
Re: Part 3: Uniquely Human
In chapter 6, on Sexual Selection, near the end of the chapter (p119), Diamond summarizes some of his points by saying:
Quote:
"Thus, Fijians, Hottentots, and Swedes each grow up with their own learned, arbitrary beauty standards, which tend to maintain each population in conformity with those standards, since individual deviating too far from the standards would find it hard to obtain a mate."
This immediately made me think of the effects of the movie industry on the beauty standards in non-Caucasian countries.
If those standards really depend on the 'look' of our most intimate friends & family, those we see as a baby, then they are not greatly affected. But once we're old enough to start noticing the world around us, how much are our standards affected?
Has the fascination of Tibetans with Phoebe Cates (anecdotal evidence from Pico Iyer, well-known travel writer & essayist), with posters of her everywhere, changed the standards of beauty in that population? Have the ubiquitous Hollywood movies warped the ideals of Taiwan, Korea, Japan? The big round eyes of anime characters, the fashion of using bleaching products to whiten one's skin (resulting, of course, in a full-reversal reaction from a group of young women, in Japan, who take it to the other extreme, by tanning themselves almost black) -- did these come before or after the influx of NA & European movies?
What long-term effects will be seen in humanities genetic makeup over the next 1000 years?
Just some food for thought.
"All beings are the owners of their deeds, the heirs to their deeds."
Loricat's Book Nook
Celebrating the Absurd