Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder..or Maybe Just the Genes

I believe that the perception of beauty in another human being is very much innate. Scientific research has proven countless times that there are certain biological  characteristics that cause a person to appear attractive. These factors include facial symmetry, waist-to-hip ratios of .7 (in women) and .9 (in men), the presence of pheromones (virtually undetectable chemical signals), DNA compatibility, and the amount of hormones (such as estrogen and testosterone) in females and males respectively. When these features are taken into account, it is hard to say that culture dictates WHO is beautiful. However, culture can definitely play a role in how much emphasis is placed on beauty. American culture is one of the worst in that respect: fashion magazines, TV shows, and cheerleaders at sports events all showcase what the average woman should look like. Indeed, many blame the media for the anorexia epidemic that has struck so many young women.

Obviously, beauty plays a critical role when it comes to human relationships. Stephen Emlen of Cornell University designed a survey in which he asked 1,000 people aged 18-24 to rank the importance of a series of traits in a potential partner. Physical attractiveness was second only to fidelity. It is easy to see that beauty is a necessary component in humans. But what about Art?

In fact, I believe that the exact opposite is true. There are no subtle, biological factors that give people a predilection to think that one work of art is more beautiful compared to another. The perception of beauty in Art is probably one of the most subjective judgments in the world, in stark contrast to the “guidelines” of beauty we find in humans. One of the best examples of this is Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. There is nothing particularly beautiful about the seated woman, when judged in terms of some of the aforementioned biological characteristics. Yet this painting has garnered the interest of artists and scholars all around the world. This paradox between the importance of beauty in humans vs. Art is truly fascinating, one that should be researched much, much more.

Sources: http://www.livescience.com/health/060213_attraction_rules.html