Hips and Waists and Science and Sex. Last night, I caught part of The Science of Sex on the Discovery Health channel. Among other interesting things -- such as the importance of symmetry to beauty, which I'd read about before -- they talked about the hip/waist ratio and how it equates to perceived beauty in women. Though the evolutionary argument for this seems dubious to some, apparently the same hip/waist ratio is preferred among all cultures -- which challenges the common notion that attractiveness ideals are dictated purely by fashion. Certainly that's true for some characteristics, such as overall girth, but believe it or not, according to the show, Kate Moss has the exact same hip/waist ratio Marylin Monroe had. Science is interesting!