Sex Appeal

Have you ever wondered what a certain someone sees in his or her partner? Or, better yet, have you ever wondered what you see in a certain someone that has, for some reason unknown to you, totally rocked your world? Apparently, science can tell you what fortune tellers cannot.

I caught an interesting program on the Discovery Channel last week: The Science of Sex Appeal. It covered different studies that revealed what makes people attractive to others, and what does not. I’d read about the concept of “divine proportion” before (and I was reminded of it when I read The Da Vinci Code years back), but this documentary went beyond ratio and proportion. It also explored survival and hormones and body movement and waistlines and scent.

Some of the tidbits that I picked up include: that our choice of a mate is hinged on our in-built desire to propagate our species; that women are more attractive (in terms of skin and voice, among others) when they are fertile; that we do tend to sway our hips more when we feel we are gauged for our attractiveness; that it is natural for men to go for slim waistlines, even disproportionate ones; and that every one of us has a unique smell and there is an optimum match for smells. Oh, and that women are generally repelled by the scent of men, except when they are fertile, and men are always attracted to the odor of vaginal secretions. (Their words, not mine.)

Apparently, there is some truth to the saying that men are like dogs.

Another scientific discovery they made is that men and women tend to go for their equal in terms of looks, even as women also take status into consideration. The study notes that when we’re young, we do not have an idea of how attractive we are, so we measure that against the attractiveness of people who present themselves to us. Put bluntly, if only ugly people went for you, you’d think you were ugly too. Or, you are only as attractive as the most attractive person who went for you.

The Science of Sex Appeal also pushed the idea that we are basically chemically predisposed to shun long-term monogamy (we are really just biologically prepared to stay with a mate long enough to raise children) and pair bonding (studies showed that people tend to stray after four years at most).

It doesn’t seem to be so positive at first—imagine people chucking out the old line, “It’s not you; it’s me” and saying, “It’s all biology and chemistry, baby”—but then, this is where what separates men from animals takes over. Tapping into the more mysterious regions of the mind and human emotions, we fall in love, we nurture love, and we maintain love.

I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a sequel, perhaps called The Science of Love.

National Artist Awards updates

Facebook is becoming an interesting and fun alternative arena for protests and other such mass actions. It was on Facebook that the “No to the Book Blockade” movement gained ground. It was on Facebook that many people expressed grief over former President Cory Aquino’s demise. It is on Facebook that protests concerning this year’s controversial National Artist Awards gained momentum as well.

Here’s the latest news from lawyer and playwright Nicholas Pichay, who is one of the people taking the matter to court: “SC issues a Status Quo Order: Status Quo Order issued by Supeme Court is equivalent to a temporary restraining order. Pursuant to the principle of due process, respondents were given 10 days to file a reply. Afterwhich, the SC may call a hearing for oral arguments. In short: Higpitan ang kapit-bisig, may tala sa langit, ngunit malalim pa ang gabi.”

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