Why do we see ugly people as ugly, but see attractive people as attractive?

Question

Is this programmed into us or has the recognition of beauty and ugliness evolved over time?

Answer 1

Attractiveness indicates good genetics, as does strength and intelligence.

The reason why some people find others more attractive is due to the sub concious search for a genetically diverse partner, this gives your offspring the best chance of survival. e.g. often blondes will be more attractive to dark haired people and vice versa.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

A whole lot of things, and of course depends on which sex. Attraction is fundamentally based on the procreation of the species, and therefore individuals are drawn to those who in their mind represent the most suitable partner to produce offspring, and furthermore, nurture and/or protect the young. Just the same as all the other animals in the world.
Humans have adopted many ways to attract a mate, often subconsciously. The male will preen, strengthen, suggest intelligence, hence the fact of know it all males! impress with shiny toys, much like some of the crow family does with glistening objects, so the red ferrari does the same from a man, alledgedly. Cleanliness, and what would be considered good looking in a man suggests the young will inherit those characteristics, and be successful in attracting a mate as well when the time comes, money success, talent is all geared at being attractive to the oposite sex.

It is a fact of life that what is considered ugly may well represent a poor selection of a mate, the genetic inheritance, the young may well be faced with obstacles in the world that attractive genes would not, unfortunate, but true. Of course there is a pay off, a less than pretty face may have an acceptable, if not excellent body, proportional and child bearing in the case of women, and strong and protective in the case of men. Many examples exist. Think the next time you hear, what the heck does she see in him!? But there can be drawbacks, the more desirable a mate you find, remember they are likely to be desirable to everyone else! and you could have a hard time defending your hard won prize.
For woman, the attractive messages sent out are, amongst others, of course are the ability to be a good mother for the young, and to be fertile and give birth easily. Mature men always find wide hips attractive as it suggests easy birthing, and that is relative, in some polynesian cultures, what in the UK would be seen as fat, is attractive there, and if the hips are big as well, all the better. That is where there is an influence of media pressure in the western world however, too many confusing messages saying thin is good, etc. In fact few men find that attractive, unless they are gay! Which is why In the world of fashion and catwalks, and designers, there is a large contingent of gay males.

Of course the womans body apart from the hips would be healthy, and the fixation on breasts is a result once again of a prospective successful mother. Make up such as lipstick for instance enhances the sexual picture, projecting a raised blood pressure to a male and promiscuity, much of the beauty products are of course striving to make the subject look younger, and therefore sexually receptive, young women with fresh faces need little, or even no make up to be attractive to the male.

It's the sex game all through the mature lives of all people, However there are many who might say, i like to look good, i enhance myself as it makes me feel good, the game stops there for a variety of reasons, Commitment elsewhere, indifference, and so on. But nevertheless each person will indulge and instinctively act out the sex game to a point.

It is believed that 80% of all human activity has roots of a sexual nature.

Answer 4

Because we need to reproduce. Research has discovered that many all over the world tend to find women with the hourglass figure more attractive. Women with hourglass figures (small waist, bust and hips equal) are more likely to have higher levels of estrogen and therefore more likely to reproduce.

Women will feel attracted to men who look strong and masculine, a reason why some women fall so easily for the bad boy image. This is indicative of higher testosterone levels, and therefore men will be more likely to father children.

We are like this whether we like it or not. Overweight people, those with bad skin, and smaller men might not be attractive to some. I'm not saying if you're fat you will be ugly, or that small men can't father children. Just that what we find ugly and pretty has nothing to do with taste, but rather with an unconscious desire to spread our genes. This is programmed in us: you'll feel attracted to whoever you think will reproduce with you. And you think the person is ugly who won't. This is why men won't feel attracted to very thin women, or very overweight women, simply because women who are size 0 or size 30 (UK) will be less likely to have children, and the same applies to men. This is science!

But the details, like blond hair and blue eyes are beautiful, develop in our community over time. At some time the Playboy Bunny was the epitome of beauty, these days it might include darker women, hair and skin included.

Answer 5

Youthful looking women are attractive to men due to it's indication of fertility. To some extent this is programmed in to us.

Apart from youthful looks, personal preference of beauty can be part of social programming or individual choice.

Sometimes, beauty can be more than skin deep. It can often be a feeling which you get in that persons company which you have never experienced in your life before. Something can touch you on the inside, at the right moment, which has very little to do with what a person looks like on the outside.

I think therefore it is part programmed, part evolved, and part experienced. I believe this to be the case, as it changes as you get older.

Answer 6

General principles of beauty have to do with symmetry and waist-to-hip ratios. Women, having waists, should have smaller ratios than men. If a woman's face is symmetrical then she is considered to have good genes that are suitable for passing on to offspring. This is much more instinctual than our present day knowledge of DNA. Cavemen knew this instinctively, but only now are we finding out why.

