Science of male physcial attractiveness
Male physical masculinity and dimorphism
- Attractive individuals have greater mating success, with sexual dimorphism being the most significant factor in sexual behaviors.
- High salivary testosterone levels are linked to a more masculine facial appearance in males, supporting the assumption that facial masculinity is related to circulating testosterone levels.
- Male facial attractiveness is positively predicted by masculinity, symmetry, averageness, and negatively by adiposity.
- Jawbone and cheekbone prominence, along with eyebrow thickness, significantly contribute to perceptions of masculinity and attractiveness.
- The distance between the lips and chin being double the distance between the lips and nose, are perceived as most attractive (philtrum to chin height ratio).
- Facial contrast is a known cue to sexual dimorphism and youth (increased contrast = more feminine, thats why they do make up).
- Luminance contrast pattern of the eyes and eyebrows is consistently sexually dimorphic (more eyelashes, but higher and thinner eyebrows = feminine) across a large sample of faces.
- Women use cosmetics not only to exaggerate sexual dimorphisms of brow and eye contrasts, but also to increase contrasts that decline with age (increase femininity).
- Females possessing lower eyebrow contrasts and greater eye contrast than males.
Female preference in relation to male physical attractiveness
- Ovulating females, when considering emotional relationship, exhibit lowest preference for males with convex profiles and extreme concave profile, while they consider males with slightly prominent chins due to maxillary retrognathism, mandibular prognathism or pronounced lip retrusion closer to the most attractive males.
- Women prefer more masculine male faces during their fertile phases, particularly around ovulation, indicating a shift in attraction towards traits associated with genetic benefits.
- Women prefer facial femininity in men when material resources are scarce (feminine = better provider), as it signals potential parental quality stability.
- Women express a preference for feminized male faces after giving birth, indicating a shift in mate preferences during low-risk conception periods.
- Self-rated attractiveness predicts preferences for sexually dimorphic facial characteristics in a culturally diverse sample, with country health/development moderating this relationship (=attractive females prefer masculine looking men).
- An intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive, while full-bearded men may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring.
- Enhancing masculine facial characteristics increases perceived dominance and negative attributions relevant to relationships and paternal investment.
- Women with high waist-to-hip ratio (more masculine body) and low facial attractiveness prefer more feminine male faces for long-term relationships, potentially reflecting diverse tactics in female mate choice.
- Female preferences for male faces is influenced by hormonal changes, self-perceived attractiveness (more attractive = preference towards masculinity), and relationship status.
- Another theory suggests that women's preferences for facial masculinity are not directly linked to changes in their hormonal status, but rather, women tend to prefer masculinized faces for short-term relationships
- Women prefer male flirtatious facial movements in fertile phases of the menstrual cycle, which may promote adaptive allocation of mating effort towards men who are likely to respond positively.
- As a very important factor, excessive mandibular retrusion made both men and women unattractive.
- Both attractive men and women tended to have less prominent noses with higher nose tips, protruded upper lips compared with the position of lower lips. Straight profiles and more protruded maxillae merely made men more attractive.
- The stability of attractiveness assessments by females over a year was not lower than over a month = women maintain consistent facial attractiveness ratings of men.
- The breakdown of a relationship resulted in an increase in the preference for friendly looking male faces.
- Enhancing masculine facial characteristics increases perceived dominance and negative attributions relevant to relationships and paternal investment.
- Facial attractiveness is influenced by averageness, symmetry, and sex-specific traits, with female preferences for male faces influenced by hormonal changes, self-perceived attractiveness (more attractive = preference towards masculinity), and relationship status.
- Women's preferences for male facial features vary based on relationship context, with stronger preferences for facial masculinity in short-term relationships and less consistency in long-term contexts, as predicted by trade-off theory.
- Research indicates that women's preferences for male facial attractiveness fluctuate during their menstrual cycle, particularly peaking around ovulation.
- The ovulatory shift hypothesis suggests that women are more attracted to masculine traits during the fertile phase.
- Slight maxillary retrognathism (vertically lower lip seal = longer looking midface) was considered to be closer to an attractive profile, which were resulting from dentoalveolar manipulations only.
Perception of male physical attractiveness
- Brain hemispheric biases in remembering faces are influenced by the degree of attractiveness. Females remembering very attractive faces better in the right visual half-field and males better in the left visual half-field.
- Halo effect (redpill): positive social information improves facial attractiveness ratings, while negative social information reduces attractiveness ratings, with warmth information enhancing attractiveness for feminine faces and competence for masculine faces.
- Brain responses to facial attractiveness are modulated by facial proportions, with significant activity observed in the caudate nucleus and orbitofrontal cortex. This indicates a neurophysiological basis for the perception of attractiveness based on facial ratios.
- Adolescent facial attractiveness is unrelated to the actual adolescent health and does not predict health in middle adulthood or later adulthood, suggesting it may suppress accurate recognition of health.
- Skin coloring: facial redness positively influences women's perception of men's attractiveness, with perceived healthiness acting as a mediator.
- Facial proportions, such as antero-posterior and vertical dimensions, influence perceptions of facial attractiveness, with Class I male profiles having normal lower face heights being considered most attractive.
- There is no significant correlation between facial attractiveness and intelligence in a large, genetically informative sample, suggesting previous reports may have overestimated the relationship.
- Middle-aged women experience a greater decline in facial attractiveness than men.
Male self rated attractiveness (normines, not psl lol)
- Men perceive a larger increase in perceived power as they age, with personality traits correlating with these perceptions.
- Men with well-defined chins, noses, foreheads and angular faces perceive themselves as more attractive. This suggests that certain facial shapes are linked to higher self-perceived attractiveness.
- Attractive men show a stronger preference for feminine facial features in women for short-term relationships, but not long-term ones.
- Self-rated attractiveness predicts preferences for sexually dimorphic facial characteristics in a culturally diverse sample, with country health/development moderating this relationship.