Posted August 06, 2012 in Beauty, Blog, Plastic Surgery in the News, Uncategorized
A new study by researcher Ritch Savin-Williams, a developmental psychologist at Cornell University published in the August 3, 2012 journal PLoS ONE concludes that pupil dilation is an accurate indicator of sexual orientation. It has been known for years that our pupils dilate when we are sexually aroused. The link between pupil size and arousal goes way back. In 16th-century Italy, women would take eye drops made from the toxic herb Belladona, which kept their pupils from constricting and was thought to bestow a seductive look. The imagineers at Disney have used this with their female animation characters for years. Next time you see Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, be sure to check out the size of their large dilated pupils (of course only when Sleeping Beauty is awake!). A woman’s pupils will dilate up to 8% in a social setting when she is attracted to a male. For the purpose of survival of the fittest, it is thought that lighter eyes are preferred in woman as men can more easily discern women who are interested in sharing their genes, otherwise known today as “hooking up”.
Pupils dilate slightly in response to any exciting or interesting stimulus, including a loved one’s face or a beautiful piece of art. The current study measured pupil dilatation in response to male and female subjects watching erotic video of either a man or a woman pleasuring them self. As with life itself, the results with men were straight forward and simple, while the women’s results were complicated.
The study found that heterosexual men’s pupils dilated when watching women, not men. Gay men’s pupils dilated when watching men, not women. Bisexual men responded to both stimuli. That takes care of the gender “From Mars”. Now for those “From Venus” the results were more complex. Gay women responded similar to straight men with more pupil dilatation to women. Straight women dilate basically equally in response to erotic images of both sexes, despite reporting feelings of arousal for men and not women.
According to the article in the Huffington Post by Stephanie Pappas, “…This doesn’t mean that all straight women are secretly bisexual, Savin-Williams warned, just that their subjective arousal doesn’t necessarily match their body’s arousal. Sex researchers aren’t sure why this happens. One theory is that because women have been at risk of being raped throughout history, they evolved to respond with lubrication to any sexual stimulus, no matter how unappealing. This idea holds that women who did so were less likely to experience trauma or infection after sexual assault, making it more likely that they would survive to pass on their genes.” Go figure!
At any rate, once again there is science behind beauty. Much of what we try to achieve in facial plastic surgery has to do with accentuating the eyes, and focusing attention towards the eyes. For instance a beauty nose gets out of the way from the eyes and does not draw attention to itself. Here’s looking at you! Be well.
Dr. Michael Persky and Dr. Sarmela Sunder are located in Encino, California and Beverly Hills, California (The Lasky Clinic) but service all of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Including, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills and more. Please subscribe to our blog by clicking the link above, right. Thank you!