More specifically, people often find each other attractive because they resemble a family member without being related to them. It is well documented that some women choose men who have similar characteristics to their fathers and that some men choose women look similar to their mothers. This is because when we are very young (usually under 5 yrs old) we hold our parents up as the ideal couple. They are the centre of our world, in fact they are our Adam and Eve. They show us how to behave and conduct our lives, which is why so many people find themselves 'turning into' their parents.

Answer 7

The current prevailing concept of what is beautiful and what is ugly has basically been formed by the enforcement of a stereo-type by many sources of information which can be available to the people of modern society.
The actual concept of beauty and ugliness varies both in terms of geographical sense and chronological sense.
That is to say, the concept of beauty and ugliness has been changing along the lapse of time.
For example, the standard of a beautiful man or woman in Western society may differ from that of Asian society. And, although they say Cleopatra was very beautiful, if she were to enter a beauty contest today, I wonder if she would be so highly acclaimed.

So, in my opinion, it is not the matter of evolution, but simply the matter of change which has been taking place under the influence of whatever sources of information available at a certain given time and geographical area.

I don't believe there is any innate program of defining beauty and ugliness in us.
I am convinced that the current standard of beauty and ugliness will change in the future, too.

Answer 8

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in a culturally conditioned eye. The fuller figured woman was once seen as more beautiful than the slimmer woman that's preferred today. In the early part of the last century hairy arm pits in a woman were a big turn on for men. Nowadays even the most prudish of women shave their arm pits. (Even men are starting to shave their chests. How many World Federation wrestlers or muscle bound Hollywood heros have hairy chests? A bunch of titless girls is all they are.) So beauty is neither natural nor evolutionary, it's simply fashionable. You'll like what your society tells you to like whether you like it or not.

Answer 9

We have evolved a subconcious universal image of what is beautiful or hansome because this classical eveness indicates healthy Genes . Also if we had good parents we are often atracted ot replcas of them Of course that dependson how healthy the bearer keeps themselves . Too atractive they can get a V.D from frquent sexual contact in that case thier skin Hair etc will deteriate .
If one is average smile and wear dinner suit both put you up on the attractive scale . And wear good aftershave . Youcan tell i'm gay cant you as most of my hints pertain to men Good grooming all round I am often first attracted to good smells . Warm protective personality and sense of humour if he laugs at MY jokes Women say they are not atracted to the way a man looks just what sort of person they are LIARS what do you think they would prefer someone rich hansome or someone poor ugly . So as this primitive subconcious game is played is it so sexixstof males toprefer a younger prettier more fertile womanthats the devils bargain
There is of course the fphrase Jolie Laid , which means Ugly Beautiful often it takes an inconsitensy of features to make an attrative woman or man infact I am often to peoples amazment atracted to that inconsistency .
But sorry I do draw the line somewhat very short of the Elephant Man God bless

Answer 10

Excellent question. Characteristics indicating fertility are important - e.g. men are most attracted by certain waist to hips ratio as it indicates optimum child-bearing capacity - and by the same token general health demonstrated in teeth, eyes, nails, hair, etc. So far so biological, but there are myriad subtleties in our perception of beauty.

Different races have different premium characteristics - e.g some Africans venerate darker skin, the darker the better - and our minds seem to have a predisposal to symmetry, as mentioned elsewhere. However, personal experience and culture come into it too. Presently, in the West, very skinny girls are the aspiration (the size zero phenomenon), coming from couture values but also indicating a reaction to the prevailing obesity trends, possibly. Whereas voluptuousness was once celebrated as indicating health - well-fed when most were poor and starving - the reverse is true now; overweight is often associated with poverty now. And darker skin generally is perceived as less attractive in the West, sometimes even among darker skinned peoples, possibly because it is still associated with poverty and lack of political power, even today.

It's also true we take physical models of perfection from those we have loved as a child, usually parents, but sometimes siblings, or maybe others in our social circles.
However, there's no denying beauty also comes from within. If you get to know someone your view of them alters because your brain begins to associate physical characteristics with good personal qualities and positive responses to you too. So the plain girl in the office grows more attractive as you interact and socialise, while the revered catwalk model turns out to be spiteful and self-centred. These are both cliches, of course, but illustrate the point.

To answer your question directly, our perception of beauty is a mix of biology, culture, experience and our own personality. In the old nature or nurture, like most things, it's a combination of both.

Hope this helps.

Answer 11

Ugly is not the contrary of attractive. Some of the guys I've felt more attracted to are not the most pretty I've seen. Most of the 'pretty boys' type is not at all attractive to me.
If still your question distinguishes ugly from pretty... I would say as Einstein that all is relative. You are only ugly or pretty, tall or short, rich or poor compared to someone else.
On the other hand you either find someone attractive or not... there is no other one.
Charme is the key really.
Good Luck