THEIR IDEAS OF BEAUTY ARE, ON THE WHOLE, THE SAME AS OURS - CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY IN THE CROSS-CULTURAL PERCEPTION OF FEMALE PHYSICALATTRACTIVENESS

The consistency of physical attractiveness ratings across cultural gro ups was examined. In Study 1, recently arrived native Asian and Hispan ic students and White Americans rated the attractiveness of Asian, His panic, Black, and White photographed women. The mean correlation betwe en groups in attractiveness ratings was r = .93. Asians, Hispanics, an d Whites were equally influenced by many facial features, but Asians w ere less influenced by some sexual maturity and expressive features. I n Study 2, Taiwanese attractiveness ratings correlated with prior Asia n, Hispanic, and American ratings, mean r = .91. Supporting Study 1, t he Taiwanese also were less positively influenced by certain sexual ma turity and expressive features. Exposure to Western media did not infl uence attractiveness ratings in either study. In Study 3, Black and Wh ite American men rated the attractiveness of Black female facial photo s and body types. Mean facial attractiveness ratings were highly corre lated (r = .94), but as predicted Blacks and Whites varied in judging bodies.