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Study Finds the Perfect Ratio of Attractiveness 176

Gksksla writes "Scientists in Australia and Hong Kong have conducted a comprehensive study to discover how different body measurements correspond with ratings of female attractiveness. The study, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive."
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Study Finds the Perfect Ratio of Attractiveness

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  • Golden Ratio (Score:5, Interesting)

    by C_Kode ( 102755 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:31PM (#33737808) Journal

    Wasn't this already figured out by Ancient Greek mathematicians? :)

    • Wasn't this already figured out by Ancient Greek mathematicians?

      Are you referring to that old "Angle of the dangle, mass of the meat something, something" calculation?

    • Wasn't this already figured out by Ancient Greek mathematicians? :)

      Sorry to suck the fun out of the comment, but... no.

      The ratio of straight lines rarely has much to do with the female form.

      • by Gilmoure ( 18428 )

        The ratio of straight lines rarely has much to do with the female form.

        Thank goodness!

      • by Joebert ( 946227 )

        The ratio of straight lines rarely has much to do with the female form.

        Unless it's the ratio of straight lines, to gay lines.

  • Forgot one (Score:5, Funny)

    by RealErmine ( 621439 ) <commerce@DEBIANwordhole.net minus distro> on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:32PM (#33737816)
    Young, tall, long armed and with huge... tracts of land.
    • >>>with huge... tracts of land.

      Believe it or not, some of us prefer small... um, tracts of land. We'd actually prefer small natural... tracts of land, rather than silicone enhanced... uh, tracts of land. If you catch my meaning.
      .

      >>>young, tall and long armed

      i.e. Thin.

      There's a tendency in this society (well US society anyway) to hate-on people with vicious comments like "too thin" or "skeletal" or "see-through" when in reality they have a perfectly healthy BMI index. (Between 18.5 and 2

      • by toastar ( 573882 )

        >>>with huge... tracts of land.

        Believe it or not, some of us prefer small... um, tracts of land. We'd actually prefer small natural... tracts of land, rather than silicone enhanced... uh, tracts of land. If you catch my meaning. .

        >>>young, tall and long armed

        i.e. Thin.

        There's a tendency in this society (well US society anyway) to hate-on people with vicious comments like "too thin" or "skeletal" or "see-through" when in reality they have a perfectly healthy BMI index. (Between 18.5 and 23)

        Funny It used to be wide hipped lady's that used to consider attractive, Due to how many kids they could pop out.

        • >>>It used to be wide hipped lady's that used to consider attractive

          That's still true. You've never seen a wide-hipped thin lady? They do exist.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            P.S. Here's a whole bunch of those THIN but still wide-hipped ladies:

            Warning: Naked europeans. Not recommended for prudes: http://www.domai.com/news/index.html [domai.com]

          • The article mentions hip-to-waist ratio as a strong indicator of attractiveness, so I'd say you're exactly right. And I speak as a wide-hipped thin lady (although missing the component up top to be a true hourglass figure, I've still never had any complaints.)
          • by Gilmoure ( 18428 )

            With large natural tracts of land, no less. The floppier the better!

        • "Funny It used to be wide hipped lady's that used to consider attractive, Due to how many kids they could pop out."

          Err..we're talking about women you want to lay...NOT having kids?!!??!

          Ok, in the old days..you needed lots of offspring to help work the farm, but these days...not so much.

          I guess some people want them, but I'd rather not have an anchor on my life dragging down my finances and time for fun activities...like getting laid!!

          :)

  • Pssshhh... (Score:4, Funny)

    by mister_playboy ( 1474163 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:32PM (#33737834)

    Long arms? Give me a hourglass shaped babe with plenty of T&A, thanks. :)

    • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:37PM (#33737924)

      Any gal you marry will end up with plenty of A, no matter how much she starts with.

      • by fyngyrz ( 762201 )

        Any gal you marry will end up with plenty of A, no matter how much she starts with.

        Yeah, but after the first year or so, she isn't going to share it with you anyway, so what difference does it make?

      • by rthille ( 8526 )

        Slashdot needs a 'sad but true' moderation.

    • by Surt ( 22457 )

      The point of the study seems to be that that's what you say, but not what you actually pick.

      • I'm willing to say I'm an exception to the results, as I KNOW I prefer my women with some curves as opposed to skinny ones. Not really big girls, but I prefer the girls more in the 125-140 lbs range rather than the 100-115 lbs range.

