Child Bearing Hips

Forums: Science, Psychology, Attractiveness, Waist-Hip Ratio, Whr
Email this Topic • Print this Page

I can't count how many times I've heard the theory that men are attracted to women with wider type "child-bearing hips". Is there any actual truth in this theory? Do men have an animal-like instinct that subconsciously makes them want to reproduce when in contact with this type of physique? Or is it merely just another defensive mechanism for women against the weight stigma?

Topic Stats
Top Replies
Link to this Topic

Type: Question • Score: 13 • Views: 20,242 • Replies: 34

No top replies

@jlb1349,

Nice hips = Do Want!

0 Replies

@jlb1349,

jlb1349 wrote:

Is there any actual truth in this theory?

Yes. In academic circles it's not called "child-bearing hips" by the way, it's referred to as the Waist-Hip Ratio. For a superficial and easy reading version see here:

http://www.livescience.com/health/060213_attraction_rules.html

For a more substantive take on it you should read Dr. Devendra Singh:

Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65

Since that publication, there have been a lot of studies on the WHR, and it really does seem to have some legitimacy. Studies of sculptures across cultures show an idealized WHR, but there are notable cultural exceptions, and the degree of availability of food, and a host of other factors have been claimed to influence this. You'll have to dig into the academic publications if you want more detail though, as my own knowledge on the subject is limited.

0 Replies

It's a pretty safe assumption that in the evolution scheme of things, women who have the fewest problems in child birth are most likely to reproduce themselves successfully.

0 Replies

oy, I read "child bearing lips" and thought Mick Jagger.

0 Replies

@jlb1349,

jlb1349 wrote:

Is there any actual truth in this theory?

I believe that they call it a fact, based on the research.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Quote:

I believe that they call it a fact, based on the research.

Quite frankly, I think that's a bunch of bullshit.
Unless I'm some sort of biological anomaly, that is.
I happen to find thin, small breasted women with small asses the most attractive.
Certainly there's nothing wrong with a well turned curvaceous hip, but bubble butts don't do a thing for me. I think that many of those who claim attraction to the big fat ass, are youngsters who make the claim in order to demonstrate their self-perceived sexual maturity and show that they aren't "shallow", because they've heard somewhere that there is something exclusively feminine about having thunder thighs.

2 Replies

@rydinearth,

Did you bother reading the links about the studies re WHR?

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Quote:

Did you bother reading the links about the studies re WHR?

Yes, <sigh>, although admittedly after the fact. But I've read these things before, and while it's a nice idea, I don't think it holds water. As human beings, we are farther removed from our biological imperatives than many other animals, by virtue of our intelligence, our complex social structures etc. With human beings, trying to establish a purely biological theory of attraction is just oversimplifying things, IMO. There are just way more factors that enter into it.

0 Replies

Humans are animals... we evolved with instinctual desires that affect our behavior, same as all the other animals.

It is the same in most animals that reproduce sexually (and even more true for mammals).

Females who (appear to) have what it takes to reproduce more successfully are more desirable to males. Males that are stronger, and have more control of resources (this means money in human terms) to provide for children are more desirable to females.

In our attempts to be "civilized", we often run away from the fact that we are affected by impulses that evolved over millions of years.

1 Reply

@ebrown p,

Quote:

Humans are animals... we evolved with instinctual desires that affect our behavior, same as all the other animals.

It is the same in most animals that reproduce sexually (and even more true for mammals).

Females who (appear to) have what it takes to reproduce more successfully are more desirable to males. Males that are stronger, and have more control of resources (this means money in human terms) to provide for children are more desirable to females.

In our attempts to be "civilized", we often run away from the fact that we are affected by impulses that evolved over millions of years.

Agreed, we are animals. And yes, we are affected by ancient biological imperatives. I'm not denying that. But what I am saying is there are exceptions to this so-called "rule", myself being one.
I don't particularly find big hipped women to be more attractive than smaller hipped ones. And I don't think I'm alone on this. This may be in part because I realize cognitively that big hips don't necessarily equate to better child bearing, any more than smaller ones equate to worse child bearing. My first wife had hips so wide, she could barely squeeze her ass thru a standard sized door. But both of the children she bore required C-sections. My second wife's hips are so narrow she could fall down the shower drain, and yet she bore our child naturally. So, unless all of us men who like thin, small breasted, small hipped women are suffering from some sort of biological anomaly, I don't think the rule holds any water.

1 Reply

@rydinearth,

rydinearth wrote:

But what I am saying is there are exceptions to this so-called "rule", myself being one.

1) It's not a "rule".

2) That there are exceptions means very little.

Quote:

I don't particularly find big hipped women to be more attractive than smaller hipped ones. And I don't think I'm alone on this.

So what?

Quote:

So, unless all of us men who like thin, small breasted, small hipped women are suffering from some sort of biological anomaly, I don't think the rule holds any water.

Wait till you discover gay guys, that should really throw you for a loop, causing you to question all "rules".

0 Replies

That's funny, I've found that the young hip (no pun intended) guys are the ones who seem to prefer boyish figures on women.

It seems the more mature man has come to the conclusion that it's all good.

1 Reply

@chai2,

Quote:

That's funny, I've found that the young hip (no pun intended) guys are the ones who seem to prefer boyish figures on women.

Yeah.. but are there any gals who prefer unsuccessful, wimpy men.

Quote:

It seems the more mature man has come to the conclusion that it's all good.

The term "mature" can be taken in two different ways. I think it has a lot to do with resignation.

0 Replies

this theory needs to account for why the fashion industry takes as its ideal of beauty anorexic women/girl who look like boys......

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

this theory needs to account for why the fashion industry takes as its ideal of beauty anorexic women/girl who look like boys......

Well, that's simple: the fashion industry is geared towards women, not men, and the women like smaller hips and think it's more beautiful.

Cycloptichorn

3 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Quote:

Well, that's simple: the fashion industry is geared towards women, not men, and the women like smaller hips and think it's more beautiful.

Ya, and these same women tend to assume that the men in their lives enjoy sleeping next to a rack of bones. Most men I know like a full rack, and other curves to go with it.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

Quote:
Well, that's simple: the fashion industry is geared towards women, not men, and the women like smaller hips and think it's more beautiful.

Ya, and these same women tend to assume that the men in their lives enjoy sleeping next to a rack of bones. Most men I know like a full rack, and other curves to go with it.

Goddamn right there. Women can be thin AND curvy, but these emaciated models just make me want to force-feed people...

Cycloptichorn

0 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Quote:

Well, that's simple: the fashion industry is geared towards women, not men, and the women like smaller hips and think it's more beautiful.

How does that compare that to women in industries that are geared towards men?

2 Replies

@ebrown p,

ebrown p wrote:

Quote:

Well, that's simple: the fashion industry is geared towards women, not men, and the women like smaller hips and think it's more beautiful.

How does that compare that to women in industries that are geared towards men?

Define more specifically plz

Cycloptichorn

0 Replies

Child Bearing Hips

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know