have an hourglass shape if it truly conferred greater fertility. So what explains all these imperfect women? (In Cashdan's data from 33 non-Western and four European populations, the average waist-to-hip ratio is above 0.8.)
The explanation is that androgens increase fat around the waist, raising that ratio. But androgens also increase strength, stamina, and competitiveness. 'The hormonal profile associated with high [waist-to-hip ratio]. . . may favor success in resource competition, particularly under stressful circumstances,' writes Cashdan. 'The androgenic effects--stamina, initiative, risk-proneness, assertiveness, dominance--should be particularly useful where a woman must depend on her own resources to support herself and her family.'"(Source)
That logic is pretty sound, especially when you figure that the current idea of a nuclear family is not what evolution had in mind. In fact, when it came to procreation, neolithic man was more likely to make his deposit and then go all deadbeat daddy (or just dead daddy) before his progeny were old enough to defend themselves, which leaves mom swinging the club to defend the cave.
When I read about the whole magic waist-to-hip ratio during my undergrad anthropology courses, I had to immediately take my own measurements and do the math, and whaddya know, fat girls can be 0.7 too. I took my measurements again last night and yup, I've gained inches around my ass, so now I'm 0.73. Strangely, I feel like I'd still be lousy in a fight. (Sculpt sexy curves, pronto!)
Cashdan has a little more analysis on the subject when it comes to the availability of resources.
...Men may prefer this non-hourglass shape, despite claims to the contrary, in countries where women tend to be economically independent (Britain and Denmark). Only in countries where women are economically dependent on men (such as Japan, Greece and Portugal) do men prefer the thin-waist ideal of female beauty. In some non-Western societies where women bear the responsibility for finding food, men prefer larger waist-to-hip ratios. Cashdan puts it this way: "Whether men prefer a [ratio] associated with lower or higher androgen/estrogen ratios . . . should depend on the degree to which they want their mates to be strong, tough, economically successful and politically competitive." (Source)Intriguing! This analysis supports my belief that we are intelligent creatures who have the ability to override our evolutionary programming, based on the availability of resources in the modern world. I'd like to believe that I personally have preferred a person's soul to their genetic build, but then I look at my linebacker-esque husband and every guy that I've ever seriously clicked with sexually and get the feeling that maybe this line of thought is a Pandora's box best left sealed.
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