Blog post 3
Symmetry
The topic of symmetry was fascinating since I only knew that we find people who are more symmetrical as more attractiveness. Symmetry is the equivalence a person has comparing the sides of their body and face. All people are different on their two sides of the body, but it is the extent of it that determines how symmetrical one is. Low body symmetry is when a person is less symmetrical on the two sides of their body and that the differences are more drastic. Where high body symmetry is the opposite and is when someone is more symmetric and similar on both sides of their body. It has been known that low body symmetry plays a part in animals’ genetics and health, but recently they have found that it also can play a role in human’s health. People with low symmetry are a sign of predicted worse genetic, physical, and mental health. This is usually due to genetics; therefore, we tend to prefer those who are more symmetric for the health of our offspring. Since we all have our unique smell, people are more attracted to the smell of high symmetry.
I found this to be remarkably interesting since no one is perfectly symmetrical so the idea that the more symmetrical you are the better is crazy since most of the time we do not notice it immediately. I was also surprised to learn that body symmetry is an indication of a person’s health. Unconsciously we must know this since when females are in their fertile phase, they find the smell of high body symmetry men to be more attractive. Symmetry is interesting since we not only notice it visually but also through smell.
A video I found gave a good explanation about body symmetry and attractiveness:
Reference
Rosenblum, L. D. (2011). See what I'm saying: the extraordinary powers of our five senses. W.W. Norton.
Hey Lauren! I completely agree that this topic is very interesting because I was unaware of the fact that we have an attraction to the symmetry of a person. Being able to see one’s symmetry through smell is absolutely fascinating and it blew my mind learning about it. Great explanation!
ReplyDeleteWe read in Rosenblum that women prefer the smell of symmetrical men. I'm not quite sure why he made this connection. Like your video states, people are more attracted to symmetry. That is widely known because low symmetry predicts worse genetic, physical, and mental health and high symmetry predicts more sexual partners, “quicker access to romantic partners,” and more compulsory orgasms. Although, if this argument is that women are attractive to symmetrical men, henceforth they will be more attracted to their smell, it is a hasty generalization. I do not believe that the research is substantiated to make this conclusion. I do not believe that this is so much as a multisensory perception as it is visual. Still a great explanation of symmetry as a visual perception, Lauren. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI find this topic very interesting and your post intrigued me further. You had a great explanation and visual. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post on symmetry, you explained it beautifully and in a way that it made even more sense to me than it did before so thank you.
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