  • by Big Smirk ( 692056 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:34PM (#33737880)

    Nice job.

    Next up, a study on perfect female breast size.

    "No ma'am, I'm not oogling you, I'm conducting a study"

  • bad survey. (Score:3, Informative)

    by JWSmythe ( 446288 ) <jwsmythe@noSPam.jwsmythe.com> on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:34PM (#33737882) Homepage Journal

    God, yet another insignificant study without enough information.

        96 models, and a sample set of 94 (plus some number in the Hong Kong group).

        At least it leads to their site, which appears that it may do a better job at getting a good sample group.

        It, of course, can't take into account moods, personal history, etc. Like, the most beautiful woman in the survey could look just like my exgirlfriend/exwife. It's very likely I'd immediately score her lower.

       

    • by Surt ( 22457 )

      It takes into account personal history via sample size.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by JWSmythe ( 446288 )

        It doesn't look like the same size provides an adequate room for edge cases to not skew the results.

        At one company, I did scored ratings. It seemed like a big complicated system, but it boiled down to be pretty simple. People were voting 1 to 5 on a set of pictures. There were thousands of sets handled by the system at any given point, and multiple millions of votes stored in our logs.

        In the first 10 results, we could have a tremendously skewed result. Say a

        • Studies like this are why statistics should be part of high school.

          Basically, any time you've got a sample less than 1500, disregard the study. There's too much drift, your p-numbers are all pretty much random, and it's just not good data or sound practice. (I meant fifteen hundred. That's a general baseline.)

          Also, without qualifying bars the stats are meaningless.

  • Long arms? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:38PM (#33737942)

    How long have these arms to be?
    Long enough to hand me a beer over from the fridge?

  • one of these days they will stop trying to figure out what makes some women more attractive than others and will finally start figuring out how to get everyone one or two of those.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by rubycodez ( 864176 )

      no problem, travel to some place money is scarce. bring some money. you will be found attractive and have women.

      • by fyngyrz ( 762201 )
        +1 spot fucking on
      • I have heard many good things about Thailand, and I'm sure things are even more affordable with their tourism economy in the shitter due to the political unrest.
  • by BJ_Covert_Action ( 1499847 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:50PM (#33738128) Homepage Journal
    Personally, I like short girls for some reason. I don't know why, but I've always had a thing for girls that are 5'4 or below. I think it's because the short ones are usually zesty packets of spunk and attitude. Nothing like short-woman syndrome to make a girl the right balance of crazy and fierce.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by rubycodez ( 864176 )

      short? the average height of women in the USA is 5'4".

      • Fine then, change my criteria to at least 6 inches shorter than myself. I don't really care about the USA average height, I just like women that are short compared to myself.
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        short? the average height of women in the USA is 5'4".

        You will have people talking about 'short' guys who are average or above average height. As a result, if you fall near average, you have to state your height as exaggerated in order to avoid being labeled 'short'.

        I think there is also a disconnect in referring to height in a numeric manner. It's interesting when you look at it from a statistical standpoint, I've seen people refer to guys who were 5'9" and 5'10" as short.

        You will hear people refer to

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

          I think there is also a disconnect in referring to height in a numeric manner. It's interesting when you look at it from a statistical standpoint, I've seen people refer to guys who were 5'9" and 5'10" as short.

          In some parts of the country, that is short.

          I'm 6'2" - just barely. My brother is 6'3", maybe a little more. My boss is 6'2" and thick (280lb or so). My best friend is 6'5". My dad is 6'1" (or was before he started getting old). Other friends and acquaintances are anywhere from 5'11 up through 6'6" and various builds (most around the 6'1" height).

          My FIL is one of the "shorter" men I know - at 5'10".

          No, it doesn't have much to do with the group I hang with: out here, people really are taller and bigger than

          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by Spectre ( 1685 )

            In some parts of the country, that is short.

            No, it doesn't have much to do with the group I hang with: out here, people really are taller and bigger than the average (don't ask why, I don't know).

            When I go to (say) the coasts of the US (NE corridor or California) I'd find myself having a good head's view over the crowds - I am 'quite tall' there, whereas here, I'm relatively normal. (Hell, due to a slight build, I'd even be considered small.) I'm not "the tall guy", I'm "the skinny guy".

            I'll second all of t

            • by CAIMLAS ( 41445 )

              I'll second all of the above. The country was settled by people of different ethnicities area by area. California and New England are shorter than the people in the midwest.

