Traits Men Find Irresistible

Studies Show What Men are Really Looking For

There are many stereotypes behind what a man finds irresistible, such as big breasts, blonde hair, long legs, confidence, and an insatiable need for sex. Do these traits hold water in the real world? There’s a lot of debate on that, and while there’s been no final word, there have been plenty of interesting studies attempting to find the answer.

1. Down & Dumped

Several studies have looked at a man’s preference when it comes to a woman’s position in the world, and one trait seems to echo time and again. Men prefer women who are “down and dumped.” A study at the Gettysburg College found that men rated photos of the same girl as less attractive, the higher her photo was placed on a computer screen. That’s correct, the same woman on top of the screen was rated less attractive than when her photo was displayed on the bottom. While these findings are debatable, researchers suggest they might indicate men prefer women lower on the low end of the totem pole, so to speak (less powerful, dependent, etc.).

Contrary to these findings, a study by PEW Research Group claims that men prefer women with greater independence. The research suggests that men today prefer the increased financial stability of having two bread-winners in the family. This hasn’t always been the case (certainly not thirty years ago), which may explain why some men are still biologically driven to prefer women on the lower half of a computer screen.

A study by the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh asked men to choose from a list of women featured on a fake dating website. The big question on these profiles was why their last relationship ended. The women who admitted that it was they who broke up with their prior boyfriend were rated lower by the men in the study. The men rated the women who admitted being dumped in their last relationship the highest. Researchers think that this reaction has something to do with men’s fear of getting dumped themselves. Interestingly, when women skipped the question entirely, men also rated them lower.

2. Baby Got Back?

Studies show men across the board like a little meat on a woman’s bones. Researchers at the University of Texas claim that men like curvy women, but there’s a catch. While questioning men in a study, they found most would date curvy women for the short-term, but reserved the long-term for someone with an attractive face. Researchers believe this is due to a man’s drive to fertilize as many healthy women with robust hip ratios as possible, saving the wedding bells for his true love. This was backed by a different study at Madison University (Virginia), which claims nearly a quarter of men prefer hooking up in contrast to a long-term relationship.

In a rather off-the-wall study at Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands), several blind men were invited inside a mobile research lab (van) to “feel up” the waist line of two mannequins. One of the mannequins had a waist that was 70 percent as wide as the hips, while the other had a waist 85 percent as large (closer to the average woman). What they found is blind men prefer the curvier figure with the smaller waist. As Sir Mix-a-Lot once said, “Little in the middle, but she got much back.”

On the other side of the coin, a group of studies published in the British Journal of Psychology, claim that men prefer heavier women when hungry, and lighter women when full (satiated). Now this is not saying the men were looking at the women like chopped sirloin, but rather as a survival tactic. Hungry men prefer bigger women, because they appear more mature and capable of handling themselves. The researchers went on to note that prior findings also suggest that even popular Playboy centerfolds tend to be older and heavier during the hardest (and hungriest) of times.

While one could construe this information as slightly depressing, there’s reason behind their madness. When talking about the traits that attract men, there are many factors at play, and if there’s anything to learn from this research, it’s that there’s no set rules. The most important thing is to be yourself, be proud of who you are, and express that confidence with every single day.