Dating is hard, and securing the very first date often comes down to either being in the
right place at the right time or having the right dating app.
Either way, it's undeniable that appearance can matter.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it's difficult to really know what things men are
looking for in a woman.
But science has come through for us, revealing which traits men really find the most attractive,
and what's going to make you stand out in a crowd.
According to the book Falling in Love: Why
We Choose the Lovers We Choose, cross-cultural studies have shown a decided preference for
women who have big eyes, small noses, and full lips.
But if you don't have any standout features and consider yourself Average Anne, have no
fear.
While cultural standards of beauty are constantly shifting, our perception of what is attractive
is rooted in biology, not the media.
According to Harvard brain researcher Nancy Etcoff, people find "average features" the
most attractive.
One study mixed hundreds of photos to create a composite.
As more pictures were added to the composite, the woman became more attractive to men.
While it's often thought that bigger is better
when it comes to breasts, studies have found that this isn't actually the case.
It turns out that men are like Goldilocks when it comes to busts: They like them neither
too big nor too small.
Instead, women with the most attractive bodies are those who have medium sized bustlines.
A study from the 1960s had men rate 105 silhouettes.
Most of them ranked the ones with medium bust lines as more attractive than those with small
or large bust lines.
In spite of this, those same men still idealized women with larger chests, a find that was
backed up by later studies.
Thanks to a 2013 survey conducted by dating
website Zoosk, we have a lot of insight into what makes men tick at least when it comes
to hair.
Out of the men surveyed, 89 percent said that hair is the first thing they notice on a woman.
This find is particularly interesting since 71 percent of women surveyed said that they
don't expect potential love interests to even notice their hair.
According to the survey, most men prefer women to wear their hair down, and 29 percent said
that they want the "sock bun" hair trend to die out.
This backs up scientific findings, which have shown that men subconsciously look at hair
as an indicator of health.
Good hair provided an evolutionary advantage, and that preference still carries over today.
When it comes to body modification, men dig
it.
A survey conducted by AskMen.com and Huffington Post asked men what they thought about tattoos
and piercings on women.
Of the men surveyed, 69 percent said they would be attracted to a woman with a tattoo,
and 55 percent said they would be attracted to a woman with a piercing.
Men said that the most attractive tattoos are on the shoulder/upper back, while the
most attractive piercing by far, with 61 percent of the vote, is a belly button piercing.
"So cute, right?"
"Lovely."
But it wasn't just men who had their own tattoos and piercings who were into the idea of a
lady with them.
Only 32 percent of the surveyed men had tattoos, while only 13 percent had piercings.
When it comes to legs, it's all about the
length.
Studies show that men prefer women who have a longer leg-to-body ratio, which might explain
the popularity of high heels.
A study in Poland found that legs that are 5 percent longer than the average were the
most attractive.
But if you think the long leg preference means men like tall women, you'd be mistaken.
"Aah!
You're a monster!"
Despite the fact that there is an evolutionary advantage to being tall, men seem to prefer
shorter women, or at least prefer women who are shorter than they are.
So the most attractive women, according to research, are those who are short but have
long legs, like Scarlett Johansson and Marilyn Monroe.
It's not enough to have the right kind of
legs or be just the right height.
According to some studies, men want women to walk the walk, too.
A swinging gait reels men in.
"Boom.
Boom.
That's not it.
Yikes."
Researchers found that women who are most fertile have a tendency to subconsciously
change how they walk, slowing their gait in a way that men find more alluring.
This particular gait is similar to the way a model struts down the runway: head up, shoulders
back, arms swinging loosely with swiveling hips.
It's no great revelation that a winning smile
can attract a man, but women who are going to employ this tactic might be surprised to
learn that their smile has to be a big one.
Specifically, you need to bare those teeth.
Since teeth are the result of both genetics and environmental factors, getting a peek
into someone's mouth can give you an idea of their general health.
In women, this is linked to their reproductive value.
Healthy teeth indicate a healthy person who is capable of childbearing.
Small feet have been associated with femininity
and beauty for centuries.
The Chinese practice of foot binding endured for a thousand years before the practice was
outlawed.
While people don't go to such extremes for small feet in modern times, dainty feet are
still considered to be attractive.
Evolutionary scientists say men might subconsciously find small feet more attractive because they
indicate a healthy childhood.
Women who have had a healthy childhood don't reach puberty as early, and end up growing
for longer and developing more typically feminine features.
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