Subject: Sexual preferences along the generatios: Change of fashion or evolution?

From ancient sculptures and drawings, it is clear that men preferred women 
which in todays standards are fat. Nowadays, that is uncommon. If 
evolution can't go that fast, how come fashion has successfully supressed 
our inborn instincts? The prevalent way of chosing a mate in tradition-
keeping countries is through mediators -- the parents: The womans parents 
assess the economical and social status of the potential husband and they 
are the ones who give the final answer. Even if we say that in the direct 
selection (the *modern* way)inborn instincts play their roles most 
conspicuously, why the traditional way was so prevalent, and basically the 
same in most countries? How can we justify the *parental system* in 
evolutionary terms? When humans lived more under natures mercy, natural 
selection was more important, and direct selection seems more adequate 
because it's more selective. Yet, in third-world countries that live in 
conditions close to those in the past, such traditions are still *alive 
and kicking*. Is it to say that the *parents wisdom* has a more realistic 
selection basis?

Re: Sexual preferences along the generatios: Change of fashion or evolution?