As a female, I am constantly being told how I should look in order to be more beautiful and attractive to men. Beauty magazines and sales assistants at makeup counters will go on and on to say what colors, clothing, and makeup a woman should wear to look her best. For example, if a woman has brown eyes, it is suggested that she wear neutral eye shadow colors because this is what will make her look more attractive. Or if a woman has a pale skin tone, she should avoid wearing certain colors that could “wash her out.” We are told that men are going to be attracted to us based on a million different factors such as these however it is so much more simple than we make it out to be.
The first and foremost aspect of a person that we are naturally attracted to is their symmetry. Even though we may not be conscious of comparing the symmetry of a person’s face, we do it anyway. Good symmetry shows that a person is healthy and well suited for mating. Evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill states that choosing a perfectly symmetrical partner and reproducing with them will increase the chances of your offspring being symmetrical and able to deal with perturbations. Thornhill’s research has found that both men and women found symmetrical members of the opposite sex as more attractive and healthier. His studies also found that men with more symmetry had more sexual partners than men with less symmetry.
The next thing that men are naturally attracted to is the size of a woman’s hips. Men find wider hips more attractive because once again, they signal fertility and good genes for mating. Psychologist Devendra Singh conducted a study of people’s waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and found that men were most attracted to women with a WHR of 0.7. Otherwise known as “the hourglasss shape”, this waist-to-hip ratio indicates a waist that is significantly smaller than the hips. An analysis that was done on the body figures of Playboy models and Miss America contestants showed that most of these women had a WHR of 0.7 or lower. In a 2004 study, Singh further concluded that men find a WHR between 0.67 and 1.18 in women extremely attractive.
Since these studies are all observational, it cannot be concluded that all men find women with higher symmetry and wider hips the most attractive. After all, there are countless men whose wives/girlfriends do not have perfectly symmetrical faces or an hourglass figure yet they are still infatuated with their physical beauty. The men that were participants in the studies may have all been monthly subscribers to Playboy magazines. Or they may have all had girlfriends with perfectly symmetrical features and Marilyn Monroe bodies. In conclusion, although studies suggest what men are naturally attracted to, it is uncertain whether ALL men are more attracted to wider hips and symmetry.
Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/7023-rules-attraction-game-love.html
After reading your post, I noticed that you mainly focused on what men are attracted to. So I thought I’d go off and do some research on my own to see what women are attracted to! In an article from The Times of India, Nishat Fatima says that a mans physical stature is number one on the list. Women are attracted to certain a weight and height. Some other characteristics that women are attracted to are conversation, smile, attractiveness, humour and confidence. Fatima says that confidence is key! Women are attracted to how confident men are. Check it out: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/6-Things-women-notice-about-men-right-away/articleshow/11804689.cms
This post is very interesting because I always wonder what makes a person “attractive,” however, I would have never guessed symmetry. This post makes me wonder why symmetry almost perfectly determines attractiveness. One theory is the Evolutionary Advantage Theory states that a symmetrical face indicates good health, so people are more attracted to healthy individuals. Another theory is the Perceptual Bias that states that our brains are wired so that it is easier for us to process a symmetrical face than a asymmetrical face. This evidence on attractiveness is rather depressing because it shows that an individual is either born attractive or not, they are either born with a symmetric face or not. So there is almost nothing an individual can do to get more attractive.
This post is very interesting because I always wonder what makes a person “attractive,” however, I would have never guessed symmetry. This post makes me wonder why symmetry almost perfectly determines attractiveness. One theory is the Evolutionary Advantage Theory</a that states that a symmetrical face indicates good health, so people are more attracted to healthy individuals. Another theory is the Perceptual Bias that states that our brains are wired so that it is easier for us to process a symmetrical face than a asymmetrical face. This evidence on attractiveness is rather depressing because it shows that an individual is either born attractive or not, they are either born with a symmetric face or not. So there is almost nothing an individual can do to get more attractive.
This post was extremely interesting! Just like you mentioned, this study is observational so we cannot draw a conclusion on the entire population. This post made me want to see if there were any experimental studies based on what men find attractive. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology published an experimental study that gave 44 women different makeup looks. Some of these looks included the women with no makeup and the women caked in makeup. Then 44 students from Bangor University were told to pick what photo they thought men/women would prefer. It was interesting that both the men and women students preferred the women with 40% less makeup than they had initially wore. These researchers concluded that women are putting on makeup for a “desirable” look that may not even be considered attractive to men!