Desirability Research Articles

Physische Attraktivität und Lebenszufriedenheit

ZusammenfassungZiel dieses Beitrags ist es, den Einfluss der physischen Attraktivität auf unterschiedliche Aspekte der Lebenszufriedenheit empirisch zu überprüfen. Dies wird auf Basis theoretischer Überlegungen mit den Daten aus dem Kölner Gymnasiasten-Panel geprüft, das die private sowie die berufliche Situation der Befragten im modalen Alter von 30, 43, 56 und 66 Jahren abbildet. Für einen Teil der Befragten wurde im Nachhinein die physische Attraktivität im Alter von 16 Jahren ermittelt. Unter Kontrolle des Berufsprestiges, des Erwerbsstatus, der Wochenarbeitszeit und dem Vorliegen von Arbeitslosigkeit wird ein signifikanter Attraktivitätseffekt auf die berufliche Lebenszufriedenheit im Alter von 30 Jahren nachgewiesen. In Bezug auf die private Lebenszufriedenheit findet sich kein substanzieller Attraktivitätseffekt. Nichtsdestotrotz besitzt die physische Attraktivität im Alter von 16 Jahren einen signifikanten Effekt auf die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit im Alter von 30 und 43 Jahren unter Kontrolle der privaten und beruflichen Lebenszufriedenheit. Der Effekt im Alter von 43 Jahren bleibt auch dann bestehen, wenn für die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit im Alter von 30 Jahren kontrolliert wird. Mit dieser Untersuchung wird also ein langfristiger Effekt der äußeren Erscheinung auf verschiedene Aspekte der Lebenszufriedenheit nachgewiesen. Insbesondere der Einfluss auf die allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit sei herausgestellt. Hier besitzt die physische Attraktivität einen fast drei Dekaden währenden, die Zufriedenheit steigernden Nachhall.

The embodiment of the image of the People's Artist of the USSR Anegina Ilyina in Yakut fine arts and literature

The article is devoted to the embodiment of the image of the Yakut opera singer, People's Artist of the USSR Anegina Ilyina in the Yakuts visual arts and literature. For the first time, this article discusses issues related to the disclosure of the theme of an outstanding contemporary woman - famous figure of musical art as a carrier of creativity. The subject of the study is the image of a talented Yakut vocalist captured in the best works of fine art (L.M. Neofitoff, V.R. Vasilyeff, A.N. Ossipoff, L.D. Sleptsova) and literature (Semen Daniloff, E. Neimokhoff, I. Gogoleff, L. Popoff P. Kharitonoff). The object of the study is the work of Yakut artists and writers of the second half of the 20 - 21 centuries. For the first time, the article explores a previously unexplored aspect of their work. The descriptive, comparative, iconographic, historical-biographical methods are applied, which allow us to reveal the topic most effectively. This image presents the ideas of female beauty and natural talent inherent in the national consciousness of the people, which indicates that in the 1960-1980 in the perception of the Yakut society traditional ideas based on the mythology and folklore of Sakha were quite strong and stable. Thanks to her natural talent, studying in the class of the People's Artist of the USSR, professor of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory N.L Dorliak A.E. Ilyina was able to take place as an outstanding master of Russian academic vocal performance and herself as a creative personality had a great influence on the creative inspiration of many writers, artists and the development of Yakut art in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) in the second half of 20 centuries. This article is the first experience in studying of this scientific problem.

Self-identification and Free Choice: Analysis of Female Audience's Beauty Makeup Video Viewing

With the development of short videos, short videos of beauty makeup have gradually developed and prospered due to their teaching, viewing and entertainment. As the main force of audience of beauty makeup videos, the views and understanding of female audiences on beauty makeup videos are very important. This paper studies and analyzes the psychology and demands of female audiences through the purpose of watching beauty makeup videos, the selection and recognition of video content, and the construction process of self-aesthetics. In addition, the audience is free in the choice of videos, in the recognition of content generated by watching videos, and in the construction process of aesthetics that may affect the audience. In addition, the audience is free in the choice of videos, in the recognition of content generated by watching videos, and in the construction process of aesthetics that may affect the audience.

