Do Human Classes Diverge Phenotypically?
The idea that social classes vary in their physical attributes is an ancient one, and lives to this day by such things as the presumably higher rates of female attractiveness in the upper classes. However, we have been unable to locate any studies on the relationship between “beauty” and social class, perhaps due to some obvious technical difficulties, such as defining “beauty”. However, the numerous genetic studies of Indian caste systems provide a very good case for some phenotypic variation, and skin color heads the list. Indeed, the word Varna, a collective term naming the four Indian castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Kshatriyas, and Shudras) means color, although this interpretation is under some dispute. Skin color is one of the more common cross-cultural classification mechanisms explicitly used in defining social class, as has occurred, at various times, in Japan, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, India, Central America, and South America (Cicchetti, 2006). In these diverse social
