Macho Men Not In Women's Long Term Sights

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Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Women's Health / Gynecology;  Men's health
Article Date: 08 Aug 2007 - 16:00 PDT

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When a woman is contemplating a long-term relationship, she is less likely to opt for macho men and seems to prefer males with more feminine traits, according to an article in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. Women, it seems, find virile features, such as small eyes and a generous nose are signs of a less affectionate and less loyal man, who is more likely to be a poor parent, compared to men with feminine features.

The researchers examined data on 400 British male and female adults who rated photographs of people whose features were subtly modified.

Team leader, Dr Lynda Boothroyd, Durham University, UK, said "This research shows a high amount of agreement between women about what they see, personality-wise, when asked to judge a book by its cover. They may well use that impression of someone to decide whether or not to engage with that person. That decision-making process all depends on what a woman is looking for in a relationship at that stage of her life."

When inspecting the photographs, the volunteers had to rate the photos according to their perception of the person's..

-- ..Ambition
-- ..Commitment
-- ..Dominance
-- ..Faithfulness
-- ..Parenting
-- ..Warmth
-- ..Wealth

The participants had to click on a scale.

A skilled person will spot the slight alterations to the photographs; a man with a feminine face has curvier eyebrows; the forehead is arched while the cheekbones are higher. The photo will more likely show the man smiling slightly - also a more feminine trait. For the untrained eye, the photo alterations are more difficult to point out.

Not only did the women opt for men with feminine features when judging according to faithfulness, parenting, warmth and commitment, the men did too (when judging photos of men). The participants judged the more macho-looking men as being more dominant. However, there was no difference when it came to spotting who was ambitious or wealthy, both the macho and more feminine-looking men fared equally.

"Partner characteristics associated with masculinity, health and maturity in male faces"
Lynda G. Boothroyd, Benedict C. Jones, D. Michael Burt and David I. Perrett
Personality and Individual Differences
doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.03.008
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Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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