Kalistan

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Investigative Report: Why are Kalistanis so good looking?
Answer probably will not surprise any Kalistani
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
October 15, 5742


Study finds that a mix of environmental, genetic and social factors contribute to perception of beauty in Kalistan

Kalistan has long been believed to have the best looking people on Terra living here, to the point that in 5709, Kalistan was first designated as "Most Photogenic Nation." It has earned several versions of this same title for centuries. And while it is true that Kalistan has probably the best looking people living in it over all, very little has been done to figure out why that is. A new study, published in a recent edition of the philosophical journal Aesthetics sheds some light on the question. The authors, Baltusian social scientist Greg Fernandes and Kalistani popular philosopher Alice Knight, concluded that the reasons belong to environment, genetics, and various socio-economic factors, all of which contribute to creating a healthy and nourishing environment that allows Kalistanis to bring out an easy natural beauty.

Fernandes and Knight wrote: "We need to put a huge caveat on this conclusion: Kalistani photographers don't take photos of average people very often. These are professional standards that our nation's industry informally enforces. Kalistan has plenty of average and below average looking people, in terms of objective standards of aesthetic beauty. And there are a number of things that photographers do to make average people look more beautiful in their photographs, but those are just normal techniques belonging to all professional photographers: things like lighting, composition, quality of camera equipment, etc. I think Kalistanis frequently benefit from the fact that we see photography as an art as well as a profession. Our magazines and newspapers tend to buy the best looking pictures, and then those are the ones that are published. Meanwhile the ones which feature people not looking their best, those tend to end up in a private portfolio somewhere, if they are developed at all. We simply have a higher professional standard for photography, which might also influence the perception that we have better looking people."

But photo choices and techniques only capture what is actually already there, said the authors. "That said, Kalistanis simply look good. We tend to be taller, but not too tall, healthier, with a wider genetic mix, as well as better fed and less stressed than other nations. Kalistanis tends to have better diets, more spare time, and more time outside. This is a product of natural and socially constructed factors that people in our nation inherit from birth that make them simply better looking than people who have terrible diets, who tend to mix only with their own kind in their countries, who spend their lives toiling in jobs that are simply not conducive to mental or physical health, who have diets that are simply caloric replacement rather than actually nourishment. Countries whose genetic pool is reduced by constant civil and international war, who carry stress of extreme poverty, chronic deprivation and generational material insecurity day in and day out. Those factors appear on people's faces and their bodies too, and are ones most Kalistanis will never experience. Instead, we are an affluent, peaceful nation that believes the benefit of that affluence should be spread as widely as possible."

Diet plays a big role in Kalistan's aesthetic. "A caloric breakdown, based on data from the National Food Bank, where most Kalistanis get their basic food needs met, shows that Kalistanis eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day," said the report. "This is mostly in the form of fish, whole grains, vegetable and fruits. Kalistan's dietary intake is almost all wholesome, fresh food, lean meats and proteins, with lots of fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals, straight from nature." What is missing in the Kalistani diet is food that is high in sugar, high in salt and high in saturated fats and processed ingredients, which are common in food from other nations. "The natural healthy diet is good for the skin, good for maintaining a healthy weight, and good for mental clarity, and it shows in our people."

Also important are social activities such as plenty of exercise and time outside. "There are strong social norms against sitting at home the entire day and night doing nothing," reported the authors. "Television tends to be boring, and meanwhile, outdoor and social activities are prevalent around the nation and accessible for everyone. Outdoor and indoor concerts in the summer, clubs to attend, movies to see--there are a million reasons to go out and almost none to stay home. All of these contribute to overall mental and physical health along with the more biological contributors. Added to this is Kalistan's moderate climate, which is due to ocean and wind currents and allow people to enjoy sun, rain, and snow as they please, and which adds to the strong preference for doing social things out in the public space almost year round."

Finally, there is a strong social norm toward a more natural appearance in Kalistan. "Not only do we have the benefit of being a genetic crossroads of Terra, with genetic influences from western Dovani, Yingdala, Gaduridos and Tukarali from the South, Seko and Mikuni in the north, as well as Artanian and Northern Seleyan influences all mixed into a very pleasant and natural mélange to provide our people with an infinite and wonderful variety of appearances, but we also, as a society have rejected cosmetic surgery and heavy made up appearances, which allows both men and women to look in public as they do in private," said the authors. "Kalistan not only is blessed with natural beauty but we don't hide it with strong chemical make up or physical alteration of one's appearance through plastic surgery. The result is a far more aesthetically pleasing person on average in Kalistan than anywhere else in Terra."

The authors were careful to say that, while Kalistanis are better looking on average, this is not to deny that there is great beauty throughout Terra. "We see beauty in every nation, from Xsampa to Kizenia, to Gaduridos to Valruzia to even places like Luthori or the Western and Southern Majatran nations. We can't deny that there are a lot of good looking people in Terra, for sure, and we want to make sure we celebrate them all. Our mission with this article is to explain why there is a predominance of objectively aesthetic beauty here in Kalistan, why most of our people would fit that definition, on a purely objective standard, and why they appear so often in Kalistani publications. We have a wide group of good looking people to choose from, for a lot of really good reasons, and we only tend to publish technically and artisticly excellent photographs of the best looking ones. So if you think Kalistan is a land of great beauty and judge purely on who you see in our news papers, your perception would be that we all look like models. Not true, but you will find better looking people, on average in Kalistan, than you will anywhere else. Because we eat well, we exercise, we value active leisure and natural experience, and we have a society which permits and encourages all those behaviors, rather than forcing our people to work constantly or starve."

One exception to this general rule is the members of the Royal Family. "None of them are unattractive, not by any stretch. That is generations of the best looking, most privileged, most educated people taking beautiful intelligent people as their spouses, and making children together. That is simple selection, cut and dried. As a result, all of our royals are better looking than any other royal family in Terra. And that is just a matter of fact."

@LaModa