Sex was never an untroubled issue, and whether you choose to blame God, Darwin, Mother Nature or the advertising industry is very much a personal call. Consciously or otherwise, our sexual needs dominate our behaviour and interests from early adolescence to late adulthood. Although our desire to procure sex does not always match our ability to obtain it, we are constantly inundated by sexual imagery and find it almost impossible to clear our minds of the topic, unless of course we choose to enter a convent, monastery, or a mathematics convention. Myths and sexual stereotypes pervade our natural sexual preferences, and many social and cultural factors impact upon our selection of individuals whom we might otherwise find privately attractive. The promise of sex drives us to work harder, to suffer long hours in the gym, and even to risk the city streets at night when we might otherwise feel more comfortable at home. Sex is the driving force behind our professional ambitions & material acquisitions, and sexual imagery fuels a trillion dollar advertising & media industry.
Most of us would rarely admit to our innermost desires, even to our closest friends or partners. We realise that many people must harbour dark desires, otherwise the adult industry could not earn $57 billion a year. Whilst the urbane 21st Century metrosexual woman might pride herself upon tastes and sophistication which transcend the purely physical world, at a party or a night club she still finds herself preferring the attentions of more attractive, wealthier men. Physical beauty and material success tend to suggest good genes, and we are naturally wired to find such people attractive for a purely selfish reason - reproduction. All of the jealousy, resentment, competition and social conflict that surrounds our urban existence serves only as a means to an evolutionary end - ensuring that we pair off at the highest level possible.
So let’s try and break down the many factors involved in attraction as we try to visualize the perfect man (a highly theoretical being as any feminist will tell you...) We asked a hundred models whether they found masculine or boyish looks more attractive using a sliding scale. Although almost a third of the models leant towards a profoundly masculine appearance (suggestive of higher testosterone levels), the majority (around two-thirds) preferred a ‘handsome’ appearance. None of the models however selected the rugged looks, characterised by a pronounced brow and a broad and heavy jaw, of men with very high levels of testosterone. This would suggest that most women prefer good genes over high testosterone levels in their attraction towards the face of a prospective male partner, as handsome, symmetrical features suggest the absence of 'bad genes' or developmental flaws. The reason for this preference is simple - we tend to avoid unusual features which may indicate an unusual mutation or genetic recombination, unless of course that individual has proven himself to be socially, physically and materially successful. Bizarrely, the more mathematically ‘average’ a man’s physical form and facial features are, the more attractive he is perceived to be. In a famous experiment researchers averaged the facial features from hundreds of individuals and reconstructed the average male and female face. The resulting composite faces took on a breathtaking, almost angelic beauty. Fortunately, most of us tend to find faces with subtle ‘imperfections’ slightly more attractive, probably because such flawed beauty indicates that the individual is genetically ‘compatible’ with the beholder.
There is of course a lot more to a man than just his face, and we tend to find certain physical forms and features more attractive than others. We asked our models whether a man’s physical stature is a major factor in his selection as a potential partner. Clearly the physical dimensions of a man are an important factor, although it is his height rather than his breadth and sheer size which appears to be the major influence in his selection. Almost all the models expressed a preference for a man who was taller than themselves, although two-thirds of respondents preferred a man who was both tall and broad, with surprisingly few models finding physical giants attractive. Previous research has shown that a tall and erect posture is commonly perceived to be attractive by women. An upright posture is a feature of successful males who demonstrate confidence, physical strength, and a powerful social bearing, all traits associated with higher testosterone levels.
We asked models whether the absolute size and strength of a man is more important than a lean and defined physique (muscularity), or whether they preferred both. Only a quarter were partial to large muscles, whilst 85% preferred their men to have a lean musculature, an indication of fitness and vitality. Of those models who liked large muscles, half expected those muscles to be lean and defined, and so it is muscularity rather than muscle size which is the dominant preference. This finding confirms previous research which suggested that chest size and muscularity make a man more sexually attractive, as well as distinguishing a preference for muscularity over muscle mass, a hallmark of high levels of testosterone and physical activity. Lower levels of testosterone lead to a visibly reduced muscular development and smaller stature.
One aspect of this feature of male attraction is the fascination for sculpted abdominals, commonly held to be a symbol of virility, health and fitness, even within our modern age of fat burners, growth hormones and synthetic steroids. Over two-thirds of models expressed a preference for a flat and well defined set of abdominal muscles, with over half of all respondents expressing a strong preference. Whilst a well defined set of abdominals may not an absolute necessity for dating a model, they are certainly on the wish list of those who can afford to choose...
