Women Avoid ‘Macho’ Facial Features When Looking For A Mate: Study

If you’re a man looking for a woman to settle down with, then unlike the Village People, you probably don’t want to be a “macho man.”

The reason? According to a new study when it comes to finding a life partner women prefer men with healthy and smooth looking faces, and are typically wary of men with rugged or “macho” facial features.

The paper was published Tuesday in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, and found that men with masculine faces featuring square jaw, large noses and smaller eyes, were considered by observers to be less faithful, worse parents and generally afraid of commitment when compared to so-called “pretty boys.”

Of course the findings challenge once-held beliefs that all men possess those characteristics regardless of their facial structure, which means it could be good news for at least some of the guys out there.

“Everyone had always assumed that masculine faces were indirectly signaling healthiness and good genes,” said lead author Dr. Lynda Boothroyd, a lecturer with Durham University’s department of psychology.

“But our findings show that men with a healthy face were considered dominant, ambitious and also better long term partners and parents as compared to men with masculine faces,” she continued, adding that a “healthy” face is defined by having superior complexion.

The study is based on the opinions of more than 400 British men and women who looked at digitally altered pictures of male faces that were made to look more and later less feminine. The participants were then asked to associate personality traits such as dominance, ambition, wealth, faithfulness, commitment, parenting and warmth with each face.

It may sound silly, but this isn’t the first such study. Visual keys to preferences in a partner are derived over many generations and over long evolutionary time, says Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary psychologist from the University of Michigan who published a similar study earlier this year.

Kruger says the rough face has historically been able to find multiple partners without having to commit to anything long term, while “average looking” guys are traditionally considered better for commitment.

“People preferred the more masculine faces in a short-term relationship and more feminine faces for a long-term relationship,” he said.
 
He also warned however, that such patterns and associations are not generalizations to be taken literally.

“I am sure there are some very masculine men who make great fathers,” he said. “When you consider that people make a judgment about whether they are attracted to someone in a matter of minutes, it’s interesting to look for and find patterns that determine the way people are selecting partners,” he said.

For an abstract of the study, click here.

Photo courtesy Evan Agostini/Getty Images