Physical attractiveness: The objective ornament and subjective self-ratings

To investigate the relationship between self-ratings, ratings by others and objective measures, female participants (N = 84) provided the following: (1) ratings of their own physical attractiveness and body esteem data; (2) facial photographs, which were rated by male and female observers; and (3) waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) measures. Male-rated female attractiveness was unrelated to the women's self-rated attractiveness, and to their self-rated body esteem components involving sexual attractiveness and physical condition. Women typically overestimated their physical attractiveness and the most attractive women (with regards to their facial attractiveness, WHR and BMI) were most likely to self-deceive in this manner. Male-ratings of facial photographs were fairly strongly related to the WHR and BMI of the female participants. Although women did not agree with men's ratings of their attractiveness, or with the WHR and BMI measures, male and female observers showed a consensus when rating their facial photographs.