Closer interactions introduce scents, called pheromones, into the courtship. Pheromones are emerging as key players within human attraction, bearing unconscious clues as to our genetic compatibility and ‘relatedness’. In theory pheromones may subconsciously promote feelings of attraction, or even induce negative sentiments towards an individual who at first appeared attractive. A pleasant perfume may be used to encourage those surrounding the wearer to become more receptive to inhaling their pheromones. Pheromones are believed to carry a range of information, from how closely related we are, to our fertility and state of sexual arousal. For instance, pheromones may signal a man’s testosterone levels, an indication of his fertility and virility. So do models prefer a natural male ‘musk’, or do they prefer their men to be seen and not scented? Over half the models indicated that they preferred a subtle male odour, although a quarter were either indifferent or actually expressed a preference for perfume. Here we can see further evidence of the conflict arising between nature and nurture, as our natural preferences clash with fashionable society’s preference for artificial fragrances. However, the majority of models still seem to prefer a male scent, and research suggests that women find both the odour and appearance of men more attractive during menstruation, especially those men with more symmetrical faces and bodies. In contrast, those men who bear more closely related genes seem to present a less attractive odour, and so, biologically speaking, opposites certainly attract, even though it may be familiarity that binds.
Body hair remains a deeply engrained sexual cue, one which was incorporated into some of the earliest known hieroglyphics as the symbol for male (∧) and female (an inverted triangle ∨ symbolizing the feminine distribution of pubic hair). However, both general body hair and pubic hair have become increasingly unfashionable and hence less desirable within our modern Western culture, contrary to our innate biological programming. Perhaps as we have evolved to become more sexually active as a society, for a longer time frame, and from an earlier age, so the visual cues and imagery of body hair have become sexually less important to us as ‘clothed’ primates. Our questionnaire unveils this latent clash of human nature and social conditioning, as equal numbers of models found body hair to be attractive and unattractive, with only a minority expressing neutral feelings on the issue. This may represent a shift in sexual preference towards males of lean and boyish form, as older men tend to accumulate greater quantities of body hair. Age is still a major factor in sexual selection, even though sex is increasingly becoming a pastime of youth. Due to the acquisition of greater social skills and wealth with age, not to mention proof of genetic fitness, older men may often be found to be more attractive. However age is a complex factor, as men become less fertile with time as the quality of their sperm declines, and of course they are less likely to be around to aid their offspring to maturity. On balance it would seem that the present trend in sexual preferences amongst women is towards the younger male.
Another major feature of male sexual development is the size of a man's genitalia, perhaps serving as a biological indication of his virility and reproductive potential. We asked a hundred models whether size or technique was more important in their selection of a male partner. Three-quarters of models expressed a preference for greater male endowment, although sexual skill and experience were considered equally important.
Physical attractiveness and sexual prowess will only get a man so far, as factors of personality, wealth and behaviour also affect his ability to successfully court and keep a sexual partner. Traditionally, those men who are more selfish, territorial and aggressive have tended to prosper within the continental United States, where land is still relatively affordable and there is still plenty of wealth and opportunity left to fight for. However, within the more densely populated continent of Europe, men of persuasion, sophistication and breeding tend to be more successful from a sexual perspective, and such behavioural traits seem to be preferred by European women. Such a difference in sexual preferences may have evolved after a thousand years of European wars and migration. To test this theory we asked a hundred models whether they preferred their men to be dominant, assertive, smooth or charming. Surprisingly, a third of models expressed a preference for dominant males, whilst less than a quarter preferred their men to be charming and polite. However, around half the models wanted their men to be both charming and dominant, with two-thirds of the models expecting their men have a gentlemanly nature. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ability of a man to succeed in social affairs ranks highly in a model’s esteem. It would be interesting to see if there is a difference between the preferences of European and American women concerning male behaviour.
Money may well make the world go round, but how important is it really to models in an era of equal opportunities and of professional women of independent means? Surprisingly, only 8% of models considered a man’s wealth to be immaterial, with a third preferring their man to enjoy at least a comfortable (presumably middle class) lifestyle. Almost half of the models desired their men to be rich, or at the very least wealthy. However, this makes perfect biological sense, as a man’s wealth serves as a reflection of the success of his genes and as a sign of his fitness to provide for potential children (even if his partner does have her own money).
There are of course many other important aspects to a man’s personality, and personality is another important factor in the development of a successful relationship. One aspect is a sense of humour, and so we asked our models how important a man's ability to amuse is within attraction. Is it an attractive trait or merely a useful tool at dinner? Surprisingly, almost all of the models found a sense of humour to be a very important attribute in the selection of their ideal partner. For some profound biological reason women are attracted to men who can make them laugh. Whether this is because humour relaxes a woman prior to sex, or because it demonstrates that the man is confident and successfully coping with his social environment, or simply because humour is a powerful means of reducing a woman’s resistance to intimacy is unclear. However, of all the aspects of personality which serve as bonding factors following initial attraction, fidelity is consistently the most highly valued personality trait.