Do men prefer women who are attracted to women? A cross-cultural evolutionary investigation

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate whether heterosexual men prefer women who experience same-sex attractions as partners across different cultural settings. Data from a sample of 949 Chinese heterosexual participants and a sample of 305 British heterosexual participants was used to investigate this hypothesis. Across the two samples, we found that men would prefer same-sex sexual attraction and contact in a partner more than women. Specifically, about one in four men in the Chinese sample and two in three men in the British sample have indicated a desire for their opposite-sex heterosexual partners to be additionally attracted to, and have sexual contact with same-sex individuals. In addition, across samples, heterosexual participants who have experienced same-sex attractions were more likely than those who did not indicate a preference for same-sex attraction and contact in an opposite-sex partner. Results were also compared with data from a previous study involving Greek-Cypriot participants – preferences for same-sex sexual attraction and contact in heterosexual partners were highest in the UK, moderate in Cyprus and lowest in China. The implications of these findings for the evolution of same-sex attraction were discussed.