Our culture respects taller thinner women who wait longer before having kids, but in fact we are evolving short heavy women who have kids earlier. Shades of Idiocracy – in many ways we are evolving to become less of what we now respect.
That does not surprise me. As Sarah Blaffer Hrdy points out in Mother Nature that the career versus children dilemma is hardwired into females. That's because in historical times high-status females could use their power to get other females to provide child care from other female group members. That freed them up to spend more time gathering food. That made them healthier and their children healthier. In the modern world status-seeking behavior by females does not translate to increased reproductive success. Thus one expects a de-escalation of the status arms race among females, and that includes status from physical attractiveness.
In principle humans could implement strong central regulations to ensure that they evolved to become the sort of creatures they respect, at least regarding a few features of regulatory focus. But it is far from clear that we are willing, or even able, to achieve this.
Hanson does not use the term, but the word for this is "eugenics". One thing that surprises me is that secular people have repudiated eugenics given that evolution is their universal acid. Worries about the genetic stock of the breed is always lurking right beneath the surface, even if it can't be mentioned in polite company.
As a Christian I do not worry about this. God has a plan for mankind and while the process may not be easy, and it may not be pretty, it will ultimately lead towards utopia, not dystopia.
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