fandomhigh | Sexual Anthropology, Tuesday, Period 2

"Good morning," Brennan greeted the class once everyone seemed to be in a seat. "Today we're talking about the role physical attraction plays in sexual selection. You'll often hear that everyone has his own taste, but, in fact, there are certain signifiers that are universal across most cultures."

"Due to time constraints and your level, I will not be going into as much detail as one might like, but if you're especially interested I can recommend the work of Natalie Angier or Desmond Morris as good popular science authors covering this topic."

"Now" -- she smiled -- "we talk about what those universal signifiers are. For both genders, people are attracted to those who look young and healthy as a symbol of fertility, and those with symmetrical features as a sign of good health. In evolutionary biology terms, all of those features help to assure us that our potential mate would create strong children, and that is a hard-wired preference even when we aren't looking to create new life. In addition, we tend to be drawn to the average. Faces created by using a computer to mathematically blend many images are often rated as more attractive than any single image."

"For men, women and males seeking male partners tend to look for a V-shaped torso, a muscular frame and height about 1.1 times that of the average woman. Women prefer more prominent masculine features when fertile and more feminine, soft features at other times. Men commonly seen as attractive often blend those elements. For example, Paul Newman" -- she flashed a photo of the actor -- "had a wiry frame that offered strength without the bulk that might indicate an overabundance of testosterone, highly symmetrical features, a feminine mouth and eyes, but a very masculine nose and brow ridge."

"There's been much more research done on what makes women attractive, possibly because most scientists are male." She smiled thinly at that. "Features such as a symmetrical face, full lips, and low waist-hip ratio are commonly considered physically attractive on a woman, because they are thought to indicate physical health and high fertility to a potential mate. Other attractive aspects include correlates of fertility such as youth, a waist-hip ratio of about .7; full, perky and symmetrical breasts; a body mass proportion that fits into the societal ideal; blond hair; full red lips; clear eyes; lustrous hair; and good muscle tone. If you look at someone like Heidi Klum, you'll see all of those features."

She paused to sip from her coffee. "Today, I've compiled a large group of magazines containing images of a wide range of celebrities from the last thirty years. I would like for each of you to select one person you find attractive and explain how he or she fits into the general societal ideal."

[OOC: Images of Paul Newman and Heidi Klum may be somewhat NSFW -- his is shirtless, hers is in a Victoria's Secret show. Please see my OOC note on selecting photos. OCD is done!]

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"Definitely," Eric agreed, taking her hand to shake it. "I'm Eric, but again, you probably knew that. Are you new this semester? I don't remember seeing you around at all."

"I am," Valentine nodded. "It's not so bad here, really."

"It's not home. Sometimes, I think that's enough for most of us." Eric... was very happy to be living somewhere that wasn't with his mother, that wasn't on the Upper East Side. "Or, I guess, maybe for some of us it is home? When what should be our home isn't."

Now there was a notable statement, which Valentine tucked away. She nodded a little. "I guess that depends all on how you define home."

"When I figure that out," Eric said, laughing a bit, "you'll be the first to know. I don't think it's the Upper East Side, anyway. What about you? Where do you call home?" He paused. "Or, since this is Fandom, maybe I should ask when?"

"Greensboro, North Carolina," Valentine answered, nodding simply, and finding it just easier to stick with the facts and not bother delving into the objectivity of the idea of home. "And, incidentally, the future. More than a century."

"Oh, really? What's it like, coming back in time like that. I imagine things must be pretty different?" Eric frowned. "Well, I mean, obviously. But is it... really different? Or just a little? Or...?"

"Not actually as different as you'd think," Valentine said. "The technology drives me nuts with how simple it is, and it's weird to think that all the political changes that happen in the past century haven't happened yet, but the biggest different is just that there's no Buggers here, I guess. Yet? Or maybe they won't be here at all, which just gets into all sorts of confusing time stuff."

Sexual Anthropology, Tuesday, Period 2

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