Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters: From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire–Two Evolutionary Psychologists Explain Why We Do What We Do by Alan S. Miller, Satoshi Kanazawa
Authors: Alan S. Miller, Satoshi Kanazawa
Tags: Itzy, Kickass.so
Ads: Link
every generation expect and want the leading male character in movies to be so much older than his female counterpart? The conventional social science explanation relies on cultural norms and socialization. Our âcultureâ imposes arbitrary standards of desirability, which include being young in the case of women but not men. People in our âcultureâ are therefore socialized to expect attractive women in movies to be young, not old, whereas men, who are not subject to the same arbitrary standards, can be old and still sexy.
As we discussed earlier in this chapter (see âWhy Do Men Like Blonde Bombshells [and Why Do Women Want to Look Like Them]?â above), there is evolutionary logic behind every aspect of ideal female beauty, including youth. With respect specifically to movies, however, there are two pieces of evidence that contradict the conventional view.
First, even though they are produced in the United States, Hollywood movies are now exported throughout the world. And block-busters in the United States almost always become commercial successes in other countries where they are shown. 65 While repressive nations like China and those in the Arab world might censor the content of Hollywood movies for sexual explicitness and other taboos like homosexuality, there has not been a single case where such regimes censored or banned movies because of the large age difference between the male and the female leads. The premise of large age differences appears to be readily accepted throughout the world.
Second, while movie production throughout the world is heavily dominated by Hollywood and therefore the United States, all cultures produce literature, which often becomes the basis of movies. And it turns out that literary themes and plots in all cultures and throughout recorded history are remarkably similar. 66 While we have not seen data on movies produced outside the United States, we are very confident in predicting that such movies, like the growing number of âBollywoodâ movies out of India, also mostly depict romantic scenarios in which the man is considerably older than the woman, and that very few movies (or novels, for that matter) produced anywhere in the world would have the opposite type of couple as romantic leads.
If not cultural socialization, what then accounts for the popularity of romantic couples where the man is much older than the woman? From the evolutionary psychological perspective, it is a direct consequence and reflection of evolved male and female natures. Data collected from societies throughout the world show that men in every single culture prefer to mate with younger women, and women prefer to mate with older men. 67 Men prefer younger women because they have greater reproductive value and fertility than older women, and women prefer older men because they possess greater resources and higher status than younger men in every human society.
Further, the older men get, the greater the age difference between them and their desired mates. Men in their twenties want women who are about five years younger than them, whereas men in their fifties want women who are about fifteen years younger. In yet another example of the âexception that proves the rule,â the only category of men who prefer to mate with older women are teenage boys. 68 For them, older, not younger, women have greater fertility. In other words, regardless of their age, men always prefer to mate with women in their twenties, at the peak of fertility. Women do not show the same pattern; regardless of their age, women prefer men who are about ten years older than them. 69 Since movie producers and authors are in the business of making money by producing stories that appeal to moviegoers and readers alike, it is natural that their products reflect the evolved desires of their target audiences.
It is interesting to note as an aside that while Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate was supposed to be much
As we discussed earlier in this chapter (see âWhy Do Men Like Blonde Bombshells [and Why Do Women Want to Look Like Them]?â above), there is evolutionary logic behind every aspect of ideal female beauty, including youth. With respect specifically to movies, however, there are two pieces of evidence that contradict the conventional view.
First, even though they are produced in the United States, Hollywood movies are now exported throughout the world. And block-busters in the United States almost always become commercial successes in other countries where they are shown. 65 While repressive nations like China and those in the Arab world might censor the content of Hollywood movies for sexual explicitness and other taboos like homosexuality, there has not been a single case where such regimes censored or banned movies because of the large age difference between the male and the female leads. The premise of large age differences appears to be readily accepted throughout the world.
Second, while movie production throughout the world is heavily dominated by Hollywood and therefore the United States, all cultures produce literature, which often becomes the basis of movies. And it turns out that literary themes and plots in all cultures and throughout recorded history are remarkably similar. 66 While we have not seen data on movies produced outside the United States, we are very confident in predicting that such movies, like the growing number of âBollywoodâ movies out of India, also mostly depict romantic scenarios in which the man is considerably older than the woman, and that very few movies (or novels, for that matter) produced anywhere in the world would have the opposite type of couple as romantic leads.
If not cultural socialization, what then accounts for the popularity of romantic couples where the man is much older than the woman? From the evolutionary psychological perspective, it is a direct consequence and reflection of evolved male and female natures. Data collected from societies throughout the world show that men in every single culture prefer to mate with younger women, and women prefer to mate with older men. 67 Men prefer younger women because they have greater reproductive value and fertility than older women, and women prefer older men because they possess greater resources and higher status than younger men in every human society.
Further, the older men get, the greater the age difference between them and their desired mates. Men in their twenties want women who are about five years younger than them, whereas men in their fifties want women who are about fifteen years younger. In yet another example of the âexception that proves the rule,â the only category of men who prefer to mate with older women are teenage boys. 68 For them, older, not younger, women have greater fertility. In other words, regardless of their age, men always prefer to mate with women in their twenties, at the peak of fertility. Women do not show the same pattern; regardless of their age, women prefer men who are about ten years older than them. 69 Since movie producers and authors are in the business of making money by producing stories that appeal to moviegoers and readers alike, it is natural that their products reflect the evolved desires of their target audiences.
It is interesting to note as an aside that while Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate was supposed to be much
Similar Books
