I recently watched a documentary film that describes and shows detailed scientific research aimed at studying what determines people’s level of sex appeal. Since not everyone will have the opportunity to watch this film, I will briefly outline what the studies found.
It’s no secret that we all try to choose the most attractive partner for ourselves. But what constitutes attractiveness? This is exactly the question answered by the film The Science of Sex Appeal.
The main thesis presented in the film: sex appeal is not a matter of taste, but a biological need. How we choose partners is determined by evolution, and science can prove it. We read genetic codes from the face, body, manner of movement, scent, and the sound of our partner’s voice. For women, this process is more complex than for men. Mostly, the process of choosing a partner is much more subconscious than conscious.
Yes, in the process of choosing a partner, we first pay attention to those with whom we could produce the strongest offspring (even if we don’t plan to have children).
The Face – the Main Defining Factor
Our perception of a person as attractive implies that we consider that person to have good health and a strong genetic makeup. In defining facial beauty, the golden ratio rule is considered. The closer the ratio of facial features to the golden ratio, the more attractive the face appears.
Key Factors of Facial Attractiveness
- How masculine or feminine the face is
- How symmetrical the face is
- Reproductivity (women during ovulation appear more attractive)
- During ovulation, women tend to choose men with more masculine facial features, and at other times, with more feminine features, as this confirms a man’s ability to care.
The Body – an Important Factor of Attractiveness
It’s widely recognized that for women, an attractive body includes a narrow waist, fuller hips, long, slender legs, and for men, broad shoulders, developed chest muscles, and a flat stomach.
Here are interesting facts that prove our reaction to a partner’s body is not necessarily determined by health or reproductive potential:
- The ratio of waist and hip measurements determines femininity or masculinity. The ideal ratio for women is 7 to 10 (close to the golden ratio). However, for men, an even more attractive ratio is 6 to 10 or even 5 to 10.
- One of the most important factors in body attractiveness is how a person moves: a more attractive woman “plays” with her curves (or, simply, sways her hips), while the more attractive movement of a man is expressed through the shoulder girdle and arms.
- The way we perceive the movement of others is also the way we enhance the aforementioned factors in our own movements when we want to appear more attractive.
The Social Factor is Very Important When Choosing a Partner
- Regardless of how healthy or capable of producing strong offspring a person may be, we always try to aim as high as possible and choose a partner who, on average, has the highest rating. If we can’t achieve this, we gradually lower our standards until we find someone who accepts us. As a result, we most often end up in a relationship with a partner whose rating is about the same as our own.
The Sound of the Voice – a Significant Factor When Choosing a Partner
- Men with deeper voices are more attractive to women (an obvious fact) – this is determined by testosterone levels during puberty.
- Women with higher voices are more attractive to men (not deep, chest-like voices), and during ovulation, a woman’s voice becomes more pleasant and sexually appealing.
Can We Overcome Genetic Predisposition?
How we present ourselves plays a significant role in sexual attractiveness:
- For men, physical attractiveness in a woman is more important, whereas for women, a man’s status is more important.
- For women, it’s more important that a man is capable of not only supporting a family but also caring for offspring and creating a warm family atmosphere capable of sustaining long-term relationships.
Scent – a Powerful Factor of Attractiveness
- Women generally don’t like androsternone – a male sex hormone, a product of testosterone metabolism. However, during ovulation, androsternone becomes attractive to women and serves as a sort of sexual radar.
- Our scent is unique, it contains information about our genetic and immunological profile. The more our genetic and immunological sets differ, the more attractive each other’s scents are (genetic diversity increases the chances of healthier offspring), and vice versa.
- Female secretions during ovulation are a powerful aphrodisiac for men. Even a barely noticeable scent of this feminine secret drastically increases a man’s testosterone levels and the woman’s attractiveness in his eyes.
Flirting – a Factor of Sexuality that Cannot Be Ignored
- In personal interactions at the beginning of an acquaintance, a man places great importance on a woman’s appearance as it indicates her genetic health. As a result, men are more likely to openly show whether they find a woman attractive. For women, it’s harder to determine: for her, what matters is not how a man looks but what he represents socially.
- Men tend to overestimate the degree of their attractiveness in women’s eyes (from an instinctual point of view, underestimating their own attractiveness could drastically reduce their chances of producing offspring).
The Chemical Chain Reaction of Attractiveness
- Testosterone levels are very high in male saliva, and when he kisses a woman, she gets a dose of testosterone, which increases her desire. That’s why a kiss literally sparks a fire of sexuality.
- The hormone that keeps us together in relationships is dopamine; it provides a sense of pleasure. Dopamine boosts sex drive and partner attractiveness, even in non-sexual circumstances.
- The hormones of sexual desire and infatuation, and the brain areas responsible for these two experiences, differ. Therefore, one can feel sexual desire for a person and never be in love with them, or be in love with someone and not desire sexual relations with them.
Sexual Attractiveness Over Time
- Sexual desire fades over time. Infatuation is a state sustained by a conscious desire to stay together.
- Evolution dictates that humans follow the typical mammalian cohabitation pattern: four-year cycles when partners live together until the offspring reach survival age – about 3 years. Humans can choose to follow this instinctual program or choose another: to be with a chosen partner for life.
- Biologically, men are inclined to seek variety in sexual partners. However, women (even married ones) also tend to exhibit such behavior. Married women prefer a permanent partner capable of caring for her and her offspring, even if he doesn’t carry exceptional genetic material. But when she is capable of getting pregnant, she tends to look for a partner who can provide her with good genetic material. In other words, even a faithful wife can experience strong sexual desire for another man during ovulation, something that usually doesn’t happen at other times.
Long-Term Relationships in the Biology of Sexual Attractiveness
- Biologically, this is not generally in us, but there are many examples of people living together for a long time, as we, as rational beings, form alliances with our partners. In nature, there are a few species that live in monogamous relationships for life. Humans can consciously choose to do the same.
- Vasopressin – a hormone that, in men, determines the likelihood of monogamy. In women, this role is played by oxytocin.
- Even after many years, in the brains of lovers, the same brain regions activate as they did in the early stages of love, proving that it is possible to be in love for many years – to love and desire your partner no less, and sometimes even more, than at the beginning of the relationship.
We can always be stronger than instinctual patterns. We constantly make decisions about how our relationships will develop. We can choose to be together.