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1.0 Preamble
This webpage examines the intriguing topic of Sex Appeal ...
2.0 Notes
Wikipedia — the very useful, user-editable and free online
encyclopedia — has the following to say about 'Sex Appeal', aka 'Sexual Attraction' ...
Sexual Attraction [aka Sex Appeal]
Sexual attraction or sex appeal refers to a person's ability to attract in a sexual or erotic manner the
interest of another person. The attraction may be to a physical quality of a
person, or it may be to other more nebulous quality of the person.
Though attempts are made to devise objective criteria of sexual attractiveness,
a person's sexual attractiveness is to a large extent a subjective measure
dependent on another person's interest, perception and sexual orientation. For
example, a gay or lesbian would typically find a person of the same-sex to be
more attractive then one of the other gender. A bisexual person would typically
find both sexes to be equally attractive.
Social and biological factors
Human sexuality has many aspects. In biology, sexuality describes the
reproductive mechanism as well as the basic biological drive that exists in all
species and can encompass sexual intercourse and sexual contact in all its
forms. There are also emotional and physical aspects of sexuality. These relate
to the bond that exists between individuals, which may be expressed through
profound feelings or emotions. Sociologically, it can cover the cultural,
political, and legal aspects; and philosophically, it can span the moral,
ethical, theological, spiritual or religious aspects.
Which aspects of a person's sexuality attracts another is influenced by
cultural factors, and varies over time, as well as personal factors.
Influencing factors may be determined more locally among sub-cultures, across
sexual fields, or simply by the preferences of the individual. These
preferences come about as a result of a complex variety of genetic,
psychological, and cultural factors. The sexual attraction of one person to
another depends on both people.
Much of human sexual attractiveness is governed by physical attractiveness.
This involves the impact one's appearance has on the senses, especially in the
beginning of a relationship:
Visual perception (how the other looks and acts);
Audition (how the other's voice and/or movements sound);
Olfaction (how the other smells, naturally or artificially; the wrong smell may
be repellent).
As with other animals, pheromones may also enter into the picture, though less
significantly. Theoretically, the "wrong" pheromone may cause someone to be
disliked, even when they would otherwise appear attractive. Frequently a
pleasant smelling perfume is used to encourage the member of the opposite sex
to more deeply inhale the air surrounding its wearer, increasing the
probability that the pheromones from the individual will also be inhaled. The
importance of pheromones in human relationships is probably limited and is
widely disputed,
"Will pheromones make you irresistible to the opposite sex?", The Straight Dope. www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_206.html
although it appears to have some scientific basis,
"First Evidence of a Human Response to Pheromones", ScientificAmerican.com. www.sciam.com/article.cfm? articleID=0007F9B4-B6D4-1C60-B882809EC588ED9F&sc=I100322
Many people exhibit high levels of sexual fetishism, and are sexually
stimulated by other stimuli not normally associated with sexual arousal. The
degree to which such fetishism exists or has existed in different cultures is
controversial.
3.0 YouTube Videos
3.1 Video Clips
The popular video hosting site, YouTube, carries several videos about Sex Appeal ...
Science of Sex Appeal - Out of Your League?
Uploaded to YouTube by: DiscoveryNetworks
Date of Upload: February 13, 2009
Info: While scouting for an attractive partner, you might have to settle for someone
"in your league." Watch a mate selection experiment in Discovery Channel's "The
Science of Sex Appeal....
Tags: format:16x9 science of sex appeal biological sexy
Science of Sex Appeal - Female Copulance
Uploaded to YouTube by: DiscoveryNetworks
Date of Upload: February 13, 2009
Info: Could copulance be a hidden weapon in women's armory of attraction? Men seem to
lose all ability to think clearly when exposed. Learn more from Discovery
Channel's "The Science of Sex Appeal...
Tags: format:16x9 science of sex appeal biological sexy
4.0 Postscript
This webpage comprises some introductory notes and YouTube video clips, on
the Sex Appeal ...
Please do not assume or conclude that, just because I present many views (in
the form of textual notes and video clips) on this website, it means that I am
in agreement with or that I believe in the views offered-proferred ... That
would be displaying such a parochial and provincial attitude, towards this
website and towards me as well!
As an ex-military officer, I assure you that I am in the habit of reading,
viewing and digesting lots of stuff that I don't necessarily believe in ... We
call all the stuff we read, view and digest, 'military intelligence' ... The
same applies with 'business intelligence' in the business world, of course.
Our aim, as usual, is to find out what others (including our friends, enemies,
competitors, suppliers, strategic partners, business partners, etc.) believe in
... In order to do that effectively, we have to 'get out of the way', so to
speak ... we have to remove our humongous ego! ... else we will never ever
really have gotten started in our journey of exploration and discovery of the
Mysteries of the World
.
Here is a sentiment that I am wholeheartedly in agreement with ...
As I sit down to redo this book for an American audience, what rises before me
is last night's dream: I'm in a broad and beautiful land among many trees. It's
night. I look up at a huge old tree that's dark against the starry sky in its
detail of twig and branch. There is room enough here for all of us, I realize,
here in this big, intricately textured park. But I see that some want to cut
down the trees and level it out, so huge throngs of people can gather to gaze
up at the sun's glare. I watch dark twigs fingering the remote, untouchable
stars. A voice speaks: "Don't turn this into a Copernican Garden."
Waking up, I remember that I went to sleep wondering how to put this book
together. And I take "Copernican Garden" to mean a parking lot vista where
masses gather to honor the bright sun of traditional science with its old rules
as the center of the universe.
So I will not cut down the trees and level this book out. It is between you and
me [or you and I], a conversation as we stroll along in a moonlit fractal
garden past webby connections of thought that merge to patterned insight. Here
hidden delights nestle in scaling patterns of self-similar but never quite
repeating beauty. Here the tree of life hold stars in its branches. No matter
how huge, this garden stays human-sized because we have a place in it, you and
I. No need to cut down the connective forest and level things out for that
bright Sol [sun] of left-brain logic whose daytime dazzle — so
close and glaring — can blind us to the myriad constellations
beyond.
[...]
— Katya Walter,
Tao of Chaos
Sub-title:
Merging East and West
(1994, 1996)
Here is an observation (adapted) made in the Acknowledgement page of a book ...
It takes many minds to produce a book [including an e-book, of course].
Although most authors [especially of non-fiction books and articles] would
prefer not to admit this fact, fundamentally they are merely 'synthesisers' of
accumulated knowledge.
The process of synthesising may unveil a new reality map, or paradigm, which,
in due course, will be used by future pioneers to unveil further paradigms.
This principle was summed up by Sir Isaac Newton when he remarked: "If I have
seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".
[...]
— Christian von Nidda,
Our Secret Planet
(2005)
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We will, of course, come to a conclusion (eventually!) about each 'Mystery' ...
even if that conclusion may eventually turn out to be 'as yet unresolved' or
'unexplained to our satisfaction'.