              Ironically, I'm in the Midwest, but my family is from New York. My wife (from the Midwest) is short. The generation since my grandfathers and on, all the males have been over 6' - mixed Irish/Italian on one side, and "so American I've been here since the Mayflower"/Irish/English/Dutch on the other. So I'm exceptionally tall for people from where I come from, but yes: Midwesterners are a taller breed, generally.

              Most of the genetics around here seem to be of mixed German/Norwegian and a bit of Irish thrown in

          • I'm 5'11" and from western New York. Around there, I feel at least average in height all of the time, and occasionally feel tall depending on who's around me. I never feel particularly short, though I know a lot of people who are taller than me.

            Conversely, I've been living in Southern California for a couple of years, and I feel short *all the time* there. So what I'm saying is I have a contradictory anecdote - you say at 6'1" you feel tall in California, but having lived in California I'd say you had an un

      • by cjb658 ( 1235986 )

        short? the average height of women in the USA is 5'4".

        Does this average include non-white Americans? There is definitely a disparity among races.

    • "I think it's because the short ones are usually zesty packets of spunk"

      Don't use that complement in the UK.

    • Distrubing (Score:4, Funny)

      by TiggertheMad ( 556308 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @02:48PM (#33739014) Journal
      I've always had a thing for girls that are 5'4 or below. I think it's because the short ones are usually zesty packets of spunk

      if...
      girls that are 5'4 or below == short ones
      and
      short ones == zesty packets of spunk
      That would mean that you just said:

      I've always had a thing for zesty packets of spunk.

      on Slashdot. /shudder
      • Hey man, if you're going to post on the internet, you might as well use the most colorful and ambiguous language as possible. It's all just fun and games in the end anyways.
    • They seem to have better proportions IMO. Taller, fit women seem to get that "lanky" look.

    • "Personally, I like short girls for some reason. I don't know why, but I've always had a thing for girls that are 5'4 or below. I think it's because the short ones are usually zesty packets of spunk and attitude. Nothing like short-woman syndrome to make a girl the right balance of crazy and fierce."

      Well, it does make it easier to manhandle them in the bed which is fun...I mean, you can pick them up, move them around...do some positions that you just can't do with a bigger girl..unless you are a body buil

    • I have a slight preference for small short young women, but am also attracted to one who are tall or average. I am most attracted to smaller short women that are probably from about 4'11 to 5'5 inches tall. But, that preference is slight. I would prefer that they not be over about 6'0 or so, because I am 5'11 and would prefer that they not be more than an inch or two taller than me.

      Oddly enough, I also fascinated by smaller than average sized breasts. Whenever I see a young slightly flat chested 20-somethi
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        Perhaps, healthy eating keeps women (and men) more attractive and healthy as they get into their 30s, 40s and beyond. I might actually try out a few of their weird recipes, at least for an occasional meal.

        Well, considering most of the vitamins that keep skin and cells healthy come from fruits and vegetables, I could see that being the case. On the other hand, I would bet that most of those people have a pretty hard time building a significant amount of muscle, and many of them may be iron deficient. I know that one of my close friends eats almost a pound of meat a day, if not more. He certainly doesn't have the healthiest skin, but man, he packs on muscle like a madman when he works out.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Rick17JJ ( 744063 )
          I am not sure about the raw vegans, but at least most vegetarians and ordinary vegans (not raw) include beans and and grains in their diet. Most types of beans are missing one amino acid, and most grains are missing a different amino acid. Both foods have complementary proteins and if eaten within a 24 hour (or so) time period, complete protein is absorbed. Beans are surprisingly high in protein. Then there are also soy beans, which have complete protein.

          One grain like cereal that vegans and vegetarians so
          • Yeah, dietary studies are always interesting to read up on. That is one science that I don't spend much effort researching but would probably benefit me more. For now, my modus operandi is to keep my metabolism sky high by leading an extremely active lifestyle. This gives me the freedom to eat what I want (within reason) without fluctuating in weight too much. Being young probably helps a lot on that front.
    • Think that's weird? I get chastised for liking chubby women. Even the chubby women I've dated don't understand it...(neither do I)
  • SCIENCE! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Triv ( 181010 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:50PM (#33738132) Journal
    Why do I get the feeling this study was conceived purely as a way to get a bunch of nerds into a room with some hot chicks and to cover their leering as "scientific curiosity."
  • is what the boys want, and what those pipestem arms and little waist whisper.
  • Was this survey performed outside a movie theatre after a showing of Avatar by any chance?
  • by XxtraLarGe ( 551297 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:56PM (#33738230) Journal
    I think tall, short-armed women or short, long-armed women would look kind of odd.
    • by hawkfish ( 8978 )

      I think tall, short-armed women or short, long-armed women would look kind of odd.