Quality of Life Analysis in Patients with AA Using the QLQ-AA/PNH-54 at Initial Diagnosis of AA - a Registry Based Analysis

Objectives: Aplastic anemia (AA) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) are ultra-rare, acquired bone marrow failure syndromes (BMFS) with need for long-term care and high morbidity despite recent therapeutic advances. There is a lack of disease-specific assessment tools of quality of life (QoL) in AA/PNH patients. So far, QoL has mostly been estimated according to surrogate parameters (e.g. blood counts, transfusion dependence or toxicity of treatment in AA patients) or has been assessed with tools specifically designed for cancer patients (e.g. EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire QLQ-C30) or with tools focusing on fatigue (e.g. Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy, FACIT-Fatigue, PNH patients). Therefore, the QLQ-AA/PNH-54 has been developed to allow a patient tailored QoL assessment in patients with AA or PNH. Here, we present the first descriptive data of the QLQ-AA/PNH-54 of 74 AA patients at the timepoint of initial diagnosis collected between 2018 and 2020 (prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic). Methods: The QLQ-AA/PNH-54 was designed, psychometrically validated, and is currently finally validated for PNH within the IPIG (international PNH interest group)-registry. Parallel to this process, the tool was implemented within the Aachen AA/BMF registry as an instrument for real-life QoL evaluation in AA patients. In total, 54 QoL items regarding physical functioning (21 items), psychological aspects (26 items) and health care related issues (7 items) are comprised. Patients rank the occurrence of each item within the last 14 days on a scale between 0 and 3 (0 = did not occur, 1 = low, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe). Results: 74 AA patients (37 female/ 37 male, mean/median/range age 38.42/ 35.47/ 11-73 years) were included. Patients were diagnosed with nsAA (n=11), sAA (n=23), vsAA (n=18), AA NOS (n=20) and AA/PNH-Overlap (n=2), respectively. Broken down into different functional scales, the most frequently and highest rated scales concerned psychosocial aspects (> 60 % of the patients scored 1-3; > 30% of the patients scored 3). Patients were especially burdened by worries and uncertainties with regards to their future, activity planning security and need for cautiousness in everyday life. Tiredness was the major symptom reported in relation to physical functioning. Patients often feared deterioration of their blood results as the most important health care-related issue. In comparison, low occurrence of pain, orthostatic dysregulation, susceptibility for infections, dyspnea, sleep disturbance and tendency to bleed was reported regarding physical functioning (scored 0 by over 40 to over 50 % of the patients). Similarly, low scores were reported for impairment of activities of daily life in terms of completion of household tasks and hobbies or loss of physical attraction. Conclusion: QoL of AA patients at initial diagnosis was mainly impaired by tiredness and a high psychological burden. Interestingly, complications frequently feared and highlighted by treating physicians had a minor impact on patients' QoL. These results emphasize the importance of further QoL analysis from patient view and recommend to especially focus on the psychological burden of AA patients in patient communication at initial diagnosis.

Do Physical Attractiveness and Personality Traits Predict Romantic Partner Evaluations? A Speed‐Dating Study in Japan1,2

AbstractThe speed‐dating procedure allows researchers to closely investigate relationship‐initiation situations. Although previous speed‐dating studies identified physical attractiveness, earning prospects, and reciprocity as predictors of romantic attraction, few such studies have been conducted outside Europe or North America. The current speed‐dating study examined what factors would predict attraction ratings by potential partners among the Japanese—an understudied sample. Participants included 27 men and 28 women who first completed a questionnaire to measure individual attributes. During each speed‐dating session, 12–15 men and women talked for 3 minutes and evaluated each opposite‐gender participant on attraction and dating intentions. Results of the social relations model showed that men evaluated women who were more physically attractive and achieved higher education as more attractive. These results imply that men tend to generalize their first impressions of women's physical attractiveness to other aspects of the partner, and that Japanese men may consider dual income as a necessity for marriage.

