Yeah, I admit it. I know it sounds weird to me too

But apparently some number of scientists not working to land a man on Mars or find a cure for cancer

Have some time to look into this matter and it turns out it is very interesting. So off we go

Beauty standards and perceptions of attractiveness vary across cultures, but one thing is clear

Being called cute is something entirely different

What does it mean to be cute?

is there a scientific explanation why our brains perceive some people is cute and

others as beautiful hot sexy and so on and finally

Why does the Western world mostly see Asians as the former instead of the latter?

I'm sure you've got lots of questions

So stay tuned because we're about to answer all of them with the help of science, but first and foremost

Don't forget to subscribe to our Channel and turn on post notifications so that you don't miss any of our daily updates

Okay

Kittens and puppies are cute, right and don't even get me started on panda cubs or little piglets

actually when it comes down to it the babies of any animal species are generally going to be cuter than the adults and

The same goes for humans as for why we find babies. So darn cute. It's mostly because of their size

Small and helpless things trigger an instinct to nurture and protect which helps our species survive

There are other traits and babies that are brain for whatever reason finds adorable. They have a

disproportionate head to body size and short limbs

in fact

If babies were proportioned more like many adults we probably wouldn't be as inclined to COO at them

They also have flatter more rounded faces. And of course smooth hairless skin

Aging into childhood at lessons young adulthood and finally full-on adult mode

Means the loss of these cute features

our faces become more

Angular the bridge of our nose becomes more defined and we lose our pinchable pudgy nuts as our muscles take on more

definition in our long limbs

However, the retention of these baby-like features into physical maturity is more common for certain ethnicities

East Asian people that is Japanese Chinese Korean Vietnamese

Thai

Taiwanese and Singaporean just to name a few tend to hold on to these features into adulthood a phenomenon called neoteny

Studies have found that neotenous faces are often perceived as more social and feminine

Whereas non neotenous faces are seen as more

Intimidating neoteny is prominent among East Asian ethnicities because of a mutation that first appeared around

35,000 years ago in the gene known as EDAR

The EDAR gene controls the development of our hair, skin and teeth

This mutation causes people to have thicker hair shafts more oil glands

Which helps keep skin looking youthful for longer and less breast tissue in females

Over thousands of years a preference to choose mates that exhibit these features has resulted in a much higher number of people with them

so basically about 93% of Han Chinese people 70% of Japanese and Thai people and

75% of Native Americans carry this variation of the EDAR gene today

The EDAR mutation has also been linked to a reduced presentation of sexual dimorphism in the populations that carry it

Sexual dimorphism is what makes males and females of the same species look different. So less sexual dimorphism

means men with neoteny faces tend to look more feminine and because European and North American

Preferences are and have been vastly different over generations sexual dimorphism is higher among these ethnicities

there are traditional masculine features like broad shoulders and an

angular face as well as feminine Watts such as bodily curves that have attracted members of the opposite sex for enough

Generations to result in such distinct features and a large number of people who have them

the recent surge in the worldwide popularity of Korean pop music

Abbreviated as kpop with groups like BTS has put this cultural difference in the spotlight

Rather than exhibiting the sort of macho features of Western standards of male beauty

Sensational k-pop stars, like Jimin have smooth faces slim bodies and an overall feminine appearance

But Jimin and other k-pop stars aren't just heartthrobs in South Korea

They've got armies of adoring fans all across the globe

Some people are even ready to turn to plastic surgery

To achieve the feminine features that k-pop has shown can be very attractive in a guy

Perhaps something's changing and East Asian standards of beauty are starting to replace the Western ones

Who knows maybe not too far off in the future?

The Jimin's will replace the Hemsworth's as the leading male roles of major Hollywood blockbusters

after all male beauty comes in all sorts of flavours and

There are lots of people who think we should see a little more of that on the big screen. How about you?

Course this topic makes for a great discussion. So now it's your turn

what criteria do you think makes someone cute as opposed to beautiful or sexy let us know down in the comments and

Remember everyone is entitled to their own opinion

So keep it respectful down there

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