Resumo:
Disparate cultural practices suggest that small foot size may contribute to female attractiveness. Two
hypotheses potentially explain such a pattern. Sexual dimorphism in foot size may lead observers to
view small feet as feminine and large feet as masculine. Alternately, because small female feet index
both youth and nulliparity, evolution may have favored a male preference for this attribute in order
to maximize returns on male reproductive investment.Whereas the observational hypothesis predicts
symmetrical polarizing preferences, with small feet being preferred in women and large feet being
preferred in men, the evolutionary hypothesis predicts asymmetrical preferences, with the average
phenotype being preferred in men. Using line drawings that varied only in regard to relative foot size,
we examined judgments of attractiveness in nine cultures. Small foot size was generally preferred for
females, while average foot size was preferred for males. These results provide preliminary support
for the hypothesis that humans possess an evolved preference for small feet in females.
