How to use and misuse the argument ad hominid: Belle Waring (2003): Just Not So Stories: "Like everyone else, I'm tired of hearing about how Darwinian pressures cause men to think that young women with a fetching hip-to-waist ratio...
...good teeth, shiny hair, nice skin, high, bouncy breasts et al. are hot because of their obvious fertility. (I'm even more tired of Darwinian justifications for hot young women marrying rich elderly men, but since a moment's thought as to the (im)possibility of accumulating capital on the veldt suffices to dispose of this line, I'll let it go.) You may see an idiotic and noxious synthesis of all these trends here (I honestly can't tell what institution is backing this, but it's typical).... I'll play fair.... Presence of a healthy child constitutes abundant evidence that the woman is fertile, has given birth to normal young without dying, can breastfeed successfully, and exercises optimal care of any children she has. If the baby is too young, she is likely not ovulating yet. So, the sexiest woman in the world ought to be the stretch-marked hottie above with a healthy, bright-eyed little person toddling around after her. And yet, I submit that this is not generally regarded as a description of the world's sexiest woman (except by my husband who has various vested interests). So perhaps, just maybe, there is a little more to current beauty norms than some potted ad hominid arguments would suggest...
#shouldread
