From Nancy Etcoff’s book Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty (ISBN 0385478542):
“People judge appearances as though somewhere in their minds an ideal beauty of the human form exists, a form they would recognise if they saw it, though they do not expect they ever will. It exists in the imagination.” (p11)
“Attitudes surrounding beauty are entwined with our deepest conflicts surrounding flesh and spirit. We view the body as a temple, a prison, a dwelling for the immortal soul, a tormentor, a garden of earthly delights, a biological envelope, a machine, a home. We cannot talk about our response to our body’s beauty without understanding all that we project onto our flesh.” (p20)
Mind Hacks 