Negative and positive contamination in secondhand fashion consumption: does culture matter?

PurposeDespite the growing popularity of online secondhand platforms globally, there is a lack of studies exploring how consumers worldwide perceive contamination and the use of secondhand goods differently according to the culture. Based on the consumer contamination theory, this study aims to investigate the cultural differences of South Koreans and Americans by examining three variables (e.g. transaction type, ownership duration and physical attractiveness) related to consumers' perception of contamination and purchase intentions for a secondhand apparel item.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 422 US and South Korean female consumers who were assigned to an experimental scenario, and their secondhand purchase intentions and perceived contamination were compared through independent t-tests and moderated regression analyses.FindingsConsumers' purchase intentions increased, and perceived contamination decreased when the transaction type was business-to-consumer (vs consumer-to-consumer), when the item had been owned for a shorter period of time and when the item was sold by an attractive seller. Such effect was more pronounced for South Korean consumers than the US consumers in the negative contamination contexts (i.e. transaction type, ownership duration), but not in the positive contamination context (i.e. attractiveness).Originality/valueThe findings of the study add to the literature on consumer contamination theory through an examination of several negative and positive contamination factors in retail contexts and highlight the role of culture as a critical moderator.

A computational approach to investigating facial attractiveness factors using geometric morphometric analysis and deep learning

Numerous studies discuss the features that constitute facial attractiveness. In recent years, computational research has received attention because it can examine facial features without relying on prior research hypotheses. This approach uses many face stimuli and models the relationship between physical facial features and attractiveness using methods such as geometric morphometrics and deep learning. However, studies using each method have been conducted independently and have technical and data-related limitations. It is also difficult to identify the factors of actual attractiveness perception using only computational methods. In this study, we examined morphometric features important for attractiveness perception through geometric morphometrics and impression evaluation. Furthermore, we used deep learning to analyze important facial features comprehensively. The results showed that eye-related areas are essential in determining attractiveness and that different racial groups contribute differently to the impact of shape and skin information on attractiveness. The approach used in this study will contribute toward understanding facial attractiveness features that are universal and diverse, extending psychological findings and engineering applications.

Production and exchange of meaning in instagram beauty influencer visual content in Indonesia: a social semiotic analysis

The development of technology aligns with the evolution of information media, which is increasingly dynamic in contemporary times. Instagram serves as a social media platform employed by beauty influencers to disseminate information pertaining to beauty. Visual content showcasing diverse beauty reviews captivates a substantial female audience, resulting in millions of followers on Instagram. This study aims to interpret the conveyed meanings by Indonesian female beauty influencers, such as Tasya Farasya, Kesha Ratuliu, and Hanggini. The qualitative methodology employs social semiotic theory to extract meanings embedded in the text or discourse presented by each influencer, considering social and cultural perspectives. This research adopts a constructivist paradigm, emphasizing the production and exchange of meanings. The study analyzes the meaning behind the messages conveyed by each beauty influencer on social media. The images portrayed by Tasya Farasya, Kesha Ratuliu, and Hanggini exhibit distinct representations both interactively and compositionally. The interactive metaphoric function is evident in the endurance of their image, showcased through visually appealing content on Instagram photos. This results in the creation of a multimodal visual composition in the photos.

Pathway to authenticity? The influence of politicians’ gender and multimodal self-presentation in social media on perceived authenticity

The authenticity of political candidates has become a decisive factor in their evaluation by the public. In response, political candidates employ self-presentation techniques to appear genuine to constituents, and social media provides politicians with new tools to perform authenticity. Yet, we still know little about how politicians construct authentic images and how their gender and modes of self-presentation influence perceived authenticity. In this study, we examine how politicians’ gender (male vs female) and modes of self-presentation (text-only, image-only, and text–image combined) affect perceived political authenticity. Results from a 2 × 3 online survey experiment in Germany ( N = 1,485) show that gender alone does not explain differences in perceived political authenticity when self-presentation is held consistently. Furthermore, we do not find significant effects for different self-presentation modes in social media. Additional analyses reveal that physical attractiveness is the primary factor for higher authenticity ratings in our sample.

