The Biology Behind Physical Attraction

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The Biology Behind Physical Attraction “We do not marry, for ourselves, whatever we say; we marry for our posterity,” said 16th century French essayist Montaigne. Although Montaigne wrote this five centuries ago, two centuries before Darwin introduced his theories of evolution and natural selection, his words proved to be way before his time. We would like to think physical attraction is relative, that love is blind, and that it’s all about personality. But biologist have evidence that say that humans look for certain physical signs in our potential mates as indicators for things such as health and fertility. Factors such as facial symmetry, waist to hip ratio, and even smell are all things we are subconsciously taking in when looking at potential mates and evaluating their attractiveness. Even when we find these mates are body helps urge us into action. In the end physical attraction depends on both looks and biology. But the first moves are made before you’re even born. If humans were made perfectly, starting at conception the human body would split every cell perfectly. Resulting in a baby whose right and left sides are mirror images. But regrettably, we are not made this way. Factors such as genetic mutations and environmental pressures skew our symmetry. A person who has good symmetry conveys several things to potential mates. The individual has the right genetics to survive development, is healthy, and is a good fertile choice to procreate with. Randy Thornhill and evolutionary biologist from the University of New Mexico has studied symmetry for 15 years, scanning faces and bodies into computers to determine symmetry ratios. After completing multiple experiments both men and women rated symmetrical as more attractive and healthy than their less symmetrical counterparts (Carey, LiveScience). Besides symmetry in ones face, body shape is also
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