Effects of Shape Parameters on the Attractiveness of a Female Body

2007 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fan ◽  
W. Dai ◽  
X. Qian ◽  
K.P. Chau ◽  
Q. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Female Body ◽  
General Trend ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Volume ◽  
Body Proportions ◽  
Body Attractiveness ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Optimal Value ◽  
Body Parameters ◽  
Best Fit

Various researchers have suggested that certain anthropometric ratios can be used to measure female body attractiveness, including the waist to hip ratio, Body Mass Index (BMI), and the body volume divided by the square of the height (Volume-Height Index). Based on a wide range of female subjects and virtual images of bodies with different ratios, Volume-Height Index was found to provide the best fit with female body attractiveness, and the effect of Volume-Height Index can be fitted with two half bell-shaped exponential curves with an optimal Volume-Height Index at 14.2 liter/m2. It is suggested that the general trend of the effect of Volume-Height Index may be culturally invariant, but the optimal value of Volume-Height Index may vary from culture to culture. In addition to Volume-Height Index, other body parameters or ratios which reflect body proportions and the traits of feminine characteristics had smaller but significant effects on female body attractiveness, and such effects were stronger at optimum Volume-Height Index.

Muscle strain histories in swimming milkfish in steady and sprinting gaits

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.L. Katz ◽  
R.E. Shadwick ◽  
H.S. Rapoport
Keyword(s):  
White Muscle ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Volume ◽  
Implicit Assumption ◽  
Muscle Strain ◽  
Body Movements ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Speed Range ◽  
Local Body

Adult milkfish (Chanos chanos) swam in a water-tunnel flume over a wide range of speeds. Fish were instrumented with sonomicrometers to measure shortening of red and white myotomal muscle. Muscle strain was also calculated from simultaneous overhead views of the swimming fish. This allowed us to test the hypothesis that the muscle shortens in phase with local body bending. The fish swam at slow speeds [U<2.6 fork lengths s-1 (=FL s-1)] where only peripheral red muscle was powering body movements, and also at higher speeds (2. 6>U>4.6 FL s-1) where they adopted a sprinting gait in which the white muscle is believed to power the body movements. For all combinations of speeds and body locations where we had simultaneous measurements of muscle strain and body bending (0.5 and 0.7FL), both techniques were equivalent predictors of muscle strain histories. Cross-correlation coefficients for comparisons between these techniques exceeded 0.95 in all cases and had temporal separations of less than 7 ms on average. Muscle strain measured using sonomicrometry within the speed range 0.9-2.6 FL s-1 showed that muscle strain did not increase substantially over that speed range, while tail-beat frequency increased by 140 %. While using a sprinting gait, muscle strains became bimodal, with strains within bursts being approximately double those between bursts. Muscle strain calculated from local body bending for a range of locations on the body indicated that muscle strain increases rostrally to caudally, but only by less than 4 %. These results suggest that swimming muscle, which forms a large fraction of the body volume in a fish, undergoes a history of strain that is similar to that expected for a homogeneous, continuous beam. This has been an implicit assumption for many studies of muscle function in many fish, but has not been tested explicitly until now. This result is achieved in spite of the presence of complex and inhomogeneous geometry in the folding of myotomes, collagenous myosepta and tendon, and the anatomical distinction between red and white muscle fibers.

scholarly journals Whose Eyes?: Women’s Experiences of Changing in a Public Change Room

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-72
Author(s):  
Marianne Clark
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Female Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Social Meanings

Fitness and recreation centres populate today’s modern urban communities and cater to a wide range of people seeking health, fitness and social connection through physical activity. While women’s experiences in these spaces have received some scholarly attention from feminist scholars and scholars of the body, little research has explored women’s lived experiences of the change room. In this paper, I argue that everyday spaces such as change rooms and locker rooms are important spaces in which social understandings of the female body manifest. In such spaces, the materiality of the body and the social meanings ascribed to the female body are illuminated and negotiated by those who inhabit and move through them. Using Sartre and Merleau-Ponty as theoretical guides, I discuss how it is for women to see and be seen in a public change room, and how these spaces illuminate the complex relationship women have with their bodies in contemporary society.

scholarly journals Attractiveness of the female body: Preference for the average or the supernormal?