A multidimensional implicit approach to gender stereotypes.

Research has widely explained gender inequalities in terms of gender stereotypes, according to which women are considered more nurturing, empathic, and emotional but less competent - than men. Recent evidence highlights that especially women are portrayed along multiple dimensions. In this research, we adopted an implicit Semantic Misattribution procedure to detect whether gender stereotypes have a multidimensional structure and are differently attributed to men and women. Results showed that Competence and Dominance-related terms were considered more masculine ones. In contrast, Morality and Physical Attractiveness were attributed to feminine ideograms to a higher and significant extent than masculine ones. Sociability was related to feminine and masculine ideograms almost to the same extent. The gathered evidence provided a multidimensional picture even composed of more judgment dimensions with reference to women highlighting how it can be difficult for them to meet all those multiple expectancies.

Physical attractiveness and intergenerational social mobility

AbstractObjectivePhysical attractiveness is often studied in relation to various life outcomes, but there is a lack of research on its links to intergenerational educational, occupational, and income mobility. Individuals may use physical attractiveness as one of the channels for experiencing upward or avoiding downward social mobility.MethodsUsing data about 11,583 individuals from the United States National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we contribute to the existing scholarship by investigating if physical attractiveness, assessed when individuals are around 15 years old, is an important predictor of intergenerational social mobility measured after 20 years.ResultsWe find that physical attractiveness matters both for males’ and females’ intergenerational social mobility outcomes, but it is more important for males, even when childhood characteristics, such as various aspects of parental socioeconomic position, individuals’ health, a proxy for IQ, neighborhood conditions, and interviewers’ fixed effects, are accounted for using imputed data for observations with missing information. Across three measures of social mobility—education, occupation, and income—physically attractive males are more likely to be socially mobile than males of average attractiveness.ConclusionPhysical attractiveness is an independent predictor of intergenerational social mobility outcomes regarding individuals’ educational, occupational, and income attainment.

Hollywood Genre, Cultural Hybridity, and Musical Films in 1950s Hong Kong

Following the trauma of the Second World War, Hong Kong, under British governance, enjoyed considerable economic and political freedom to establish a local entertainment industry. Musical films became a major genre of Hong Kong’s film releases in the 1950s. Local melodramas, Hollywood musicals, celebrities, and ideals of female beauty were all present in the growth of Hong Kong musical films, which culminated in a glorious display of cinematic art. This article aims to provide insight into the popularity of Chinese-speaking musical films by examining the social, economic, and political complexity of 1950s Hong Kong, including post-war migration and colonial censorship. An in-depth analysis of Li Han-Hsiang’s The Kingdom and the Beauty demonstrates how Hong Kong studios adapted the Hollywood musical to tell Chinese stories and how Hong Kong musical films incorporated Chinese literature and music to represent cultural memory, local identity, and modern aesthetics. This case study sheds light on the localization of a Hollywood genre and the hybridization of Chinese and Western entertainment forms to appeal to a Chinese audience, thereby broadening the definition of cultural hybridity and informing the practice of Hong Kong’s musical filmmaking.

