Pictures of handsome men and beautiful women grace the pages of several magazines, television, billboards, consumer products and the Internet. In the developed world the preoccupation with the body and with beauty is intensifying.
The images of beauty everywhere are not the average man or woman. The models, actors, and actresses are selected from the thousands who apply. They are statistically exceptional in their appearance. Then professional stylists and make-up artists spend hours doing their hair and make-up. Just as Cindy Crawford says, "Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford." A survey of 5,000 women in the UK has some rather depressing statistics: 91% of women were unhappy with their hips and thighs and 60% were depressed by their body image. 84% of those who were at normal weight, still wished they were lighter. Only 3% of women were happy with their bodies. .
Why are both men and women more preoccupied, more anxious, about being beautiful these days than ever before? .
Today's society is very superficial and to be beautiful seems to be the answer to all problems. But to blame just our society is not enough, because biology is another important aspect that can be brought into context with our ideal of beauty: The reasons why it is so important for women to be beautiful and men to be strong and handsome are deeply ingrained in the human psyche and are the product of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. Being beautiful meant to be strong enough to survive. The instinct to found a family influences the choice of our sexual partner. If he is strong and handsome, we can be sure that our children will have the best conditions for a long and healthy life. We are worried that if we are not attractive enough no-one will want us. We will not successfully reproduce or will not attract someone who has a high enough status and income to look after us and our children. All of this stimulates competitiveness.