Psihologija ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slobodan Markovic ◽  
Tara Bulut
Keyword(s):  
Computer Animation ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Peak Shift ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Body Attractiveness ◽  
Attractive Female

The main purpose of the present study was to contrast the two hypotheses of female body attractiveness. The first is the ?preference-for-the average? hypothesis: the most attractive female body is the one that represents the average body proportions for a given population. The second is the ?preference-for-the supernormal? hypothesis: according to the so-called ?peak shift effect?, the most attractive female body is more feminine than the average. We investigated the preference for three female body characteristics: waist to hip ratio (WHR), buttocks and breasts. There were 456 participants of both genders. Using a program for computer animation (DAZ 3D) three sets of stimuli were generated (WHR, buttocks and breasts). Each set included six stimuli ranked from the lowest to the highest femininity level. Participants were asked to choose the stimulus within each set which they found most attractive (task 1) and average (task 2). One group of participants judged the body parts that were presented in the global context (whole body), while the other group judged the stimuli in the local context (isolated body parts only). Analyses have shown that the most attractive WHR, buttocks and breasts are more feminine (meaning smaller for WHR and larger for breasts and buttocks) than average ones, for both genders and in both presentation contexts. The effect of gender was obtained only for the most attractive breasts: males prefer larger breasts than females. Finally, most attractive and average WHR and breasts were less feminine in the local than in the global context. These results support the preference-for the supernormal hypothesis: all analyses have shown that both male and female participants preferred female body parts which are more feminine than those judged average.

Men’s Hunger, Food Consumption, and Preferences for Female Body Types

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 495-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Guéguen
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Female Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Slender Body ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Body Type ◽  
Experimental Conditions

Nelson and Morrison (2005 , study 3) reported that men who feel hungry preferred heavier women. The present study replicates these results by using real photographs of women and examines the mediation effect of hunger scores. Men were solicited while entering or leaving a restaurant and asked to report their hunger on a 10-point scale. Afterwards, they were presented with three photographs of a woman in a bikini: One with a slim body type, one with a slender body type, and one with a slightly chubby body. The participants were asked to indicate their preference. Results showed that the participants entering the restaurant preferred the chubby body type more while satiated men preferred the thinner or slender body types. It was also found that the relation between experimental conditions and the choices of the body type was mediated by men’s hunger scores.

The use of Body Surface Index as a Better Clinical Health indicators Compare to Body Mass Index and Body Surface Area for Clinical Application

2018 ◽  
pp. 131-136
Author(s):  
Shirazu I. ◽  
Theophilus. A. Sackey ◽  
Elvis K. Tiburu ◽  
Mensah Y. B. ◽  
Forson A.
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Body Surface Area ◽  
Clinical Application ◽  
Body Surface ◽  
Body Height ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parameters ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Individual Body

The relationship between body height and body weight has been described by using various terms. Notable among them is the body mass index, body surface area, body shape index and body surface index. In clinical setting the first descriptive parameter is the BMI scale, which provides information about whether an individual body weight is proportionate to the body height. Since the development of BMI, two other body parameters have been developed in an attempt to determine the relationship between body height and weight. These are the body surface area (BSA) and body surface index (BSI). Generally, these body parameters are described as clinical health indicators that described how healthy an individual body response to the other internal organs. The aim of the study is to discuss the use of BSI as a better clinical health indicator for preclinical assessment of body-organ/tissue relationship. Hence organ health condition as against other body composition. In addition the study is `also to determine the best body parameter the best predict other parameters for clinical application. The model parameters are presented as; modeled height and weight; modelled BSI and BSA, BSI and BMI and modeled BSA and BMI. The models are presented as clinical application software for comfortable working process and designed as GUI and CAD for use in clinical application.

