Neoteny

Neoteny is the retention of juvenile features in adulthood. In humans female show significantly greater neoteny than males. The more attractive a woman is the higher neoteny she will generally have.

Neoteny is not to be confused with feigned or manufactured neoteny which relies not on biological endowment but on the use of artifice to create a juvenile appearance: eg; cosmetics, fashions, plastic surgery, and mimicking of childlike appearances and gestures. Feigned neoteny is said to be more powerful in eliciting responses from observers than is natural neoteny, and has been referred to as a supernormal sign stimulus.

See also

• How to feign neoteny: an instruction manual for women
• Fascinating Womanhood: Childlikeness Teaching For Women (1965)