Evolutionary Perspectives on Male Attraction to Women
Evolutionary framework and mating goals
Men have an almost unlimited supply of sperm and a very long reproductive window from puberty into old age, making reproduction potentially continuous over much of life.
From an evolutionary perspective, the basic goal is to pass on genes to future generations; a simple, large-scale strategy for men is to have many offspring.
Therefore, what would be important for men when selecting a mate? Fertility: the ability to mate with someone who will produce offspring.
Implication: evolutionary theory predicts men should be attracted to cues of youth and fertility in women.
Facial features and attractiveness: estrogen, femininity, and signaling fertility
Estrogen and femininity cues in female faces are linked to perceived attractiveness in men.
Correlations reported in the literature:
Correlation between men's ratings of facial masculinity in men and women's ratings of male attractiveness: r \,\approx\, 0.35
Correlation between men's ratings of facial femininity in women and their attractiveness: r \,\approx\, 0.65
Interpretation: women rate the attractiveness of men partly based on masculine features, but men rate women more strongly on feminine facial cues.
Why might feminine facial features be attractive? Linked to estrogen levels.
Estrogen is dominant in women and peaks during fertility periods (20s–30s).
Estrogen contributes to features like shiny hair, plump rosy skin, and even influences body features discussed later.
Across the menstrual cycle, estrogen peaks at ovulation, with subtle facial changes (slightly plumper, rosier skin; lips may appear fuller).
These estrogenic changes may signal possible ovulation to men.
Cross-cultural consistency:
Standards of beauty (youth and fertility cues) are relatively consistent across cultures.
There is broad agreement on attractive female faces across many countries, supporting the idea of universal fertility cues.
Long-term vs short-term mating preferences and health signals
Across cultures, both men and women value physical attractiveness, but:
Men tend to place more emphasis on physical attractiveness when seeking a long-term mate than women do, though both value it.
Attractiveness correlates with health, which is important for both partners: a healthy woman can reproduce; a healthy man can rear offspring.
OkCupid data (book by Christian Rudder) illustrate relative ratings:
Women rate far fewer men as attractive (a peak at the low end of attractiveness), while men rate many more women as attractive.
This implies a small percentage of men receive most dating interaction (roughly 20% of men get most hits), while many women compete for those few highly ranked men.
Potential consequence: even highly desirable men may shift toward short-term mating strategies if social dynamics permit.
Takeaway: attractiveness is important in both sexes, but distributional dynamics create asymmetries that affect mating strategies and competition.
Body features: waist-to-hip ratio, lumbar curvature, and biomechanics
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR): classic cue studied by Doctor Devendra Singh.
Manipulation: changing WHR in a photo from 0.70 (left) to 0.80 and 0.90 (right).
Finding: men rate WHR = 0.70 as most attractive across cultures.
Why 0.70? This ratio signals youth and reproductive potential; higher WHR (0.80–0.90) signals lower pregnancy probability and poorer health.
Note: WHR attractiveness is distinct from body size or weight; lean vs voluptuous bodies can have WHR around 0.70.
Cross-cultural depiction: Singh showed that art from various eras and cultures (Greek, Roman, African, Indian) routinely depicts beauty with WHR ≈ 0.70.
Lumbar curvature:
Research by Dr. David Lewis on optimal lumbar curvature for pregnancy: about 45 degrees (
Women with ~45° lumbar curvature are better at sustaining pregnancy; men tend to rate women with ~45° curvature as more attractive.
Practical observation: high heels exaggerate lumbar curvature and may have historically been perceived as attractive; no direct causal study linking heels to the curvature threshold discussed.
Eyes, gaze, and ocular cues
Eye size and youth signaling:
Infants have relatively large eyes; as people age, the proportion of eye size to overall face decreases.
Large eyes and wide-set eyes are judged highly attractive by men as signals of youth.
Pupil dilation as a cue of interest:
Pupils dilate when attracted; a classic demonstration shows larger pupils on a photo make it more attractive to viewers.
