Abstract
If you enter the word "beauty" in a search engine, almost all the pictures you will see appear on your computer screen are of attractive young women. In Western society, the concept of beauty is closely associated with physical attractiveness and especially feminine physical attractiveness. Beautiful women are everywhere: on the walls of our cities, on the screens of our movie theaters, on the glossy paper of our magazines. But is this phenomenon restricted to contemporary societies? It does not seem so, as women's beauty has occupied the minds of painters, poets, philosophers, musicians, and writers for centuries. Indeed, in arts, depictions of idealized female beauty far outweigh those depicting ideals of male beauty. Why are human beings so fascinated by female attractiveness? The aim of this chapter is to show how evolutionary theory can help us to understand this passion for women's bodies and their beauty, and explore what the arts can teach us about human beauty while addressing the question of its universality.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Exploring Transdisciplinarity in Art and Sciences |
| Editors | Zoï Kapoula, Emmanuelle Volle, Julien Renoult, Moreno Andreatta |
| Place of Publication | Cham |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 327-357 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9783319760544 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9783319760537 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Aug 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |