A while back I talked about masculinity and some of the issues I have with the term. This is because there's a specific societal stigma that is attached to the word, and I don't like a lot of the connotations it has. However, there are many things that are inarguably masculine, as they come from testosterone. I've been reading this book this week, and it focuses largely on the evolutionary reasons for attraction and sex. Evolutionary biology is one of the most interesting things in the world to me, as it helps explain why we do some of the things we do in concrete, rational terms. Some things this book talks about when it comes to attraction I knew from the anthropology class I took, but some were new to me. I thought I'd share some of them with you.
Pictured: what Wikipedia calls sharing, and I call deplorable stealing.
We all know that smell can play an important role in attraction, but you might be surprised to learn how much. A team of Brazilian researchers had men wear patches of cotton on their skin to absorb the sweat. Later they had women smell these patches without seeing the men to whom they belonged. Without exception, women liked the smell of the men with the most dissimilar genes to herself. The draw of dissimilar genes is twofold. Extremely similar genes (think inbreeding) can lead to birth defects and many other problems. On the other end, however, a child that comes from complementary genes will have a better immune system, and will help a child ward off infections.
In evolutionary biology, there are traits that are labeled either "honest" or "dishonest". An honest trait is one that a mate finds attractive and is a genuine representation of good genes and/or health. A dishonest trait is one that a mate finds attractive, but doesn't necessarily connote good health or genes. In mammals, symmetry is seen to be an honest trait. Humans like the look of symmetrical bodies much more than those with less symmetry. This is an honest trait because a person needs to be in good health in their formative years to end up being symmetrical, as well as having low levels of gene mutation. Are you ready for this? Women can smell symmetry, too. A series of studies had men wear a T-shirt for two nights in a row, then had women smell them - again, without seeing the men - later. They found the symmetrical men's scents to be the most desirable, and the asymmetrical men's to be repulsive.
I must be defective or something, though, because I still think this lady is hot.
This preference for symmetry is is also evident through women's preferences for deep voices. Women have a tendency to prefer deep voices over higher-pitched ones, and this is because body symmetry is more likely to produce deep voices.
Sort of a no-brainer (for most women - more on that in a minute) on this list is a masculine face. So what is it that creates a masculine face? This shouldn't be a big surprise, but it's the same thing that creates muscles mass: testosterone. Then why don't all men have masculine faces and washboard abs? Because during puberty, only healthy bodies can afford to create enough testosterone to create these features. So masculine facial features are another honest trait.
Pictured: the masculine face from which all other masculine faces were wrought.
In all of these cases, this preference is most predominant when a woman is ovulating. This is because when a woman is most likely to become pregnant, she is most attracted to men with good genes. During the rest of her cycle, she is more likely to exhibit a preference for men who will be good caretakers, and will stick around. These are rarely the same men. However, a British study from 2009 concluded that generations of women on the pill has made that interest decline. Because the pill keeps a woman from having days in which she is fertile, it eliminates the days she is most attracted to extremely masculine men. This study has certainly been contested, but it's food for thought, nonetheless.
Neat stuff, huh? I've got a lot of this book to go, so stay tuned for more fun facts.
Up next, though, why guys fuck their girlfriends harder when they haven't seen them in a while! (Seriously.)
Images via helicon7.com, artofmanliness.com
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