Ecological validity example: two identical textbook covers, one with enlarged pupils in the photo, led men to choose the book with the larger-pupil image.
Eye makeup: emphasis on eyes to appear larger is an ancient, cross-cultural practice linked to perceived beauty.
Sclera and limbal ring:
Whiter sclera (the white of the eye) is rated as more attractive because yellowness or redness can indicate illness.
Limbal ring: a dark ring around the iris; aging reduces the limbal ring, so a larger limbal ring is associated with youth and fertility.
The combination of large, white sclera with a prominent limbal ring is viewed as highly attractive.
Non-heterosexual considerations: orientation and cues
Gay men and attraction:
Gay men prioritize physical attractiveness similarly to heterosexual men when choosing partners (though the partner is male).
Body: lean, toned, athletic builds are preferred in gay men, with caveats for individual differences.
Faces: generally prefer masculine facial traits (prominent brow, wide jaw, large chin) akin to heterosexual men.
One study suggested more masculine gay men may prefer more feminine male faces, but replication is needed; conclusions are tentative.
Overall stance: the features judged attractive in men appear largely similar regardless of sexual orientation of the evaluator, but data remain limited.
Voice patterns in gays:
Some gay men display higher-pitched voice modulation and less breathy voices, not necessarily tied to testosterone levels; could be an in-group signaling pattern.
Attractiveness preferences in gay men for other men:
A study in China (338 gay men) found a preference for lower-pitched male voices (masculine-sounding voices) on average, though substantial individual variation exists.
Voice, scent, and ovulation cues: potential indicators of fertility
Ovulation and voice pitch:
Hypothesis: during ovulation, women may present cues indicating fertility; one aspect is a higher-pitched voice, rated as more attractive by heterosexual men.
Research by Marty Hazleton (Buss lab affiliate): women’s voices are higher pitched around ovulation and rated more attractive.
Hormonal changes and physical signals during the ovulatory phase:
Hormone graph: estrogen peaks around ovulation; testosterone also peaks near this time.
Mid-cycle estrogen increase leads to visible changes: skin glow, facial fullness, and slight lip fullness; waist-to-hip ratio may shift toward the fertility cue (0.70).
Breasts may become more symmetrical mid-cycle due to estrogen.
Odor cues and ovulation:
Singh and Bronstad: women wore t-shirts for three nights during ovulation and during the luteal phase; men sniffed the shirts and rated attractiveness higher for ovulatory odors.
Women on oral contraceptives did not show the same effect, suggesting estrogen cycling drives the cue.
Copulins and male attraction:
Copulins are pheromone-like compounds present in vaginal secretions that fluctuate with the cycle.
Experimental demonstration by Grammer and Oberze1rck: exposure to artificial copulins reduced men’s ability to discriminate attractiveness among women and caused a rise in testosterone.
The practical translation into real-world attraction is debated; replication and replication quality are limited.
Narrative aside: sensationalized portrayals in media (e.g., “butter gone off”) accompany these findings; scientific replication remains essential.
Scent, cognition, and ovulation:
Exposures to ovulatory cues may elevate male testosterone acutely, potentially altering judgments of attractiveness.
Ovulation and social/sexual behavior:
Several findings suggest that ovulation cues (olfactory, facial, and behavioral) may subtly increase women’s perceived attractiveness and social receptivity during peak fertility.
Yet some questions remain: are these cues reliably detectable by men, or do women become more receptive during ovulation leading to increased mating success?
Copulins and behavior: caution on interpretation
Copulins may influence male perception of attractiveness, but results are not universally replicated; the effects are small and context-dependent.
Voices and scent: effects across orientation and context
Heterosexual women and ovulation cues:
Women in the ovulatory phase may have higher sex drive; estrogen and testosterone link to arousal and drive (though findings are mixed and nuanced).
Gay men and vocal cues:
Some data suggest gay men may prefer lower-pitched male voices; however, there is substantial individual variability.
Context effects in attractiveness and mating choices
Availability and “closing time” effect in bars:
Pennebaker conducted field work in bars to test whether attractiveness ratings change over the course of the evening.
