Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty

As soon as I say the list of books, I knew “Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty” by Nancy Etcoff was the book I had to have. Ironically enough, I judged this book by its cover and am very glad I did. To be honest, I typically do not read books for leisure, but in the case of this particular book, I felt strongly for the underlying message of the text which made it a pleasurable assignment to fulfill. After reading her profile in the book, you will see that author Nancy Etcoff is a scientist and psychologist, first receiving her M.Ed. from the prestigious Harvard University, following up with her Ph.D. in psychology from Boston University. After Boston University, she moved forward to pursue a postdoc at MIT focusing on the brain and cognition. Since the book was published and to this day, Etcoff is a professor at Harvard Medical School as well as a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. This book she has produced is not the “here is a term, here is the definition, and here is an example of it” type of text you would expect from a psychology researcher, but instead it is written in a freely spoken manner with a variety of out of the box concepts and events such as lip injections, fashion and breast size all the way to penis size, hierarchical status and money, all linking us back to this abstract idea of “beauty. Since Etcoff focuses her studies on cognitive science, I think it is safe to say that the information presented within this book can be noted as credible, especially since she did such a fabulous job with her research study citations at the end, and made it very clear which ideas were her own and which belong to other researchers. I don’t know if I would consider Etcoff an expert on beauty, but I don’t think I would even consider the most beautiful person in the world an expert on beauty because the subject has such a variety of angles one could study it from, and beauty is made up of many other concepts such as culture, genetics, and social normative.

 Nancy Etcoff’s “Survival of the Prettiest” challenges the prolonged idea of beauty is a purely socialized concept, with the idea that beauty is not just environmentally caused, but it is necessary for our survival, and therefore can be linked to more natural or biological factors. Through the first few pages, Etcoff provides examples of the strong role beauty has played through human society, examples dating as early as the pre-Socratic times. Early philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle began to recognize beauty aesthetically through numbers and proportions, and that the more symmetrical and balanced a person, object or idea was, the more beautiful it was considered (Etcoff, 1999, p. 15) Etcoff starts the book off with a bang, providing us with information and evidence  recognizing beauty is not simply a learned behavior, but  babies as early as 3 months old demonstrate dispositions towards beauty by having positive preferences for symmetrical items and staring at physically attractive faces for a longer period of time. (Etcoff, 1999, p. 31-32). Through the rest of her chapters, she moves forward and establishes a variety of ideas which lie victim to beauty such as sex, economics, and the media. To some, this book may seem like a tedious topic, but even if so, the book does makes one idea very clear. Without even realizing it, random everyday events and behaviors we engage in such as recognizing a supermodel as you watch your morning television before work, having your ears pierced, or curling your hair in before a night out with the girls may not random acts at all, but natural reactions to events in our lives which determine the survival of our genes (Etcoff, 1999, p. 20-24). This book demonstrates that yes, we are social beings, and how beautiful, symmetrical, or consistent something is normally has a large influence upon us and our society, which is why it is so important to understand that we behave the way we do because we are programmed to do so. It is in our DNA.

                        I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, especially anyone in the psychology field looking to get their brain pumping on some new and modern ideas. I do have to say that it is written for a more female based audience, but with that being said, beauty is typically seen as a feminine concept, so the audience direction is almost inevitable. Nancy Etcoff does do a great job with adding more masculine ideas into the text such as her section on “No Pecs, No sex”, where she describes a males chest as their “antlers” or “peacock plumes”, and the more muscular the chest, the stronger the masculinity. (Etcoff, 1999, p. 177). I honestly believe that men could enjoy this book just as much as women if the grasp the take home concept that we live in a beautiful-eat-beautiful society where attractiveness essentially becomes key to success. I personally was able to connect to this book as I tend to recognize what is beautiful based on a self-created scale, which I believe every single one of us has one. After I began to read this book, I noticed that I was recognizing beauty differences not only in people, but in objects, ideas, and other animals. When I was a child, my uncle showed Cocker Spaniels for a living in competitions such as the famous AKC (American Kennel Club), and I never could really determine the differences between all of the dogs which he walked. They looked so similar out there on the floor, how could anyone pick one that was best, they were all stunning. Of course now that I work in the veterinary industry, although we wouldn’t say that we judge dogs for their looks, sometimes we have to as it determines their health. If a dog has a little more to love around the middle, we make sure to point it out to the owner as it can cause similar problems in dogs as it can to be overweight in humans such as high blood pressure and risk for cardiovascular or joint issues. I know understand the point of dog competitions, the reason judges want to find a dog with almost perfect symmetry and stunning features is that in the long run, these genetics will be passed down through that dog’s future generations, and provide high chances of beauty and success not only externally, but potentially internally (health wise) as well.

Of course, I recognize beauty on a much larger scale than just dogs. In her section on the body and more specifically “the decorate body” she provides support from one study by Robert Brain which states that in most countries, tattoos and piercings hold an initiative meaning for adolescents, and that this idea is beginning to evolve in some sense in the Western cultures, including America. For Americans though, it is said they we see getting a tattoos or piercing as a “battle scar” and that we can endure the physical pain of having our bodies altered, making us strong and warrior like (Etcoff, 1999, p. 100.) I can say that when I got my first tattoo on my side, without even realizing it, the empowerment I felt afterwards was a natural reaction, and that is a large part of beauty, power. Those who are beautiful are also considered to be strong, and empowerment is a big piece of that.

Overall, I believe that this book was strong in the fact that it addressed so many ideas behind beauty, and made it clear to understand that we cannot just take beauty for granted because although it is a devious concept, it really is a large part of being a human, and we must learn how to live by its rules. Unfortunately, I felt that Etcoff did not provide us with any take way advice on how to deal with the pressures of beauty, she only left us with the knowledge that it is here, and it is everywhere. I think after reading this book, we have to take what we absorbed and just kind of run with it. Because beauty I such a non-tangible topic, there really is no solid advice for overcoming its hardships, we must live and learn, and accept that beauty is an inevitable idea that will follow us through our lives, as well as our generations to come.

I believe after reading this book, I will have a different perspective on my own behaviors in relation to how I present my external appearance, and also how the concept of beauty lies deeper than the outside. Although modern ideas have shifted this, I believe that early philosophers had a point when they were discussing symmetry, and that we cannot just be externally symmetrical, but we must internalize this concept and balance our internal thoughts and attitudes to make us appear to have a behavioral symmetrical alignment as well.

Until Next Blog, 

Your Social Psychista

Word Count, 1.515

Etcoff, N. (1999) Survival of the Prettiest. New York, New York. Doubleday.

Brain, R. (1979) The Decorated Body. Hapercollins.