‘Good enough for a spot of lippy anyway’: Rape and the Body Politic in My Brother Tom

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-373
Author(s):  
Louise Wilks
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sexual Violation ◽  
Female Protagonist ◽  
British Cinema ◽  
Hollywood Movies ◽  
Contemporary Cinema ◽  
Rape Narratives

The representation of rape continues to be one of the most highly charged issues in contemporary cinema, and whilst many discussions of this topic focus on Hollywood movies, sexual violation is also a pervasive topic in British cinema. This article examines the portrayal of a female's rape in the British feature My Brother Tom (2001), a powerful and often troubling text in which the sexual violation of the teenage female protagonist functions as a catalyst for the events that comprise the plot, as is often the case in rape narratives. The article provides an overview of some of the key feminist academic discussions and debates that cinematic depictions of rape have prompted, before closely analysing My Brother Tom's rape scene in relation to such discourses. The article argues that the rape scene is neither explicit nor sensationalised, and that by having the camera focus on Jessica's bewildered reactions, it positions the audience with her, and powerfully but discreetly portrays the grave nature of sexual abuse. The article then moves on to examine the portrayal of sexual violation in My Brother Tom as a whole, considering the cultural inscriptions etched on the female body within its account of rape, before concluding with a discussion of the film's depiction of Jessica's ensuing methods of bodily self-inscription as she attempts to disassociate her body from its sexual violation.

Creating the Wind

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-31
Author(s):  
Élodie Dupey García
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The Body ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Natural Behavior ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Identity And Agency ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Comparative Examination ◽  
Meteorological Phenomenon

This article explores how the Nahua of late Postclassic Mesoamerica (1200–1521 CE) created living and material embodiments of their wind god constructed on the basis of sensory experiences that shaped their conception of this divinized meteorological phenomenon. In this process, they employed chromatic and design devices, based on a wide range of natural elements, to add several layers of meaning to the human, painted, and sculpted supports dressed in the god’s insignia. Through a comparative examination of pre-Columbian visual production—especially codices and sculptures—historical sources mainly written in Nahuatl during the viceregal period, and ethnographic data on indigenous communities in modern Mexico, my analysis targets the body paint and shell jewelry of the anthropomorphic “images” of the wind god, along with the Feathered Serpent and the monkey-inspired embodiments of the deity. This study identifies the centrality of other human senses beyond sight in the conception of the wind god and the making of its earthly manifestations. Constructing these deity “images” was tantamount to creating the wind because they were intended to be visual replicas of the wind’s natural behavior. At the same time, they referred to the identity and agency of the wind god in myths and rituals.

The role of the female body in contesting and negotiating space in sports for women in rural and urban Zimbabwe

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Obert Bernard Mlambo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Female Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Victorian Culture ◽  
Girl Child ◽  
School Sports ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Gender Ideals ◽  
A Site ◽  
Embodied Practice

This article examined attitudes, knowledge, behavior and practices of men and society on Gender bias in sports. The paper examined how the African female body was made into an object of contest between African patriarchy and the colonial system and also shows how the battle for the female body eventually extended into the sporting field. It also explored the postcolonial period and the effects on Zimbabwean society of the colonial ideals of the Victorian culture of morality. The study focused on school sports and the participation of the girl child in sports such as netball, volleyball and football. Reference was made to other sports but emphasis was given to where women were affected. It is in this case where reference to the senior women soccer team was made to provide a case study for purposes of illustration. Selected rural community and urban schools were served as case references for ethnographic accounts which provided the qualitative data used in the analysis. In terms of methodology and theoretical framework, the paper adopted the political economy of the female body as an analytical viewing point in order to examine the body of the girl child and of women in action on the sporting field in Zimbabwe. In this context, the female body is viewed as deeply contested and as a medium that functions as a site for the redirection, profusion and transvaluation of gender ideals. Using the concept of embodiment, involving demeanor, body shape and perceptions of the female body in its social context, the paper attempted to establish a connection between gender ideologies and embodied practice. The results of the study showed the prevalence of condescending attitudes towards girls and women participation in sports.

