Product Description

In this provocative, witty, and thoroughly researched inquiry into what we find beautiful and why, Nancy Etcoff skewers one of our culture's most enduring myths, that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior. Etcoff, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, skewers the enduring myth that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior.

Etcoff puts forth that beauty is neither a cultural construction, an invention of the fashion industry, nor a backlash against feminism, but instead is in our biology. It's an essential and ineradicable part of human nature that is revered and ferociously pursued in nearly every civilizatoin--and for good reason. Those features to which we are most attracted are often signals of fertility and fecundity. When seen in the context of a Darwinian struggle for survival, our sometimes extreme attempts to attain beauty--both to become beautiful ourselves and to acquire an attractive partner--become understandable. Moreover, if we come to understand how the desire for beauty is innate, then we can begin to work in our interests, and not soley for the interests of our genetic tendencies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80101 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-11
• Released on: 2000-07-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Amazon.com
In the latter part of the 20th century, the adage "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" has evolved far beyond its original intent as an admonition against false vanity to become a cultural manifesto used to explain phenomena as diverse as the art of Andy Warhol and the rise of a multi-billion-dollar cosmetics industry. But is there something more to human reaction to beauty than a conditioned response to social cues? Yes, says Harvard Medical School psychologist Nancy Etcoff. Survival of the Prettiest argues persuasively that looking good has survival value, and that sensitivity to beauty is a biological adaptation governed by brain circuits shaped by natural selection.

Etcoff synthesizes a fascinating array of scientific research and cultural analysis in support of her thesis. Psychologists find that babies stare significantly longer at the faces adults find appealing, while the mothers of "attractive" babies display more intense bonding behaviors. The symmetrical face of average proportions may have become the optimal design because of evolutionary pressures operating against population extremes. Gentlemen may prefer blondes not so much for their hair color as for the fairness of their skin--which makes it easier to detect the flush of sexual excitement. And high heels accentuate a woman's breasts and buttocks, signaling fertility. Is beauty programmed into our brain circuits as a proxy for health and youth? In marked contrast to other writers like Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth), Etcoff argues that it is, noting, "Rather than denigrate one source of women's power, it would seem far more useful for feminists to attempt to elevate all sources of women's power." --Patrizia DiLucchio

From Publishers Weekly
In riveting style, Etcoff, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, demolishes the belief that beauty is a cultural construct, arguing instead "that beauty is a universal part of human experience, and that it provokes pleasure, rivets attention, and impels actions that help ensure the survival of our genes." By drawing widely from anthropological, psychological, biological and archeological literature, Etcoff discerns surprising similarities in the ways humans have perceived and responded to beauty across diverse cultures throughout the millennia. For example, cross-cultural research comparing two isolated Indian tribes in Venezuela and Paraguay to people in three Western cultures demonstrated a remarkable similarity in what is considered beautiful. And evidence that red pigments were used as lipstick as long ago as 5000 B.C. suggests that media images are not the sole reason that "in the United States more money is spent on beauty than on education or social services." The most important message in this book is that we cannot ignore our evolutionary past when attempting to understand our current behavior, even as we should recognize that we need not be slaves to our genes. Topics as wide-ranging as penis- or breast-enlargement surgery and the basics of haute couture are treated with wit and insight. Etcoff's arguments are certain to initiate a great deal of discussion. Photos and illustrations. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

New Scientist, Mark Ridley
Etcoff writes pleasantly and is often witty, so Survival of the Prettiest is easy to read.... I suspect the light touch of Etcoff's prose reflects her skill as an author rather than any paucity of her science.

Customer Reviews

Pseudo-Scientific Claptrap
This time, you can tell a book by its cover. A slim female torso in a corset? Who believes this is a universal beauty ideal? Like back in the caves being slender, hour-glass-figured (and white!) was the way to go. Save your money and your common sense -- read Natalie Angier's Woman instead.

Pretty Good (pun intended)
A readable book on one of those things that is constant in our lives. I can testify to the "attractive people are given more personal space" phenomenon Etcoff points out. I was staying in New York for a couple weeks. For the first week I was enjoying seeing all the beautiful women in the city, of which New York has plenty since it's both a fashion and entertainment capitol. And then I was taking the elevator down from my room in the Waldorf Towers, a middle floor of which holds an exercise room guests can use, as well as local residents who pay a monthly fee. The elevator was fairly crowded, and then stopped at the exercise-room floor. On to the elevator stepped an absolutely stunningly beautiful girl. One of those so beautiful you forget how beautiful a beautiful girl can be. She had a gym bag and her hair was loose. She set her gym bag on the floor and bent over to bind her hair. The thing is everyone OVERTLY moved back to give her room, struck by her beauty, and she didn't have to signal "please give me space while I bend over" as most other people would require. Everyone just automatically stepped back, deferring to her beauty, and she automatically EXPECTED everyone to move back. She didn't even think about it, nor was haughty at all. She was just so used to being given instant "status" in any situation, she wasn't even conscious of it. In that small moment, I realized how powerful beauty can be.

BUY IT!
I checked it out from the library, read it, and decided it belonged on my bookshelf. *If this topic interests you, this book is a must-have.* Dr. Etcoff has produced an exceedingly well-researched book that is written in a straightforward voice. Her qualifications are impressive and thoroughly relevant to the topic. When comparing this book to others that Amazon recommends in related subjects, its brilliance becomes even more apparent; concepts are expressed clearly and it is difficult to refrain from talking to one's cohorts about them as a result! Dr. Etcoff covers MANY trends and patterns so that the reader (this one, at least!) has a number of wonderful "Ah-HA!" experiences!