sciencetech-blog

comments

Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5, was last year named People's Sexiest Man Alive thanks to his square jaw, high cheekbones and thin lips.

However, new researcher has shown that in fact, many women prefer a more effeminate look.

Researchers say that particularly in rural areas, women actually find feminine features more attractive.

Researchers showed participants three pictures—all were of the same man, but altered so that in one he had extremely masculine characteristics (left), in another he had very feminine ones (right), and in the last, neutral features (middle). 

Researchers say that although women in urban areas prefer men with a round square jaw, those in urban areas prefer men with more feminine features.

The study from Brunel University in the UK, led by psychologist Isabel Scott, found that where you live can influence your tastes.

Researchers showed participants three pictures—all were of the same man, but altered so that in one he had extremely masculine characteristics, in another he had very feminine ones, and in the last, neutral features.

The men were from one of five ethnic groups: European, East Asian, South Asian, African Caribbean, and South American.

A total of 962 subjects, who lived in both urban and rural areas in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ecuador, Russia and China, among other places, saw the pictures.

They were asked to place each shot in one of three categories: (1) most attractive for a long-term relationship, (2) most attractive for a short-term one, and (3) least attractive face.

In urban areas, women generally picked the more masculine men as most attractive for both long- and short-term relationships, but in rural areas, there was no such standard. 

For example, 'in South America, women preferred feminine-looking men,' Scott told Time. 

'It was quite unexpected.'

Specifically, in Ecuador and Nicaragua, women in the countries' Shuar and Miskitu indigenous populations respectively preferred feminine-looking men, researchers said.

The study, Scott said, shows that anthropologists might be wrong—our preference for manly men might not be based our evolutionary history. If it were it should hold true in rural societies that are more similar to how we lived back in the caveman era.

'These are clearly modern preferences,' she said.

Previously researchers have said the square jaw was most desirable. 

Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University who studies love and attraction, said at the time that Levine has 'stereotypically masculine features,' including a square jaw, high cheekbones, and thin lips—all of which women are drawn to.

'Look at that jaw, it really juts out on the side,' she said. 'His brow ridges are such that he could probably stand in the shower and keep his eyes open.'

New research, however, suggests that women may not like manly men as much scientists once thought. In fact, the study shows, many ladies might prefer the opposite: guys with softer, more feminine facial features.

The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Our preferences for face: Blue sections indicate the proportion of a group that chose masculinized faces as most attractive, white sections indicate the proportion that chose neutral faces, and pink sections indicate the proportion that chose feminized faces. Preferences for sex dimorphism in male faces, by group. Blue sections indicate the proportion of a group that chose masculinizedfaces as most attractive, white sections indicate the proportion that chose neutral faces, and pink sections indicate the proportion that chose feminizedfaces.

Our preferences for female faces: Blue sections indicate the proportion of a group that chose masculinized faces as most attractive, white sections indicate the proportion that chose neutral faces, and pink sections indicate the proportion that chose feminized faces.

'It is a popular assumption that certain perceptions—for example, that highly feminine women are attractive, or that masculine men are aggressive—reflect evolutionary processes operating within

ancestral human populations. 

'However, observations of these perceptions have mostly come from modern, urban populations.

This study presents data on cross-cultural perceptions of facial masculinity and femininity. In contrast to expectations,we find that in less developed environments, typical "Western" perceptions are attenuated or even reversed, suggesting that Western perceptions may be relatively novel. 

'We speculate that novel environments, which expose individuals to large numbers of unfamiliar faces,may provide novel opportunities—and motives—to discern subtle relationships between facial appearance and other traits.'