What evolutionary, or indeed any other, reasons are there why women tend to wear make-up and men in general do not?
• Make-up provides an example of what animal behaviourists call a super-stimulus – a larger-than-life version of a normal cue that elicits an enhanced response. Women’s make-up augments the features men instinctively find attractive, so promoting stronger interest and arousal.
Lipstick makes the erogenous zone of the lips more prominent. Rouge accentuates blushing, which indicates arousal on the part of a woman. Pupil dilation is also a sign of sexual attraction, and women in the past would put (extracted from the poisonous plant belladonna) into their eyes to achieve this. Pupil dilation is most apparent in blue and green eyes, while blues and greens are the most popular eye-shadows. They are more natural than, say, reds or purples.
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Make-up is also used to conceal blemishes and project youth, indicative of fertility, which can be desirable in a mate. Larger eyes and lashes help project the childlike aspect of feminine faces, eliciting the same protective instinct that ensures care and security by the male for the female and any offspring.
The reasons women tend to wear make-up are largely cultural and historic – men traditionally make the first move, so women resort to more passive means to attract a mate’s interest. Sexual politics has progressed, but the gender association is deeply ingrained. However, men do wear make-up in certain contexts in other cultures, notably in oriental and Asian marriage ceremonies just as the bride does, and in some primitive societies.
TV actors and presenters of both sexes wear make-up for a different reason. Studio lights make skin look abnormally pale through the cameras. Because a pale complexion can be a sign of illness, our instinct to shun this is unlikely to boost ratings, so some time in front of the mirror is necessary for people on TV.
Super-stimuli are well documented. Hungry herring gull chicks peck a red spot on the hen’s beak to induce it to regurgitate food, but peck even more vigorously at a red pencil with three white bars. Matings between different butterfly species are common – and some produce viable offspring. When this happens the species usually have a similar courtship and wing pattern – perhaps the only difference is that one of them is larger or has pronounced features.
“Hungry herring gull chicks peck a red spot on the hen’s beak to induce it to regurgitate food”
As the questioner implies, the explanation need not be to do with evolution, more to do with how human society functions. To use the word “evolutionary” to presuppose that evolution must invoke survival and natural selection can make such questions doubly leading.
Len Winokur, Leeds, UK