I'm a firm believer in the idea that the world can be broken up into two kinds of people: Those who purchase motivational posters festooned with baby animals and those who laugh at them. I've always placed myself firmly in the latter category. Does this make me a misanthropic killjoy? Maybe. But I'm willing to live with that, which is why I find it so odd that I've become completely and utterly addicted to Cute Overload.
Given that the site won this year's Best American Weblog Award, I'm guessing you've heard of it. But perhaps, you (unlike me) have better things to do with your time than croon at the computer screen, so here's the deal: Cute Overload is a clearing house for all things cute, namely puppies, kittens, gamboling lambs, bunnies with floppy ears, thumb print-sized turtles and the like. What do you do there, you ask? You luxuriate in warm, fuzzy feelings, while admiring the unrelenting cuteness of it all, of course.
You might wonder why Cute Overload is more acceptable to malcontents, like myself, than Mickey Mouse T-shirts and plush toys. I don't have a definitive answer, but I chalk it up to CO Founder Meg Frost, whose language of self-parody has made cuteness respectable for the post-punk generation.
But that doesn't really answer the ultimate question, which is: Why do baby animals evoke the same kind of visceral nurturing response in some of us that human infants do?
I imagine there have a been a pile of evolutionary psychology papers written on this subject, but I've yet to stumble on one. My pet theory is that baby animals (particularly mammals) exhibit many of the same social bonding behaviors as human babies--like staring, crying, nuzzling, and playing--that make the human nurturing machinery kick into gear.
Now, any parent can tell you that when the "caring impulse" gets triggered, it brings with it great joy. The experience of "falling in love" with one's child is well-documented. But with this ecstatic love comes a sense of profound responsibility and, well, fear--fear of failing to protect your charge from the dangers of the world, your own foibles, the harsh economic realities.
I think one of the reasons that some people find baby animals so seductive is that they trigger the activation of the "nurturing system," (and the rush of good feeling that comes with that) sans emotional baggage and long-term commitment. They offer us a simple, straightforward route to the joy that comes from exercising our altruistic instincts.
Purely speculative, you say. Well, yeah. But it sorta makes you wonder if these chimpanzees might be experiencing a similar kind of emotional reward when they interact with other species in a positive way, doesn't it?: "Experimental evidence reveals that chimpanzees will help other unrelated humans without a reward."
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I think that you can analyze until the cows come home (when is that, by the way?) BUT what I think you and the responders missed is that in a world where a woman can die on an emergency room floor and lay there unnoticed for an hour...we NEED to know that there is still a place we can go to get away from the evils of the world. We need a respite, a place of comfort and...cute.
Small pets are designed, for the most part to look juvenile. My favorite breed of dog, the Shih tzu, is a prime example. However, my second favorite breed of dog, the pit bull, is anything but. However, I can't tell you how many photos are posts of pit bulls being adorable with stuffed toys, or small animals or children. We even want our more adult pets to take on the appearance of harmlessness because we need to know that somewhere there is gentleness, humor and kindness.
Renee, women vets are under-represented in large animal practice for the simple reason that its a heck of a lot easier for a man to handle a fractious half ton animal than it is a woman. Considering the well documented relationship between women and horses you would think that if anything women would be over-represented in equine care. But as someone who has been thrown around like a rag doll vetting her own horses I can tell you that most women opt for safety over personal preference. Buy the way, the are also under-represented in the human field of Orthopedics because of the strength needed to set and pin broken bones.
Well, there are, and you're sort of right.
Domestic animals have been selected for docile behavioral traits. Incidentally, this ends up selecting for all sorts of juvenile traits, which are big eyes, short nose, slow development which in some animals results in a white patch on their forehead, and all sorts of other things.
What we find cute are these are facial features which indicate that an animal is a juvenile. Thess traits are seen in ALL baby mammals. Female veternarians are vastly overrepresented in the vet school- about 70% are women- but underrepresented in large animal care. Why? Because females are genetically programmed to gravitate towards cute. Farm animals are just not as cute as pets. Taking care of a baby is a lot of work, and causes you a lot of pain coming out. So it's essential for evolution to keep women from tossing their babies in the dumpster like any sane person would do.
So, when we see a rounded face, huge eyes, and a short nose, our hearts just melt.
I pretty much have made it my life's goal to get a pic on cuteoverload.com
LW
You must check out I Can Has Cheezburger? It is absurdly cute.
Okay, here's another one: http://www.omgkitty.com/
I am a firm believer in the theory that baby animals are cute to ensure survival. And I can't help it! I love cute things.