Seven Tenths Incorrect: Heterogeneity and Change in the Waist-to-Hip Ratios of Playboy Centerfold Models and Miss America Pageant Winners (ICPSR 1331)

Version Date: Oct 2, 2006

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Principal Investigator(s):
Jeremy Freese, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sheri Meland, University of Wisconsin-Madison

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR01331.v1

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Summary

Drawing on an article by Singh (1993), many discussions of the evolutionary psychology of heterosexual male preferences have reported a remarkable consistency in the waist-to-hip ratios of Playboy centerfold models and Miss America pageant winners over time. We re-examine the measurement data on these American beauty icons and show that these reports are false in several ways. First, the variation in waist-to-hip ratios among these women is greater than reported. Second, the center of the distribution of waist-to-hip ratios is not 0.70, but less than this. Third, the average waist-to-hip ratio within both samples has changed over time in a manner that is statistically significant and can be regarded as mutually consistent. Taken together, the findings undermine some of the evidence given for the repeated suggestion that there is something special--evolutionarily hard-wired or otherwise--about a specific female waist-to-hip ratio of 0.70 as a preference of American heterosexual males.

Citation

Freese, Jeremy, and Meland, Sheri. Seven Tenths Incorrect: Heterogeneity and Change in the Waist-to-Hip Ratios of Playboy Centerfold Models and Miss America Pageant Winners. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2006-10-02. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR01331.v1

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Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Data Collection Notes

  1. (1) The one file submitted is sevententhsincorrect.zip, which expands to on Stata program file and three data files. There is also a readme file. (2) These data are part of ICPSR's Publication-Related Archive and are distributed exactly as they arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigators if further information is desired.

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Original Release Date

2006-10-02

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • Freese, Jeremy, and Sheri Meland. Seven Tenths Incorrect: Heterogeneity and Change in the Waist-to-Hip Ratios of Playboy Centerfold Models and Miss America Pageant Winners. ICPSR01331-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2006-10-02. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR01331.v1
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Notes

  • These data are flagged as replication datasets and are distributed exactly as they arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.