A possible example in humans is the boob. Other primates don’t have boobs – they are flat most of the time and only swell for lactation. Maybe, at the beginning, swollen boobs was a sign of fitness, then human males got really into swollen boobs, then human females started padding them with fat to appeal to the males’ instincts, leading to the persistent round boobs we witness today – even if the pad of fat isn’t actually very useful for lactation.
It seems odd that humans have such extensive female ornamentation, something which is barely ever seen among other species. This goes beyond boobs. Why is it women who wear makeup and not men? It’s an invariant across different cultures that women are the ones who care and put more effort into their appearance.
What’s the state of the field’s thinking on this? Is it an open mystery with some crackpot theories, similar to the mystery of the existence of gay people?
It seems odd that humans have such extensive female ornamentation, something which is barely ever seen among other species. This goes beyond boobs. Why is it women who wear makeup and not men? It’s an invariant across different cultures that women are the ones who care and put more effort into their appearance.
What’s the state of the field’s thinking on this? Is it an open mystery with some crackpot theories, similar to the mystery of the existence of gay people?