Beauty is only skin deep: An examination of physical attractiveness, attractive personality, and personal grooming on criminal justice outcomes

Beauty is only skin deep: An examination of physical attractiveness, attractive personality, and personal grooming on criminal justice outcomes

Neoliberal feminism with Chinese characteristics: alternative self-representations of female PhDs on RED

ABSTRACT Recent years have witnessed heated debates in Western societies on how neoliberal discourse has ‘hijacked’ feminism, but little is discussed about neoliberal feminism in non-Western societies. This paper analyses the self-representations of an emerging digital community in China – female PhDs, with a focus on how they create and circulate alternative self-representations to challenge the biased portrayals in mainstream media. In confronting the de-sexualizing or over-sexualizing media narratives, female PhD influencers have localized the popular notions of neoliberal feminism and constructed a neoliberal feminist subject who manages to ‘have it all’ – namely, knowledge, career, family, as well as physical beauty. Besides discursive confrontations, female PhD influencers also cash in on their cultural capital to earn extra income. Despite the individualist tendency in neoliberal ideology, these female bloggers are not isolated from one another but facilitate a digital community that gathers young women with academic dreams. Believing in the slogan that ‘women help women,’ young women seek career advice and emotional support online, giving rise to the imagined ‘academic sisterhood.’ This paper argues that the Western solution of ‘collective action’ is less viable in authoritarian states and thus calls for a transnational perspective to study neoliberal feminism.

The Transformation of Female's Social Status from the Evolution of Female's Clothing

Nowadays, since the social modernization has made huge strides, there is a considerable leap in living standards. In the field of garment, people began to pursue using clothing to showcase physical beauty and express themselves. At the same time, the rise of individualism and the hot topic of feminism cant be ignored in the changing status of women in social development. The theme of this article is to explore the changes in womens social status reflected in the development of clothing. The research significance lies in: revealing the gender differentiation of clothing by exemplifying the development and origin of clothing styles; Cross research on clothing and gender, exploring the historical and social factors behind the transformation of functional properties of womens clothing; Through research on unisex clothing, understand the current trends in clothing development. The author concludes that the purpose of womens clothing has shifted from satisfying patriarchal social authority to comfortable and portable modern attire, thanks to social change and the emergence of professional women. The status of women and the development of clothing go hand in hand and influence each other, gradually blurring gender differences. The purpose of people wearing clothing is gradually shifting towards showcasing unique individuals in social life.

Research on the Image Shaping of Male Beauty Bloggers and the Influence of Gender Attitudes under the Dramaturgy Theory

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, beauty-focused short videos have garnered considerable attention across various industries. The significance of these videos is increasingly apparent because they reflect changing trends in beauty aesthetics. Male beauty bloggers have recently risen to the forefront, taking advantage of their gender, to create a unique image unlike previous industry trends. This new media phenomenon has caused a large-scale, long-lasting, complex shift of the cultural beauty industry. The emergence of male beauty bloggers has not only brought about changes in information acquisition but has also subtly changed the perception and attitude of the whole society towards gender. This paper synthesizes the research methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis to analyze the image shaping of male beauty bloggers on new media platforms. The questionnaire method is used to investigate and analyze the psychology of their audiences, and to explore the gender attitudes reflected in the audience psychology. It is found that the image of male beauty bloggers contributes to the change of gender attitudes of young audiences and reflects the progress of larger shifts in society. Behind this phenomenon, more thoughts about media, culture, and gender equality are worth exploring.

Самообъективация, социальные сети и психическое здоровье

<p style="text-align: justify;">The paper presents a review of foreign studies on social and psychopathological consequences of self-objectification. The chief provisions of self-objectification theory, which is briefly discussed in the paper, includes the subject’s disposition to regard one’s body from the point of view of an external spectator, when one’s value is defined solely by one’s physical attractiveness in the eyes of others (B. Fredrickson, T. Roberts). Social networks are considered the ever-growing source of objectification and self-objectification due to the high popularity of sexualized content and the wide spread of selfie posting, which urges girls and women to regard their bodies from the point of view of the outside observer. The paper describes the consequences of self-objectification for mental health. Self-objectification is closely linked to body image disturbances, body shame, guilt, low self-esteem, appearance-related worry and emotional problems. It also has an impact on the emergence and persistence of eating disorders, depression, and suicidal and self-injurious behaviors. Self-objectification is more pronounced in women due to sexualizing beliefs about female bodies that are highly prevalent in modern society. Women start to evaluate their bodies and their attractiveness in the eyes of others early in their lives, and it often happens to the detriment of their own experiences and needs.</p>

A Comparison of Mate Preferences in Asexual and Allosexual Adults.

Asexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction. Sexual attraction is likely associated with preferences for certain characteristics in romantic partners, such as physical attractiveness. Preferred partner characteristics can be influenced by an individual's sexual orientation, gender, and age. Allosexual (N = 239; male = 48, female = 181, other = 4; Age M = 20.48years) and asexual participants (N = 149; male = 36, female = 88, other = 23; Age M = 25.54years) recruited from a pool of psychology students and through online asexual communities were presented with a survey in which a total of 388 participants rated 13 characteristics according to how desirable they were in a potential long-term romantic partner. Characteristics that are related to physical attractiveness were predicted to be rated lower by asexual participants than by allosexual participants. Asexual participants rated the desire to have children as being less desirable in a romantic partner than allosexual participants did. However, preferences for other traits, such as exciting personality, creative and artistic, and religious, were dependent on interactions of gender and attraction to men or women. Because asexual individuals report generally lower levels of sexual attraction, it will be important for future research to consider romantic attraction as a more nuanced measure than sexual orientation alone when considering sex differences in asexual and allosexual populations.

Survival characteristics of food and beverage businesses in a gentrified commercial area—A case study in Seoul, Korea

Commercial gentrification is a common cause of urban transformation in modern cities. Former residential and industrial areas are being transformed into commercial ones specializing in the food and beverage (F&B) industry because of their unique atmosphere. However, F&B businesses in the gentrified commercial areas are prone to intense competition for survival that debate on the emerging commercial street's sustainability. Thus, this study analyzed F&B street businesses' survival characteristics where commercial gentrification has occurred. The research site was selected among Seoul's commercial streets by performing data analysis. The Cox proportional hazards model and urban spatial indicators were used to analyze the factors affecting survival time. The research findings were as follows: First, physical attractiveness, such as openness or visual accessibility, lowered the closure risk. Second, accessibility to cultural facilities or open spaces was beneficial for the nearby F&B demands; however, it occasionally intensified the competition. Finally, competitive businesses' agglomeration increased the closure risk, while non-competitive ones' agglomeration and diversification decreased it. This research's results could be useful for policymakers in promoting a more sustainable business environment for F&B entrepreneurs.

US cisgender women's psychological responses to physical femininity threats: Increased anxiety, reduced self-esteem

Research has suggested that women, unlike men, do not experience increased anxiety in response to gender stereotypicality threats. That research, however, has not considered the domain of gender stereotypes in which women might be most invested: physical appearance. The present work examines US cisgender women's responses to (bogus) feedback about the femininity of their appearance, which allegedly came from an algorithmic analysis of a photograph or video of their face. Across four experiments (N = 2494), women experienced more anxiety (Studies 1a, 1c, and 2) and lower self-esteem (Studies 1c and 2) in response to feedback indicating that their appearance was less feminine than average (i.e., threats) than feedback indicating that their appearance was more feminine than average (i.e., affirmations). Feedback on the femininity of women's appearance, but not personality (Study 2), had an effect on anxiety and self-esteem even when physical attractiveness was affirmed (in the case of anxiety; Study 1a) and when controlling for self-perceived physical attractiveness (in the case of anxiety and self-esteem; Studies 1a, 1c, and 2). Cisgender men, unlike women, experienced increased anxiety—but not reduced self-esteem—in response to masculinity threats across the domains of appearance and personality, though this effect was stronger for appearance (Study 2). A discrepancy between the bogus feedback one received and beliefs about oneself mediated the effects of feedback on anxiety and self-esteem, for women, and on anxiety, for men (Study 2). These results highlight the need to center physical appearance in research on gender stereotyping and its consequences.