SURVEY
In the November/December 1993 issue, we asked readers to help
identify how contemporary men and women perceive and value male
appearance. Over 1,500 responded with completed questionnaires and
comments. Sixty-four percent were women. The average age for men was 37;
for women, 34. The overwhelming majority were white. Occupations varied
from businessmen and women to nurses, students, salespeople, secretaries,
and homemakers. Most respondents were college educated and 87 percent
were exclusively heterosexual. Nearly half had never been married.
Although far from a random sample, our respondents' answers
suggested some intriguing trends. Men assumed that male appearance had a
greater impact on heterosexual relations than women acknowledged. Yet
although most women played down male appearance, there was an
identifiable sub-group of women who placed high value on male physical
features and sexual attributes. These women were on average slightly
older, more financially independent, and rated themselves more physically
attractive. But even when women indicated definite preferences for
particular physical characteristics, they often seemed to adapt these
preferences to the realities of their partner.
One of our main concerns was the extent to which women considered
male appearance in choosing partners. Women were asked to rank eight
factors in selecting a man for a romantic relationship: four personality
variables and four physical variables. We asked men to estimate how women
would rank these same factors.
Personality won hands down. Both men and women rated intelligence
and sense of humor as most important, sexual performance and physical
strength as least important. This suggests that despite escalating
cultural emphasis on male looks, both sexes still believe that women
choose men more by character than appearance.
Men nonetheless overestimated the importance women place on certain
male physical characteristics. They thought an attractive face was more
important to women than empathy and the ability to talk about feelings.
They also assumed that body build had greater significance than women
indicated.
One surprising finding was the importance of cleanliness. We didn't
think to formally inquire about such basics as soap, shampoo, and
toothpaste. But the most frequent written comments -- all from
women -- related to male hygiene. A 44-year-old stated, "While I am not as
concerned with the physical appearance of a male partner, cleanliness
ranks as number one on my list." Another wrote, "What is the biggest
turnoff? Poor grooming. A man who needs a shower, has dirty hands, wears
soiled clothes, or needs to brush his teeth is a complete turnoff."
Dental hygiene was a particular concern.
Both sexes assumed that a trimmer, taller male would be judged more
attractive. Women definitely favored taller males, the majority endorsing
the statement that being with a tall man made them feel more feminine.
Most women indicated they wouldn't date a shorter man. Almost a third
insisted the man be taller than the woman and another third would date a
man of their own height but no shorter.
Two groups particularly valued height, taller women and women
rating themselves more attractive. But height preference often gave way
to practicality: taller women were much more likely to accept a date from
a shorter male. As one 5'10" women confessed, "My husband is six inches
shorter than I. Initially, I refused to even consider him for this reason. In reality, I was able to train myself to accept something else."
Weight worked much the same way. Overweight men were clearly less
desirable to women. Thirty percent of female respondents found men more
than 10 pounds overweight unacceptable as dates; 70 percent found more
than 20 pounds overweight unacceptable; and at 40 pounds or more
overweight, men were unacceptable to 90 percent of respondents.
Male participants were moderately concerned about their weight.
About 63 percent would like to lose some weight; approximately half of
them would be pleased with a 6-to-15 pound loss. Weight gain was an issue
for another 19 percent, who wanted additional muscle mass.
Women, however, tended to be less critical of their partner's
weight. Only 44 percent wanted their partner to lose weight, and half of
these women would be happy with a modest 6-to-15 pound reduction. Thinner
women tended to express more desire for their partners to trim
down.
When respondents judged their own attractiveness, there was a major
difference in how men and women viewed extra weight. Twenty-five percent
of the men who rated themselves "very attractive" were overweight. But
even modestly overweight women excluded themselves from this category:
only 6 percent of very attractive women said they were too heavy.
Men and women also parted company in the domain of male muscle
mass. Men value muscle mass, while women are less interested in oversized
biceps and pecs. In ranking male body types, women gave first place to
"medium with moderate muscle mass," while "medium with competition muscle
mass" came in a lowly fourth. When men estimated women's preferences,
however, competition body build narrowly missed second place.
We asked women directly, "how important it is for you that [a man]
have noticeable muscles," and we asked men how important muscles were to
them. The differences were striking: twice as many women as men said that
male muscles did not matter at all.
Tags:
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male appearance,
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personality variables,
physical characteristics,
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physical strength,
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sense of humor,
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