Finding: ratings of attractiveness increase as the night progresses, with a stronger effect for men than for women.
The phenomenon is called the “closing time effect” and is separate from the “beer goggles” theory.
Replication by Brian Gladue found evidence for beer goggles, but the closing time effect persisted beyond alcohol intoxication.
Cognitive dissonance explanation for closing time effect:
A dissonance-based account: men who had initially judged someone unattractive at closing time might re-evaluate to minimize the discomfort of going home alone.
Change in opinion (e.g., downgrading initial standards) reduces cognitive dissonance between desire and outcome.
Peralu’s “body vs. face” paradigm and short-term vs long-term mating:
Short-term mating: men preferred to see the body to glean cues of fertility and physical fitness.
Long-term mating: men preferred to see the face to judge personality, warmth, status, and potential for a lasting partnership.
Women showed the opposite pattern: in both contexts, 70% chose to view the face for attractiveness (long-term reasoning).
Interpretation: facial cues may convey personality and long-term compatibility beyond fertility cues.
Age preferences and mate value across cultures:
General pattern: women prefer men older than themselves; men prefer younger women.
Exceptions in polygynous societies (e.g., Zambia): men are older when they acquire multiple wives, hence greater age differences.
Teenage boys show a specific exception: they often prefer women who are slightly older (e.g., 18–20) due to peak fertility considerations at those ages.
OkCupid data on age preferences:
Men are attracted to partners who are roughly the same age as themselves (
age of man = age of partner).Women tend to prefer partners about five years older than themselves; there are cultural nuances and context effects.
Cultural and societal factors that shape attractiveness standards:
High parasite prevalence cultures tend to place greater emphasis on physical attractiveness because health signals are crucial in mate choice.
In contexts of food scarcity, heavier body weight can be preferred as a signal of resource availability and fertility potential.
Western emphasis on thinness may reflect resource availability rather than an ultimate fitness signal.
Practical implications and cautions:
Evolutionary theories offer interpretations for patterns in mate choice, but cultural, economic, and individual variation is substantial.
Replication and cross-cultural research are essential to validate specific links (e.g., ovulation cues, copulin effects).
Ethical and philosophical considerations apply when translating findings into real-world dating or social contexts.
Summary of major themes and implications
There is substantial cross-cultural support for the idea that cues to youth and fertility influence male attraction to females, especially in the domain of facial and body features.
Facial attractiveness correlates with femininity cues in women, and femininity is linked with estrogen levels and reproductive potential.
Physical cues such as WHR around 0.70 and a lumbar curvature near 45° are repeatedly associated with perceived attractiveness and pregnancy-related biomechanics.
The eyes (size, dilation, sclera whiteness, limbal ring) are robust cues of youth and health, and women utilize eye makeup to enhance perceived size.
Non-heterosexual orientations show similar patterns of attraction to physical aesthetics, with some unique voice preferences and in-group signaling tendencies; however, data are still limited and require replication.
Odor and scent cues (ovulatory shifts) may play a role in male attraction, with some robust findings (e.g., ovulatory odors increasing perceived attractiveness) but also significant replication concerns and dependence on hormonal status (oral contraception dampens effects).
Cognitive and contextual factors (availability, closing-time effects, and short-term vs. long-term mating goals) significantly modulate attractiveness judgments and partner preferences.
Cross-cultural variability exists, particularly in health signals, disease parasite prevalence, and resource availability, affecting the weight given to physical attractiveness and body signals.
Ethical and practical implications abound when applying these insights to real-world dating scenarios; interpretation should consider replication status and cultural context.
Bonus considerations and future directions
Many findings rely on correlations or single studies; replication across diverse populations is essential.
Future research could test causal pathways (e.g., do ovulatory cues cause men to act more on mating motives, or do women alter signals to increase mating opportunities?)
Interventions or education might address misinterpretations of attractiveness research in media and dating apps, especially given culture-specific norms.
Exploration of how hormonal contraception alters attractiveness cues and mate preferences remains a critical area for understanding fertility signaling.