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Re: the beauty myth
Michael Bauser (MBAUSER@kentvm.kent.edu)
Fri, 14 Apr 95 00:26:00 EDT
First things first. skeptic, the e-mail address in your headers is
hopelessly screwed up. Fix it.
In article <3m7h1m$f06@bigfoot.ecl.wustl.edu>
@@@cec.wustl.edu (absolut skeptic) writes:
> I've always wondered if the idea of beauty is biologically determined
>or mostly culturally influenced.
> Has any anthropologist tried to find the answer ??
I almost fear mentioning *him*, but Desmond Morris insists that the only
cross-cultural measure of beauty he found is that all cultures value
clear skin, and that most associate it with good health.
I'd probably say that every culture equates health and beauty, but the
definiton of health change a lot too (some cultures go for corpulence,
you know). You probably can establish some really simplistic univers-
ialities, like "all cultures consider people with two eyes more attractive
than people with one eye", but that would be pushing it.
--
Michael Bauser <mbauser@kentvm.kent.edu>
"It's participant observation. Honest!"
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