Secular Changes in Standards of Bodily Attractiveness in American Women: Different Masculine and Feminine Ideals

Abstract

Silverstein, Peterson, and Perdue (1986) studied changes in curvaceousness of the models in Vogue magazine over time and found that curvaceousness was inversely correlated with American women's participation in higher education and the professions. In the present study, it was predicted that the male standard for women's bodily attractiveness would differ from the female standard and would change differently over time, based on evolutionary theory. Published data on the bodily curvaceousness of models in Playboy and Vogue and on Miss America winners were used to test this hypothesis. Although they did not differ on average, the male and female standards changed differently over time. There was less variation in the male standard, represented by Playboy and by Miss America winners, than in the female standard, represented by Vogue. Results suggest that cultural standards of attractiveness are influenced by an evolved psychology of mate selection that has implications for understanding changes in the standard of attractiveness and its relation to eating disorders.