Preferences For Masculine Men Research Articles

Do more attractive women show stronger preferences for male facial masculinity?

Researchers have suggested that more attractive women will show stronger preferences for masculine men because such women are better placed to offset the potential costs of choosing a masculine mate. However, evidence for correlations between measures of women's own attractiveness and preferences for masculine men is mixed. Moreover, the samples used to test this hypothesis are typically relatively small. Consequently, we conducted two large-scale studies that investigated possible associations between women's preferences for facial masculinity and their own attractiveness as assessed from third-party ratings of their facial attractiveness (Study 1, N = 454, laboratory study) and self-rated attractiveness (Study 2, N = 8972, online study). Own attractiveness was positively correlated with preferences for masculine men in Study 2 (self-rated attractiveness), but not Study 1 (third-party ratings of facial attractiveness). This pattern of results is consistent with the proposal that women's beliefs about their own attractiveness, rather than their physical condition per se, underpins attractiveness-contingent masculinity preferences.

The influence of hormone replacement therapy on mating psychology among post-menopausal women

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a popular treatment for menopause-related symptoms and is associated with increased well-being and sexual function. Researchers have investigated the effects of synthetic hormones within hormonal contraceptives on preferences for masculine men, and on behaviors directed towards male partners. Yet, no studies have examined the impact of synthetic hormones in HRT on mate preferences or mate-directed behavior among post-menopausal women. Here we tested the influence of HRT on women's reported sexual motivation, partner-directed behaviors (i.e., jealousy and mate retention behaviors), and mate preferences. Post-menopausal women (N=213) responded to an online survey and completed a two-alternative, forced-choice face preference task where they rated the attractiveness of male images manipulated in sexual dimorphism. We found that HRT use was positively associated with sexual satisfaction, attitudes towards unrestricted sex, and sexual interest towards extra-pair men. There were no differences between users versus non-users in partner-directed behavior or masculinity preferences. This study highlights the need for further investigations into hormonal influences on mate preferences and behavior among post-menopausal women.

The roles of sociosexual orientation and relationship status in women’s face preferences

Previous research suggests that sociosexual orientation and relationship status each predict women’s preferences for masculine men. However, if partnered women’s preferences primarily reflect the short-term (i.e., currently unfulfilled) aspect of a pluralistic mating strategy and unpartnered women’s preferences reflect the dominant aspect of their current mating strategy, then sociosexual orientation should predict the preferences of unpartnered women better than those of partnered women. Perceptions of other women’s attractiveness may show a similar pattern of individual differences, if such perceptions of other women’s attractiveness are important for intra-sexual competitive behavior. Consistent with these predictions, in the current study, analyses of the relationship between women’s face preferences and sociosexual orientation indicated that unpartnered women reporting greater willingness to engage in uncommitted relationships demonstrated stronger preferences for exaggerated sex-typical characteristics in men’s and women’s faces. For partnered women, no corresponding relationship between sociosexual orientation and face preferences was evident. Collectively, these findings suggest that individual differences in sociosexual orientation may be better predictors of face preferences among unpartnered women than among women whose long-term relationship goals are currently being met.

Reproductive ambition predicts partnered, but not unpartnered, women's preferences for masculine men

Changing circumstances alter the costs and benefits of choosing different mates and are thought to be reflected in women's mate preferences. Indeed, several lines of reasoning, and some prior studies, suggest that individual differences in women's preferences for cues of men's underlying health will be more apparent among partnered women than among unpartnered women. The current study shows that preferences for male faces with masculine shape cues, characteristics that are thought to signal men's underlying health, are positively correlated with partnered, but not unpartnered, women's reported reproductive ambition (i.e., their desire to become pregnant). These findings (1) present new evidence for systematic variation in women's mating strategies, (2) suggest that partnership status may be important for potentially adaptive variation in women's mate preferences, and (3) suggest that reproductive ambition may influence women's mate preferences. Alternative explanations for these findings, focusing on the possible effects of a range of variables that may be correlated with reproductive ambition in partnered women and influence their masculinity preferences, are also discussed.

