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  • All right, hold on to your hats; scientists explain why Asians look so cute.

  • 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 as 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 in babies that our 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 mini 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, adolescence, 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 pudginess 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 peoplethat is, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Taiwanese, and Singaporean, just to name a fewtend 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 neotenous 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 ones, 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 K-pop, 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 flavors and there are lots of people who think we should see a little more of that on the big screen.

  • How about you?

  • Of 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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  • Hit that subscribe button and stay with us on the Bright Side of life.

All right, hold on to your hats; scientists explain why Asians look so cute.

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