Universal Human Preoccupation Looking good is a universal human preoccupation. When British researchers asked women from England, China, and India to rate pictures of various Greek men, their choices were identical. When asked to select a 'good looking' face from a diverse collection, whites, Asians and Latinos from 13 countries shared the same choices. We seem wired to find robust health prettier than infirmity. All animals are attracted to other animals that are healthy.
Attractiveness seems to certify biological quality.
To my knowledge, for example, no culture considers rotting teeth and body lesions as beauty aids. Having an attractive smile signals biological health. Teeth make a crucial difference in how we look and what hidden messages we convey The single feature that matters time and again in animal studies is symmetry. Insects, birds, and mammals prefer a mate with symmetry and balance. Those antlers, shed annually, are a burden to carry and consume enormous resources.