Perceptions of partner femininity predict individual differences in men's sensitivity to facial cues of male dominance

Recent research suggests that men may possess adaptations that evolved to counter strategic variation in women's preferences for masculine men. For example, women's preferences for masculine, dominant men are stronger during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle than at other times and men demonstrate increased sensitivity to facial cues of male dominance when their partners are ovulating. Such variation in men's dominance perceptions may promote effi- cient allocation of men's mate guarding effort (i.e., allocate more mate guarding effort in response to masculine, dominant men in situations where women show particularly strong preferences for such men). Here, we tested for further evidence of adaptations that may have evolved to counter strategic variation in women's masculinity preferences. Men who reported having particularly feminine romantic partners demonstrated a greater tendency to attribute dominance to masculin- ized male faces than did men who reported having relatively masculine romantic partners. This relationship between partner femininity and men's sensitivity to facial cues of male dominance remained significant when we controlled for potential confounds (men's age, self-rated masculin- ity, reported commitment to their relationship, and the length of the relationship) and may be adaptive given that feminine women demonstrate particularly strong preferences for masculine, dominant men. While previous research has emphasized variation in women's masculinity prefer- ences, our findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that sexual selection may also have shaped adaptations that evolved to counter such systematic variation in women's preferences for masculine, dominant men.

Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices

Sexually dimorphic physical traits are important for mate choice and mate preference in many species, including humans. Several previous studies have observed that women's preferences for physical cues of male masculinity in different domains (e.g., visual and vocal) are correlated. These correlations demonstrate systematic, rather than arbitrary, variation in women's preferences for masculine men and are consistent with the proposal that sexually dimorphic cues in different domains reflect a common underlying aspect of male quality. Here we present evidence for a similar correlation between men's preferences for different cues of femininity in women; although men generally preferred feminized to masculinized versions of both women's faces and voices, the strength of men's preferences for feminized versions of female faces was positively and significantly correlated with the strength of their preferences for feminized versions of women's voices. In a second study, this correlation occurred when men judged women's attractiveness as long-term, but not short-term, mates, which is consistent with previous research. Collectively, these findings (1) present novel evidence for systematic variation in men's preferences for feminine women, (2) present converging evidence for concordant preferences for sexually dimorphic traits in different domains, and (3) complement findings of correlations between women's facial and vocal femininity.

Individual differences in empathizing and systemizing predict variation in face preferences

Previous studies demonstrate that the extent to which individuals display exaggerated sex-typical physical characteristics is positively correlated with the extent to which they prefer sexually dimorphic physical characteristics in opposite-sex individuals. It is unclear, however, whether individual differences in sex-typical psychological traits predict variation in mate preferences in a similar manner. To investigate this issue, we examined the relationship between the sex-typical psychological traits empathizing and systemizing and the strength of participants’ preferences for sexually dimorphic shape cues in own- and opposite-sex faces. Women’s empathizing scores were positively correlated with the strength of their preferences for masculine men and men’s systemizing scores were positively correlated with the strength of their preferences for feminine women. By contrast with these findings for opposite-sex faces, neither empathizing nor systemizing scores predicted men’s or women’s preferences for sexually dimorphic cues in own-sex faces. Collectively, these findings suggest that sex-typical psychological traits have effects on attractiveness judgments that are strikingly similar to those previously reported for sex-typical physical characteristics and, potentially, implicate individual differences in empathizing and systemizing in variation in mate preferences.

Extraversion predicts individual differences in women’s face preferences

Extraversion is positively associated with various indices of women’s mate quality (e.g., facial symmetry and attractiveness). Since such indices are thought to predict variation in women’s preferences for masculine men, we investigated the relationships between each of the ‘Big 5’ personality factors and women’s preferences for facial masculinity. Extraversion, but not the other four personality factors, was positively correlated with women’s preferences for masculinity in men’s, but not women’s, faces. Additionally, extraversion mediated the positive relationship between women’s self-rated attractiveness and their preferences for masculinity in men’s faces, suggesting that extraversion may play a role in condition-dependent mate preferences. Unexpectedly, openness to experience was associated with women’s preferences for femininity in faces of both sexes and this association was independent of that between extraversion and women’s preferences for masculine men. This is the first study that we know of to implicate personality traits in individual differences in women’s preferences for masculine men.

Self-rated attractiveness predicts individual differences in women’s preferences for masculine men’s voices

Masculine physical traits may signal men’s underlying health and are associated with indices of men’s reproductive fitness. Here we show that preferences for low (i.e. masculine) pitch in men’s voices are positively related to self-rated attractiveness among women who are not using hormonal contraceptives. This relationship between masculinity preferences and self-rated attractiveness was evident when women judged the attractiveness of men’s voices that were played forward, but was not present when women judged the attractiveness of men’s voices that had been reversed. This variation in women’s preferences for masculinized men’s voices complements previous studies showing positive relationships between preferences for masculinity in men’s faces and women’s self-rated attractiveness and may be adaptive if attractive women are better able to attract and/or retain masculine mates. Interestingly, we observed no significant relationships between preferences for masculinized men’s voices and self-rated attractiveness among women using hormonal contraceptives. These latter null findings are consistent with previous studies in which potentially adaptive variation in masculinity preferences were also absent among women using hormonal contraceptives.