Ah! I wasn't thinking of/referring to that research in the context of D_Lion's comment. Rather, the recognition of faces as faces over other shapes, which I thought he was referencing (he wasn't specific about the research). Yes; newborns look longer at an attractive face (you'll have to direct me to research that shows that newborns actually get upset when viewing an unattractive face; I don't see that). There are a number of different theories, though, as to what that actually means in terms of perception, learning, and information processing. It's also difficult, even at that very early stage, to differentiate between innate responses and learned preferences since learning is so immediate and so incredibly rapid.

I have no disagreement at all that components of attraction are biological and haven't said otherwise. However, there are significant aspects -- many of which people on these boards identify as primary for them -- that are learned and cultural. If the general framework for attraction is within us from the beginning, much of how the details get painted in is learned. So, if there is a general preference (for example) for faces that are more symmetrical, that still leaves room for a lot of variation as to what you or I or that guy over in the corner prefers (blue/brown eyes, oval/round eyes, full/thin lips, flat/round cheekbones, etc.). We aren't locked into preferring only one face. There are certainly differences across cultures in some of these preferences as well, even if a "homogenized" average face (which nobody on earth has) is universally viewed as attractive.

The same is true with body type, where in some cultures someone with ample proportions is viewed as most desireable, and in others someone more slender approximates the cultural ideal. The notion that the preferred proportions are exactly the same across cultures doesn't bear out; they do in fact vary (albeit all preferring a narrower waist than bust/chest or hips). Of course, even then, there is a significant range of body shapes that are viewed as attractive (e.g., both the toned and muscular athlete or slender ballerina and the voluptuous starlet), and certainly to which any individual may be attracted to. And, those preferences change over time, sometimes within a relatively short period of time (e.g. the slender "flapper" in the '20s, when well-endowed women bound their breasts to appear more flat, versus the 1950's pinup, when bullet bras emphasized the breast).

Since I've made my points on this many times now (and have a lot of work I need to get to), I'm going to let this be my last word on this (in this thread, anyway!).