Was the Duchess of Windsor right?: A cross-cultural review of the socioecology of ideals of female body shape

Ethology and Sociobiology • Vol/Iss. 13(3) • Elsevier • • Published In • Pages: 197-227 •
By Anderson, Judith L., Crawford, Charles B., Nadeau, Joanne, Lindberg, Tracy

Abstract

Cultures vary widely in regards to beauty standards for female body fat: while industrialized nations typically prefer thinness in women, ethnographic reports indicate that plumpness is valued in many small-scale societies. Here the authors evaluate several hypotheses that relate variation in female body fat preference to variation in socioecology such as food storage, climate, male social dominance, valuation and restriction of women's work, and female stress during adolescence.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
HRAF Collection of Ethnography (paper/fiche)Researcher's Own
Standard Cross Cultural Sample (SCCS)Other researchers

Hypotheses (7)

HypothesisSupported
Societies with unreliable food supplies and undeveloped food storage technology will tend to have plump standards of female beauty (215).Supported
Cold climates (high latitude) will tend to be associated with relatively fat standards of beauty and warm climates (low latitude) will tend to be associated with relatively thin standards of beauty (202,215).Supported
Plump women will be seen as more attractive than slender women in most cultures (216).Supported
The more likely girls are to experience adverse consequences from the development of sexual maturity, the thinner the standard of beauty (204/216).Supported
Cultures in which men clearly dominate will have relatively fat standards of beauty, and where women are less subordinate, there will be thinner standards of beauty (205).Supported
Cultures with weak fraternal interest groups (FIGs) should have a slender standard of beauty, those with strong FIGs should have a relatively fat standard of beauty (206).Not Supported
Cultures will have a plump standard of beauty when women's work is not valued highly, or when women are restricted in the times and situations in which they can work (207).Some support
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: erik.ringen