
Parasitic Approach to the Development of Modern Cosmetic Industry
- 1 Temple University Japan Campus
- 2 Temple University Japan Campus
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This is a literature review study focused on the connection between parasite stress and the development of the modern beauty industry. It is hypothesized that parasite stress may consequently result in contributing to females’ consumption of cosmetic products and plastic surgeries. The research begins with how natural selection theory, sexual selection theory, and parasite stress theory are contributing to the shaping of human mate preferences. Two types of consequences of parasitic infections are introduced: facial-benefitting and facial-disrupting. These two types of impact on female faces all result in increasing and reinforcing social comparison among females. The social comparison evolved throughout time contributing to mate selection and modern times manifestations in the cosmetic industry. It is suggested that future research in this field can explore the connection between parasite stress and differences in self-esteem between males and females.
Keywords
Parasite stress, natural selection, sexual selection, social comparison, cosmetic industry.
[1]. Thornhill, R., & Fincher, C. L. (2014). The parasite-stress theory of sociality, the behavioral immune system, and human social and cognitive uniqueness. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 8(4), 257–264. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000020
[2]. Wolfe, N. D., Dunavan, C. P., & Diamond, J. (2007). Origins of major human infectious diseases. Nature, 447(7142), 279–283. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05775
[3]. Fincher, C. L., & Thornhill, R. (2012). Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(2), 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x11000021
[4]. DeBruine, L. M., Little, A. C., & Jones, B. C. (2012). Extending parasite-stress theory to variation in human mate preferences. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(2), 86–87. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x11000987
[5]. El-Beshbishi, S. N., Ahmed, N. N., Mostafa, S. H., & El-Ganainy, G. A. (2012). Parasitic infections and myositis. Parasitology Research, 110(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2609-8
[6]. Akst, L. M., Dipasquale, B., Berho, M., Greene, D., & Roberts, J. (2004). Dirofilarial infection presenting as a facial mass: Case report of an emerging zoonosis. American Journal of Otolaryngology, 25(2), 134–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjoto.2003.09.005
[7]. Baudouin, J.-Y., & Tiberghien, G. (2004). Symmetry, averageness, and feature size in the facial attractiveness of women. Acta Psychologica, 117(3), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2004.07.002
[8]. Little, A. C., Jones, B. C., DeBruine, L. M., & Feinberg, D. R. (2008). Symmetry and sexual dimorphism in human faces: Interrelated preferences suggest both signal quality. Behavioral Ecology, 19(4), 902–908. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arn049
[9]. Rhodes, G., Simmons, L. W., & Peters, M. (2005). Attractiveness and sexual behavior: Does attractiveness enhance mating success? Evolution and Human Behavior, 26(2), 186–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.014
[10]. Borráz-León, J. I., Rantala, M. J., Krams, I. A., Cerda-Molina, A. L., & Contreras-Garduño, J. (2022). Aretoxoplasma-infected subjects more attractive, symmetrical, or healthier than non-infected ones? evidence from subjective and objective measurements. PeerJ, 10. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13122
[11]. Martin, M. C., & Kennedy, P. F. (1993). Advertising and social comparison: Consequences for female preadolescents and adolescents. Psychology & Marketing, 10(6), 513–530. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.4220100605
[12]. Marta Kowal et al. (2022). Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries. Evolution and Human Behavior, 43(6), 455-474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.003.
[13]. Wagstaff, D. L., & Sulikowski, D. (2023). The impact of sexual strategies, social comparison, and Instagram use on makeup purchasing intentions. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 17(3), 307–321. https://doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000285
[14]. Pazhoohi, F., & Kingstone, A. (2020). Parasite prevalence and income inequality positively predict beardedness across 25 countries. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 6(2), 185–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-020-00132-6
[15]. Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. W. (1999). Facial attractiveness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(12), 452–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1364-6613(99)01403-5
[16]. Prokop, P., & Fedor, P. (2013). The effects of parasites on human behaviour: An evolutionary perspective. Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century, 5(1), 46–65. https://doi.org/10.33225/ppc/13.05.46
[17]. Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social Media, social comparison, and self-esteem. PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e512142015-699
[18]. Brown, A., Furnham, A., Glanville, L., & Swami, V. (2007). Factors that affect the likelihood of undergoing cosmetic surgery. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 27(5), 501–508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asj.2007.06.004
[19]. Stephenson, I., & Wiselka, M. (2012). Drug treatment of tropical parasitic infections. Drugs, 60(5), 985–995. https://doi.org/10.2165/00003495-200060050-00002
Cite this article
Zhu,Z.;Skowronski,D.P. (2024). Parasitic Approach to the Development of Modern Cosmetic Industry. Communications in Humanities Research,50,32-38.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).