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Sorry but how is this comment helpful? I was clearly talking about phenotypical resemblance e.g. hair, eye, skin color, height, face shape etc... Gender or sex

Sorry but how is this comment helpful? I was clearly talking about phenotypical resemblance e.g. hair, eye, skin color, height, face shape etc... Gender or sex is irrelevant. Obviously heterosexual men are attracted to women but the question is given enough racial diversity are white heterosexual men mostly attracted to white women or not.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
I think you're over estimating how much those sorts of individual physical things impact people's choice of long term spouse. Nobody (or at least very few people) is putting off marrying someone they otherwise would marry because they don't have their preferred hair/eye/skin color. I also think you're underestimating how much those physical features are mapped to personality/cultural features. People want to date and marry people who they have a lot in common with. Once people have found someone they're very compatible with on a personality level I think they tend to be less choosy about the physical stuff. Yes, I was being snarky initially. I was trying to imply that being the opposite sex is enough difference to satisfy most people's minimum requirement.
- gnulinux 8y ago
  I would guess you're correct (I'd still be interested to see data) for long-term relationships but I wouldn't agree with you on short-term attraction i.e. seeing people on the street and finding them attractive. This is purely physical (even non-physical aspects e.g. associating someone's appearance with a certain type of personality have a physical source) so it is possible hair/eye/skin color can matter, so whether people prefer people looking similar/dissimilar to them is still an open question, I think. EDIT: But of course, since we're talking about reproduction, you have a good point I think.
  - Retric 8y ago
    Clothing style is also physical, but heavily influenced by income and lifestyle. Proximity is another factor. When rock climbing you meet people healthy enough to be rock climbing, college etc. In a less positive context your likely to meet someone at an AA meeting with a similar genetic propensity for alcoholism.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

I think you're over estimating how much those sorts of individual physical things impact people's choice of long term spouse. Nobody (or at least very few people) is putting off marrying someone they otherwise would marry because they don't have their preferred hair/eye/skin color. I also think you're underestimating how much those physical features are mapped to personality/cultural features. People want to date and marry people who they have a lot in common with. Once people have found someone they're very compatible with on a personality level I think they tend to be less choosy about the physical stuff. Yes, I was being snarky initially. I was trying to imply that being the opposite sex is enough difference to satisfy most people's minimum requirement.

gnulinux 8y ago
I would guess you're correct (I'd still be interested to see data) for long-term relationships but I wouldn't agree with you on short-term attraction i.e. seeing people on the street and finding them attractive. This is purely physical (even non-physical aspects e.g. associating someone's appearance with a certain type of personality have a physical source) so it is possible hair/eye/skin color can matter, so whether people prefer people looking similar/dissimilar to them is still an open question, I think. EDIT: But of course, since we're talking about reproduction, you have a good point I think.
- Retric 8y ago
  Clothing style is also physical, but heavily influenced by income and lifestyle. Proximity is another factor. When rock climbing you meet people healthy enough to be rock climbing, college etc. In a less positive context your likely to meet someone at an AA meeting with a similar genetic propensity for alcoholism.