Body Implants and Physical Attraction - Why are they so popular?

Body Implants And Physical Attraction

We’ve supposedly heard it all before, or some variation of it . . . “Men like women with breasts, butts, athletic, and hour-glass figures. Women like tall men, athletic with broad shoulders.”

Is it true? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

The mental process whereby humans assess, as points of interest, certain anatomical regions of the body is indeed interesting. Of equal magnitude, it would seem prudent to understand the mental process involved in this evaluation because it bears so much importance to humans. Basically, why do we do it? In the majority of cases, it begins with a physical anatomical scan by one person, of another.

Yes, after the initial visual inspection, it can certainly fizzle out, as we all know. But, the real issue is the importance people place on visual attributes . . . why humans instinctually focus on physical areas of the body—evaluating one region of the body versus another region. It’s not so much a matter of how those anatomical areas are enhanced, reduced, or even visually present—that comes later—but of importance seems to be the very process of the visual evaluation of those specific areas. The mental steps one would go through, and why. Yeah, perhaps some might be thinking right now, “nah, that’s not me…I don’t care about looks.” But, the facts seem to show otherwise.

So, whether one likes large breasts, or small breasts—or broad shoulders, or narrow shoulders, or full buttocks, or curvy hips—the instinctual focus in all humans seems to be that these, and other well-known anatomical regions of the body are generally subject to visual appraisal . . . an individual’s measurement yardstick to some degree. Yes, we all look. But, why do we focus on some regions of the body, versus others? Why not focus on one’s elbow, or possibly a knee. After all, when was the last time you heard someone comment, “nice ribs,” except when eating at some barbecue joint.

Okay, So Where Does This Basic Instinct Come From?

In the area of cosmetic implant surgery (butt implants, breast implants, cosmetic hip implants, etc.) there is significant scientific evidence that supports our desires to improve or enhance our body design. Even further, there is considerable substantiation that human evolution has been “pre-wired” about what is expected in the area of preferred body types—about how men and women perceive each other in areas of physical attraction specifically when it comes to sexual interaction and appearance. Numerous scientific areas have been researched and expounded upon, including theories in natural selection, evolutionary psychology, and sexual attraction. All seem to point to some basis that our behavior in the appreciation of outward body design resides in biology and the evolution of human development over thousands of years. To be more exact, the essence of this instinct resides in our brain’s Limbic System—a small grouping of deep internal brain structures that interact and influence the behavioral traits of all of us. Without getting into a dissertation on biochemistry or anatomy, it will suffice to say that there are several such structures that make up the Limbic System. And a few, in particular, seem to have more influence in determining physical attractiveness based on emotional experiences. One such grouping of structures, the almond-shaped tissue masses known as the amygdala, positioned at the lower anterior (front) portion of the temporal lobe are believed to influence arousal through external exposure to various stimuli. What kind of stimuli? Both visual and olfactory—what one sees and what one smells.

These two small accumulations of gray tissue at the lower center of the brain (the amygdaloid bodies) are composed of three regions, each having a cerebral influence. But it is the neural connections from the substructure areas to; the olfactory cortex (influencing behavior based on aroma, fragrances, odors, etc.); the temporal and occipital cortex (visual stimuli); and motor cortex (influencing perspiration, heart rate, etc.) that influence our behavior and attraction toward these aforementioned physical pre-sets. The amygdala is, stated simply, “direct-wired” to the cognitive, thought processing centers of rational brain functions, including visual and olfactory stimulus—through two main connections—the stria terminalis and ventral amygdalofugal junction. As a result, neurons in the amygdala groups are reactive to external stimuli in areas such as smell (to a lesser degree), and visual processing (to a much greater degree). Interestingly enough, it isn't just any direct external stimulus that causes one to act (or not) without further “thought” when confronted by visual or aromatic stimuli. There is, in the amygdala group, an area of the neural mass that actually weighs the input sensory data—what one smells and sees—before sending information to motor control sensory areas to act, or not to act on the stimulus input data. In particular, one section of the amygdala (lateral mass) acts as an inhibiting control—comparatively weighing data against “pre-learned” cortex information and determining that one should not act in a specific instance—while another section (medial mass) acts on the same external stimulus information in a catalytic manner, again, weighing the sensory input data against presets, and causing one to take action on the stimulus. So, even at this subneural level, there is a series of proverbial checks and balances on one’s behavior. Perhaps it can best be understood, when, at some time in the past after another person has “caught our eye” for whatever reason, we’ve all been confronted with the decision to; a) either go over and say something to that person who’s caught our eye; or b) not chance it (for whatever reason). That’s the medial and lateral areas of the amygdala doing an evaluation and weighing the sensory data.

Equally significant, men and women have different standards for a desirable mate, and we share many of these attributes with others in the animal kingdom. Much of these primal instincts for physical attraction can be linked to our evolutionary genesis. These inborn characteristics are inherent for a reason . . . reproduction . . . the continuation of the species. That’s what the “pre-wiring” is all about.

There are many indications that male preference in female anatomical traits show that, in general, such physical attributes are based initially on visual identification. Things such as athletic muscle tone, young posture, rounded buttocks and breasts seem to indicate a preference among males for choosing a particular mate. The rationale, apparently, is one of choosing a mate that is youthful and able to produce offspring for the continuation of the male’s bloodline and care for the family. This is true in a variety of males, despite sociological influence or culture. Additionally, the olfactory sense plays a role in this determination as well. Hormonal scents (pheromones) such as estrogen can be detected by the male olfactory bulb and impact the male’s response to visual data when considering a female mate. Females, on the other hand use a different set of variables when considering a male. These variables are seemingly based on the physiological limitations on reproduction, in that females will only ovulate a few hundred times in their reproductive lifetimes. Males can produce reproductive cells (sperm) literally throughout their life span and face no limitation to creating offspring from multiple partners. Added to this, females must deal with the child rearing, as males tend to exhibit more nomad-ism and generally demonstrate less maternal instinct. This means that when a female chooses a male, they usually wish to find someone who can both protect and provide for the well being of the new offspring and help with the raising of children. Females, consequently, tend to focus more on physical attributes associated with protection and security. Thus, a male with a fine physique who shows athletic prowess—one who is tall and has broad shoulders and arms, for instance—is more apt to exhibit, from the perspective of the female, a higher degree of security (he can supposedly protect both the offspring and her from other male aggressors), and the ability to provide for the family. That’s not to say that much of the female’s selection process is based solely on physical appearance . . . but, all things being equal (as far as a modern male’s employment occupation…comparing a doctor to another doctor, or an engineer to another engineer, etc.), a female would generally choose a male who exhibited the aforementioned physical attributes over one who did not, in the same occupational field. Again, this is a carry back to evolutionary “pre-wired” instinct.

Body implants, whether butt implants, breast implants, bicep/tricep implants, pec implants or cosmetic hip implants all can be utilized to augment one’s physical appearance and enhance specific areas where a person feels they are deficient. The majority of these implant procedures are relatively safe (aside from infection or implant rotation) and can show dramatic results in short order.

Page Update: July 6, 2010