Gay men like masculine faces, while straight men prefer feminine ones
October 31st, 2009 - 12:21 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Oct 31 (ANI): Gay men fall for the most masculine-faced men, while straight men are attracted to the most feminine-faced women, a new study from a Harvard University researcher has revealed.
Led by Aaron Glassenberg, the study indicates that irrespective of sexual orientation, men’s brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces-those with facial features that are most synonymous with their gender.
“Our work showed that gay men found highly masculine male faces to be significantly more attractive than feminine male faces. Also, the types of male faces that gay men found attractive generally did not mirror the types of faces that straight women found attractive on average,” said Glassenberg.
“Men, gay or straight, prefer high sexual dimorphism in the faces of the sex that they are attracted to. Gay men and straight men did not agree on the types of male faces they considered attractive,” he added.
The study is the first to examine the facial feature preferences of gay men and lesbian women.
Women’s preferences are more complex than men’s, as indicated by earlier study, which showed that ovulation, contraceptive use, self-perceived attractiveness, and sex drive all affect face preference.
In the current study, straight women preferred more masculine-faced men than lesbian women, while lesbians preferred slightly more masculine female faces than straight women or men.
Participants viewed images of faces that were digitally manipulated to be more masculine or feminine, and then indicated which face they considered more attractive.
The study was conducted online, and included over 900 men and women.
Sexually dimorphic features in male faces include a broad jaw, broad forehead, and more pronounced brow ridge, while a sexually dimorphic female face has a more tapered chin, larger lips, and a narrower forehead.
The study supports the idea that male attraction operates differently from female attraction, regardless of sexual orientation.
The study has been published online in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. (ANI)
- Most women prefer men with feminine shaped faces: Study - Apr 25, 2011
- Feminine looks in men more likely to be hit with women - Apr 25, 2011
- A tilt of the head 'is enough to attract a mate' - Nov 21, 2010
- Fertile women can tell straight from gay - Jun 23, 2011
- Why girls find bad boys sexier? - May 26, 2011
- Study: Gay guys are thinner - Jun 09, 2010
- Female roles in films affect views of how women in real world should be - Apr 01, 2011
- How fast can you gauge when she is looking at you? - Jun 29, 2010
- Black gay men at higher HIV risk due to their perceptions of masculinity - May 03, 2011
- 'Macho-looking' men more attractive to fertile women - Jan 11, 2011
- High-pitched women most attracted to men with deep voices - May 08, 2010
- Alpha-male movie star becoming extinct in Hollywood: Experts - Sep 04, 2010
- Why is the trend of 'flexisexuality' catching up? - Feb 24, 2011
- Half of women feel male Pill won't work, as men will forget to take it - Apr 09, 2011
- Angry women 'look manly' - Dec 05, 2009
Tags: attractiveness, brow ridge, dimorphic, facial feature, facial features, female face, female faces, forehead, gay men, harvard university, lesbian women, masculine male, oct 31, ovulation, sexual dimorphism, sexual orientation, straight men, straight women, university researcher, women women