Why are girls so attracted to bearded men? What deep mechanisms are included in women at the sight of vegetation on the face of a potential partner? A few compelling arguments in defense of beards.
Are beards back in fashion or have they never gone out of fashion? From the point of view of evolution – the second. In the competition for female attention, bearded men start and win.
Many stars, from actors to rock idols, wear beards. Beards are ubiquitous, but some people still don’t like them. Knowing nothing about a person, they rush to draw conclusions about him, not having time or not wanting to discern a personality behind the vegetation.
“However, anyone who is willing to accept such generalizations and jumping to conclusions as fair should know that he is in the grip of stereotypes,” reminds Wendy Patrick, author of How to Read People.
Secrets of male attractiveness
To grow or not to grow? A choice many men face from time to time. When doing it, it is important for them to take into account their own social status, habits, life characteristics, place of work, wife’s opinion and other factors.
A beard significantly changes the appearance of a man, and this is often used, for example, in the film industry, changing the appearance of actors with it. For most, her charm lies in the fact that if she is tired or simply does not go, you can get rid of her in a matter of minutes. But that’s not all: a recent study has proven that women find men with facial hair attractive and dominant both socially and physically.
Bearded men with a more masculine appearance were rated as more attractive by the participants.
The University of Queensland study included 919 women aged 18 to 70. They were shown photographs of men with different types of facial hair and asked to rate each. Participants viewed 30 images of men: each was first photographed without a beard, then with a grown beard; the subjects were also shown retouched versions of photographs in which the faces looked more or less masculine. Women rated them for perceived attractiveness for short-term and long-term relationships.
What were the results? The more hair on the face, the more attractive men are, psychologists have come to this conclusion. Bearded men with a more masculine appearance were rated as more attractive, especially for long-term relationships.
Bearded and cheeky
The researchers came to the conclusion that we regard a more masculine face as a sign that a person occupies a dominant position in society and has physical strength. Facial hair accentuates male features by masking less attractive areas.
The authors of the project confirmed the connection between masculine facial features and physical strength, combat abilities and a high social position. In their opinion, looking at a manly face, women draw conclusions about the strength and health of a man, which, in turn, can influence their marital preferences.
It turns out that by growing a beard, a man can strengthen his own masculinity? It seems so. Research shows that bearded men themselves feel more masculine and produce more serum testosterone, which in turn increases levels of social dominance.
Not all women like beards
At the same time, not all women in the project liked faces with vegetation: in particular, some were afraid of the presence of parasites in the hair or on the skin of men. Some perceive unshaven faces as a sign that a man does not follow his appearance.
However, the relationship does not work in the opposite direction – women with a high level of aversion to pathogens were more likely to prefer bearded men, which may indicate that they consider facial hair a sign of good health.
Single women with reproductive ambitions were more likely to prefer clean-shaven male faces.
The authors of the project also found that women with “great reproductive ambitions” did not necessarily prefer bearded men. However, when the scientists took into account the marital status of the project participants, it turned out that, in general, both single and married women who wanted to give birth found bearded women more attractive than women who did not dream of motherhood.
Single women with reproductive ambitions were more likely to prefer clean-shaven male faces, while married women showed a negative attitude towards them.
Of course, the perception of the appearance of members of the opposite sex is a matter of taste, which is formed under the influence of so many factors. But it seems that scientists have again proved that we are largely guided by nature and mechanisms laid down hundreds, if not thousands of generations ago. And now, reviewing, for example, films with Sean Connery, one can finally understand why a clean-shaven Bond seems less attractive than the characters played by the actor many years later with a noble and well-groomed beard.
About the Author: Wendy Patrick is a trial lawyer, forensic scientist, and author of How to Read People.