      Exactly - the second group would have a similar ratio to chimpanzees. Not sure what the first group would look like but probably any quadruped.

      • I think tall, short-armed women or short, long-armed women would look kind of odd.

        Not sure what the first group would look like...

        Tyrannosaurus Sex: A lizard who is a tyrant of your sex life.

  • Sounds like good news for female boxers?
  • Shocking (Score:3, Funny)

    by carrier lost ( 222597 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @01:59PM (#33738266) Homepage

    "...found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive."

    Get out! Men don't like old, short, stubby-armed women?

    Sacre-bleu!

  • Dave.cpp (Score:5, Funny)

    by CODiNE ( 27417 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @02:00PM (#33738286) Homepage

    Actually Dave [thedailywtf.com] has already figured out the optimal formula for calculating and ranking a woman's beauty.

  • by Drakkenmensch ( 1255800 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @02:02PM (#33738322)
    ...and it is impossible to be untruthful.
  • "The study...found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive."

    "Unt zee gymungous getitzenhooters alzo ve haf found to be zort uff nice.

    Herr Professor Lance Wagstaffenstein, University of Norbnokkerschweet at Munchen

  • This is a very common topic in social psychology experiments. Many that are published fall prey to an error of calling the example selected most to be 'attractive'. It's more correct to say that the most common answer is the most common opinion of attractiveness. In the press to prove their point, they ignore the fact that a less common answer is also an opinion of attractiveness, just to fewer people. Just because more guys like the hard, bony ones with corners so sharp they bruise you and threaten to poke

  • And yet... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Starteck81 ( 917280 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @02:22PM (#33738632)
    And yet some people still find Snookie attractive. I know, it boggles my mind too.
  • by Translation Error ( 1176675 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @02:33PM (#33738772)
    After all, who's going to tell armed women that they're unattractive.
  • by KDN ( 3283 )

    As someone who admires ladies in corsets, I've known about the waist to hip ratio for years :-) What is interesting is this may be inbred, because that ratio has been found to indicate the most fertile women.

  • Young!? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Strange Ranger ( 454494 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @03:03PM (#33739284)
    Shocking!! They had to do a study to find out men prefer young looking women?!?

    There is a reason Steely Dan doesn't sing a song titled "Hey 39".

    There are also plenty of good biological and evolutionary reasons for this.
  • 36 - 24 - 36

  • Pop culture. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by MaWeiTao ( 908546 ) on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @04:11PM (#33740148)

    It seems to me the scope of this study was too limited. What they've defined as attractive seems dictated by celebrity culture. This means excessively thin women who then have to compensate by getting plastic surgery, especially in the US. My impression of many European, excluding England, and South American celebrities is that they're far healthier-looking than Americans.

    Hell, look at Japanese illustrations and, excluding some fetishes, the distilled attractive female is generally well-endowed. I don't mean necessarily having large breasts, but nice hips and a fairly curvaceous body. And from personal, admittedly anecdotal, evidence guys are more immediately turned on by a woman with more shape, even if she trends towards being heavy, than they would ever be by someone who's thin.

    Unfortunately, the ideal nowadays, for women, seems to be sickeningly thin. And it's generally quite bad in Asia. I'm convinced there's a serious anorexia problem being overlooked out there.

    The ideal figure must be aspirational. Looking at classical paintings women were always depicted as a bit heavyset. Generally, it was a considered a sign of wealth given that most didn't have the means to eat so well. Today, in the developed world who doesn't have access to plenty of food. Hell, people who are often considered poor manage to be overweight. So the goal now is to be thin. In some cases it's even been associated with wealth, the argument being that the poor don't have access to good food or have the luxury of being able to work out.

  • They could have saved a lot of time and man-hours and just asked me.

  • Considering the pervasiveness of American culture and movies, the statement about "across cultures" is meaningless.

  • ...and lots of orange hair.

    An orangutang!!!

    Young orangutang supermodels coming to your neck of the woods soon....

    Mark

  • found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive

    Not me.

    I like the short, fat, ugly bitches with T-rex arms.

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