A study of women in 30 countries found they were more likely to choose a masculine-looking partner if their country scored low on a health index based on World Health Organisation mortality figures. By contrast, in countries where people have a longer lifespan, women favoured more feminine-looking men, even though they might not have the healthiest genes available.
The research challenges the long-held belief that beauty is largely determined by culture.
“When women are choosing a mate, they’re weighing up two different things. On the one hand a really attractive, high genetic quality mate will give them very healthy offspring. On the other, there is getting “investment” from a mate-one who’ll be a good dad,” said Lisa DeBruine, who led the study at Aberdeen University.
“Men who are really attractive tend to be able to pursue whatever mating strategy is best for them,” she added. “They are more likely to prefer short-term relationships. More feminine men tend to be better providers.” DeBruine’s team used a computer to create average male and female faces by merging photographs. The computer then used these to work out how the features of a masculine face differ from a feminine face. The most obvious differences are the larger jaws and deeper brows of more masculine men.
“Environmental factors shift the balance when a woman is choosing a mate, and health is one of those. If a woman lives in an environment where there are lots of pathogens and disease, they are more likely to trade off a good investment in favour of better health for their children,” DeBruine said.
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