Do female Yahoo avatars represent selective pressure towards neoteny?

Question

This can lead into a broader debate on the manifestation of sexual selection pressures in representational anthropomorphic images. I think it's quite prevalent in cartoons and caricatures in western culture and markedly apparent in eastern societies, ie. Japanese manga and anime. By contrast, dimorphism is appearent in toys and images marketed to children ( Bratz and GI Joe being extreme examples). Yahoo forums and other communal websites such as Zwinky tend towards neotenous avatars for both genders. Why do we subconsciously appropriate these images to represent ourselves, and in what situations do we prefer dimorphism, or alternatively, tend towards symbolic pedomorphism?

Answer 1

Actually, I was thinking about this myself as I was creating my own avatar.

I don't think this is a recent trend. Humans have been evolving toward "baby-ish" characteristics (as evidenced by our large eyes, large heads, extended childhoods, extended learning period, less body hair, etc., etc.) for a very, very long time. Sexual selection, I'm certain, has had a lot to do with this, but I suspect that the extended learning period is the driving force behind that sexual selection. Adaptability and intelligence are what make us as successful as we are; evolutionarily, it would make sense that we would feel attracted to facial features which correspond with other unseen characteristics that enhance survivability.

As for G.I. Joe and other things marketed to boys, it seems even they bear the marks of neoteny. G.I. Joes and the latest generation of cartoon superheroes generally have very youthful faces, and they appear (to me) to be growing ever younger with time. There could be a number of reasons for this trend I'm seeing (which, admittedly, may or may not actually be there), but I imagine it might have something to do with the recent upward mobility of women.

Traditionally, men have chosen their mates based on physical features--which could be be why women appear more childlike than men--while women have chosen their mates based on the resources these men could provide. Now that women can obtain such resources on their own, greater emphasis is being placed on male physical features than before. The role models we give our sons--their cartoons and their toys, for example--will naturally have the qualities we subconsciously want to imbue in our children; as a result, these role models are becoming more physically attractive.

This is all just my hypothesis, of course. Take it with a grain of salt.

Answer 2

In the case of Yahoo, I don't think there is any subconscious appropriation going on. I suspect Yahoo chooses this type of avatar because it connects with the demographic they try to attract. People go along with it because they enjoy having some kind of representation of themselves and that's the easiest choice available. However, the popularity of these youthful, androgynous caricatures could be reflective of a larger pressure toward neoteny. We are, after all, slowly being turned into a society of infants, waiting to be spoonfed whatever meagre pablum our "parents" serve up. Damn. I'm trying not to be so cynical. Why did you have to ask this question.

Answer 3

You know, you're onto something! I do think that you pretty much answered your own question when you mentioned the difference between eastern and western cultures. As westerners, we value youth and discard the elderly. These days, people are considered "old" when they turn 50 or even 40! Many women think their lives are over at that point...and WHY? It's really unfortunate that our society tells us that we're no good and not beautiful after a certain age.
Perhaps I could pose an observation for you...does the western obsession with youth perpetuate pedophilia? If we are constantly bombarded with images of youngsters (both male and female!) and these images are portrayed as desirable and sexy, does that make it easier for adults to succumb to perversion??

Answer 4

Aren't you the embodiment of pedomorphism, struggling toward maturity while aggrandizing yourself and alienating others in a juvenile 'My dog's bigger than your dog' fashion?
I think the Yahoo avatars' homogeneous appearance has more to do with marketing than neoteny. Statistically, most internet users are going to be in the younger demographic...those who will most resemble the puerile caricatures. So, it is in Yahoo's best interest to appeal to these users.
Perhaps our unconscious (because the subconscious is not a recognized level of consciousness in the psychological community) preference for the youthful avatars is a representation of our underlying desires to avoid the inevitable quadragenarian years. So, Yahoo is not to blame, but ourselves for reinforcing it.


I speak smart too.

Answer 5

One, stop trying to impress us.

Two, I think you propose an interesting discussion. The avatars given by Yahoo and Zwinky are more like paper dolls than any tools that allow us to truly express our inner selves. I think that a much more interesting topic for this discussion would center around avatars for video games because 1) they are much more customizable and 2) we spend much more time as an avatar in a virtual world, rather than in a forum such as this, as ourselves. I think that there are very few people who choose to represent themselves as children.

I don't think avatar in Yahoo represent selective pressure towards neoteny any more than a baby doll does. As for the dimorphism in children's toys, many children's toys use extremes to teach about the world around them.

Answer 6

I don't think it's that we subconsciously appropriate these images to be represent us...I think we "consciously" think or wish that's how we are. Ina situation where nonone knows who we "really" are avatars and such let us be whoever we want to be...

Answer 7

I am sorry but...Huh?

OH i get it! no you see, i think that we choose to have these avatars represent ourselves because its better than just having that grey head thing, because we can actually choose the color of our eyes, hair, etc. if there was a face that looked exactly like me, i would choose to have that up.

Answer 8

i have no idea what that means but i am going to assume it has to do with youth and if it does theres you answer. people will usualy take any thing that makes them seem younger