A cross-cultural comparison of ratings of perceived fecundity and sexual attractiveness as a function of body weight and waist-to-hip ratio

This study attempted a cross-cultural test of Singh's (1993a,b; 1994) theory of the relationship of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on judgements of female attractiveness using the stimulus figures designed by Tassinary and Hansen (1998). One hundred British (half male, half female) and 100 Kenyan (half male, half female) young people rated 18 two-dimensional line drawings of a female figure varying in weight (light vs. heavy) waist size (small, medium, large) and hip size (small, medium, large) on five 7-point scales: attractiveness, sexy, easy to bear children, health, easy to become pregnant. Results showed the ratings factored into two dimensions relating to fecundity and sexual attractiveness. As before participants rated the WHR of 0.7 as most attractive. Light figures were judged more attractive than heavy, particularly by the British. An interaction showed that Kenyans thought light figures more fecund than heavy figures whereas it was the opposite pattern for the British. Implications of the cross-cultural differences are noted.

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