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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Daniel Nettle
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Disparate cultural practices suggest that small foot size may contribute to female attractiveness. Two hypotheses potentially explain such a pattern. Sexual dimorphism in foot size may lead observers to view small feet as feminine and large feet as masculine. Alternately, because small female feet index both youth and nulliparity, evolution may have favored a male preference for this attribute in order to maximize returns on male reproductive investment. Whereas the observational hypothesis predicts symmetrical polarizing preferences, with small feet being preferred in women and large feet being preferred in men, the evolutionary hypothesis predicts asymmetrical preferences, with the average phenotype being preferred in men. Using line drawings that varied only in regard to relative foot size, we examined judgments of attractiveness in nine cultures. Small foot size was generally preferred for females, while average foot size was preferred for males. These results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that humans possess an evolved preference for small feet in females. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
Author(s): Fessler DMT, Nettle D, Afshar Y, De Andrade Pinheiro I, Bolyanatz A, Mulder MB, Cravalho M, Delgado T, Gruzd B, Correia MO, Khaltourina D, Korotayev A, Marrow J, Santiago De Souza L, Zbarauskaite A
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Archives of Sexual Behavior
Year: 2005
Volume: 34
Issue: 3
Pages: 267-276
Print publication date: 01/06/2005
ISSN (print): 0004-0002
ISSN (electronic): 1573-2800
Publisher: Springer
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-3115-9
DOI: 10.1007/s10508-005-3115-9
PubMed id: 15971009
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