Sexual Selection, Signaling and Facial Hair: US and India Ratings of Variable Male Facial Hair

Abstract

The objective of this study was to address the putative ancestral social signaling value of male facial hair, in concert with variable cultural meaning. The ability to grow facial hair might have served as an honest ancestral signal of male age, social dominance, strength and health. Male facial hair may also have had signaling value for attractiveness, though these might be less strong than effects tied to male-male competition. Male facial hair can also be modified, giving rise to cultural variation in its potential signaling function. We surveyed N = 252 US men and women and N = 280 Indian men and women, ages 18–25, about sociodemographics and attitudes toward male facial hair. Participants rated a randomized series of nine images of a composite male model with facial hair with respect to: preferred style, estimated age, attractive to potential partners, assertive, physically strong, friendly, and healthy. Types of facial hair were group into three categories: clean shaven, partial (e.g., Van Dyke, soul patch, stubble) and beard. Supporting hypothesized differences, results show that more male facial hair was positively associated with age estimates and negatively with friendliness, and positively related to assertiveness and physical strength. Supporting hypotheses, women preferred less facial hair and rated less facial hair as more attractive. Some sample differences arose, such as Indian participants perceiving greater age range estimates than US respondents. These data indicate patterned variation in evaluations of male facial hair that can be situated within an evolutionary and culturally evolved signaling framework.