According to research just published, women in countries where health is good prefer less macho-looking fellas than women in countries where health is poor.
The work, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B by Lisa DeBruine from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and her colleagues, interviewed women from 30 different countries and asked them whether they preferred masculinised or feminised versions of the same face (you can see these pics on the University of Aberdeen’s press site).
Women from countries ranked as low on a health index based on World Health Organisation mortality figures preferred masculine men. And vice versa.
“We found that women in countries like Brazil, Argentina and Mexico where the health is poorer were more attracted to masculine looking faces than women in countries like Belgium and Sweden, which have lower mortality rates and higher longevity,” says DeBruine.
Why? This is a trade-off strategy, where different benefits and costs are weighed against each other in making a choice of mate. As DeBruine says to the Guardian, "When women are choosing a mate, they’re weighing up two different things. On the one hand a really attractive, high genetic quality mate will give them very healthy offspring. On the other, there is getting “investment” from a mate – one who’ll be a good dad."
“If a woman lives in an environment where there are lots of pathogens and disease, they are more likely to trade off a good investment in favour of better health for their children," DeBruine said. “In places where health is less of an issue, women are not so willing to do that.”
The UK’s Telegraph has taken a slightly insular route on this story, using it as an explanation for why British women now prefer feminine men like Johnny Depp rather than rugged macho Sean Connery.
The Daily Mail claims that improving health makes “pretty boys” all the more popular in Hollywood.
DeBruine wants to look more closely at the social factors that might effect mate choice, like women’s equality and control of resources.
Image: An averaged male face, Face Research Lab