Is cuteness intrinsic?

One of the big differences between Panliang and I is that (if you haven't already noticed) I have a great love for all sorts of animals, with the exception of lizards, cockroaches and nasty bugs. When I was 5 or 6, I used to comb through encyclopedias and read up about pets and wildlife; I love animal documentaries; I'm happy to get up close and personal with animals like snakes and stray dogs that most people would keep a mile from; and I nearly became an animal show presenter at the zoo (but the pay would hardly sustain our mortgage) !

As for Panliang, if I may quote his best man Yunjian's speech at our wedding, "he basically doesn't like anything furrier than him." Not cats, dogs, hamsters, nothing. But somehow, Darcy managed to convert him. Just before we got together, Panliang came over one evening to watch a movie, and Darcy promptly snuggled up to him and fell asleep on his lap. That impressed me no end. Since then, Panliang has been a furry animal convert, but one mammal he still abhors is the rat, and he absolutely can't understand why I get excited and try to look closer whenever we see one.

I found this really cute picture of a mummy and baby otter. The picture always makes me laugh and recall a conversation with Panliang that has been etched it my memory ever since.


Serene: (clicking open the picture on the computer screen) Don't you think this is cute?

Panliang stares silently at the screen for some time.

Panliang: (suspiciously, with a hint of disgust, never taking his eyes of the screen) Is it a RAT?

Serene: Of course not! It's an otter!

Panliang: (greatly relieved) Oh ok. Then it's cute.

Serene: (incredulously) You mean if I said it was a rat, it wouldn't be cute?

Panliang: Yes.

Serene: Isn't cuteness intrinsic? If it's cute, it's cute, whether or not it's a rat!

Panliang: No. If it was it was a rat, it won't be cute. But it's not a rat, so it's cute.

* * * * *

Perhaps cuteness is psychologically determined and not intrinsic to the object. The Beijing Olympics little girl is cute until you find out she's a fake. Stray cats are cute until your parents tell you they're dirty. People are normal until they become your boyfriend or girlfriend, after which, they become cute. Should the relationship fail, they lose their Cute Status, and what was once cute now annoys.

Perhaps the same logic applies to parents and babies. Objectively speaking, newborn infants are not at their most attractive (this web link is not for the faint-hearted). They are often dark, wrinkly and have scrunched-up eyes, but somehow they awaken lots of little love hearts in their parents. To the casual observer, all baby ultrasound scans look the same, and perhaps some might say that all Chinese babies look the same at birth, but I have no doubt Panliang and I will find Baby the cutest creature we have ever seen, even if we don't feel the same way about other newborn babies. She'll be cute just because she's our baby.