BODY PRACTICES OF WOMEN IN THE LIGHT OF FEMINIST DEBATES

2018 ◽  
pp. 129-156 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Female Body ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Phenomenological Tradition ◽  
Academic Feminism ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Body Practices

The paper provides an analysis of the structuralist and phenomenological traditions in interpretation of female body practices. The structuralist intellectual tradition bases its methodology on concepts from social anthropology and philosophy that see the body as ‘ordered’ by social institutions. Structuralist approaches within academic feminism are focused on critical study of the social regulation of female bodies with respect to reproduction and sexualisation (health and beauty practices). The author focuses on the dominant physical ideal of femininity and the means for body pedagogics that have been constructed by patriarchal authority. In contrast to theories of the ordered body, the phenomenological tradition is focused on the “lived” body, embodied experience, and the personal motivation and values attached to body practices. This tradition has been influenced by a variety of schools of thought including philosophical anthropology, phenomenology and action theories in sociology. Within academic feminism, there are at least three phenomenologically oriented strategies of interpretation of female body practices. The first one is centred around women’s individual situation and bodily socialization; the second one studies interrelation between body practices and the sense of the self; and the third one postulates the potential of body practices to destabilize the dominant ideals of femininity and thus provides a theoretical basis for feminist activism. The phenomenological tradition primarily analyses the motivational, symbolic and value-based components of body practices as they interact with women’s corporeality and sense of self. In general, both structuralist and phenomenological traditions complement each other by focusing on different levels of analysis of female embodiment.

Development and Validation of a New Scoring Tool to Evaluate the Clinical Evolution of Adult Patients with Nonsegmental Vitiligo

Dermatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
María Luisa Peralta-Pedrero ◽  
Denisse Herrera-Bringas ◽  
Karla Samantha Torres-González ◽  
Martha Alejandra Morales-Sánchez ◽  
Fermín Jurado Santa-Cruz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Surface ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Clinical Evolution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Extreme Groups

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Vitiligo has an unpredictable course and a variable response to treatment. Furthermore, the improvement of some vitiligo lesions cannot be considered a guarantee of a similar response to the other lesions. Instruments for patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) can be an alternative to measure complex constructions such as clinical evolution. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The aim of this study was to validate a PROM that allows to measure the clinical evolution of patients with nonsegmental vitiligo in a simple but standardized way that serves to gather information for a better understanding of the disease. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The instrument was created through expert consensus and patient participation. For the validation study, a prospective cohort design was performed. The body surface area affected was measured with the Vitiligo Extension Score (VES), the extension, the stage, and the spread by the evaluation of the Vitiligo European Task Force assessment (VETFa). Reliability was determined with test-retest, construct validity through hypothesis testing, discriminative capacity with extreme groups, and response capacity by comparing initial and final measurements. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Eighteen semi-structured interviews and 7 cognitive interviews were conducted, and 4 dermatologists were consulted. The instrument Clinical Evolution-Vitiligo (CV-6) was answered by 119 patients with a minimum of primary schooling. A wide range was observed in the affected body surface; incident and prevalent cases were included. The average time to answer the CV-6 was 3.08 ± 0.58 min. In the test-retest (<i>n</i> = 53), an intraclass correlation coefficient was obtained: 0.896 (95% CI 0.82–0.94; <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). In extreme groups, the mean score was 2 (2–3) and 5 (4–6); <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001. The initial CV-6 score was different from the final one and the change was verified with VES and VETFa (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05, <i>n</i> = 92). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The CV-6 instrument allows patient collaboration, it is simple and brief, and it makes it easier for the doctor to focus attention on injuries that present changes at the time of medical consultation.

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