Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices
Sexually dimorphic physical traits are important for mate choice and mate preference in many species, including humans. Several previous studies have observed that women's preferences for physical cues of male masculinity in different domains (e.g., visual and vocal) are correlated. These corre...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2010-07-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Psychology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491000800311 |
| _version_ | 1797303502504984576 |
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| author | Paul J Fraccaro David R Feinberg Lisa M DeBruine Anthony C Little Christopher D Watkins Benedict C Jones |
| author_facet | Paul J Fraccaro David R Feinberg Lisa M DeBruine Anthony C Little Christopher D Watkins Benedict C Jones |
| author_sort | Paul J Fraccaro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sexually dimorphic physical traits are important for mate choice and mate preference in many species, including humans. Several previous studies have observed that women's preferences for physical cues of male masculinity in different domains (e.g., visual and vocal) are correlated. These correlations demonstrate systematic, rather than arbitrary, variation in women's preferences for masculine men and are consistent with the proposal that sexually dimorphic cues in different domains reflect a common underlying aspect of male quality. Here we present evidence for a similar correlation between men's preferences for different cues of femininity in women; although men generally preferred feminized to masculinized versions of both women's faces and voices, the strength of men's preferences for feminized versions of female faces was positively and significantly correlated with the strength of their preferences for feminized versions of women's voices. In a second study, this correlation occurred when men judged women's attractiveness as long-term, but not short-term, mates, which is consistent with previous research. Collectively, these findings (1) present novel evidence for systematic variation in men's preferences for feminine women, (2) present converging evidence for concordant preferences for sexually dimorphic traits in different domains, and (3) complement findings of correlations between women's facial and vocal femininity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:53:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-238f4546e60f4ea9825f0f798c73b5c6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1474-7049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:53:44Z |
| publishDate | 2010-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-238f4546e60f4ea9825f0f798c73b5c62024-02-18T13:07:10ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492010-07-01810.1177/14747049100080031110.1177_147470491000800311Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and VoicesPaul J FraccaroDavid R FeinbergLisa M DeBruineAnthony C LittleChristopher D WatkinsBenedict C JonesSexually dimorphic physical traits are important for mate choice and mate preference in many species, including humans. Several previous studies have observed that women's preferences for physical cues of male masculinity in different domains (e.g., visual and vocal) are correlated. These correlations demonstrate systematic, rather than arbitrary, variation in women's preferences for masculine men and are consistent with the proposal that sexually dimorphic cues in different domains reflect a common underlying aspect of male quality. Here we present evidence for a similar correlation between men's preferences for different cues of femininity in women; although men generally preferred feminized to masculinized versions of both women's faces and voices, the strength of men's preferences for feminized versions of female faces was positively and significantly correlated with the strength of their preferences for feminized versions of women's voices. In a second study, this correlation occurred when men judged women's attractiveness as long-term, but not short-term, mates, which is consistent with previous research. Collectively, these findings (1) present novel evidence for systematic variation in men's preferences for feminine women, (2) present converging evidence for concordant preferences for sexually dimorphic traits in different domains, and (3) complement findings of correlations between women's facial and vocal femininity.https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491000800311 |
| spellingShingle | Paul J Fraccaro David R Feinberg Lisa M DeBruine Anthony C Little Christopher D Watkins Benedict C Jones Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices Evolutionary Psychology |
| title | Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices |
| title_full | Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices |
| title_fullStr | Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices |
| title_short | Correlated Male Preferences for Femininity in Female Faces and Voices |
| title_sort | correlated male preferences for femininity in female faces and voices |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491000800311 |
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