Why Women Dont Want Macho Men Article written

Why Women Don’t Want Macho Men Article written by Jena Pincott l il B & s in g ig H n li it a C , n o d By: Molly Gray Neidinger

More Feminine Looking Men? New research suggests women from countries with healthier populations prefer more feminine-looking men Nearly 4, 800 women participated in an experiment at faceresearch. org Young women Early to mid-twenties All ethnicities identified as white Country of origin particularly important part

Experiment The women clicked through a listing of psycology experiments including “face preferences” and “attractiveness at different ages” After those selections were made, they were told they would be presented with pairs of men’s faces Would select the face they considered more attractive Faces looked very alike but had suble differences

Example from the experiment Picture on the left is more masculine than the picture on the right which is more feminine.

Results After looking at the data which included: women’s facial preferences country of origin their country’s national health index Researchers could conclude: could predict how masculine a women likes men based on her nation’s statistics for mortality rates, life expectancy, and impact of disease

Country Results Countries with poor health as a particular threat: Women leaned toward “manlier” men Mexico, Brazil, Bulgaria, and Argentina Countries with good health: Leaned more toward feminine men Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Austria, Romania, Greece, and New Zealand Lowest masculinity preferences: Belgium

United States and Masculinity Choices 5 th out of 30 countries in study in preferring more masculine men Home of James Dean and Clint Eastwood (? ) Health care rating: 20 th out of 30 one of least healthy countries in the experiment

Why? How is it possible to link a woman’s masculinity preferences to health of her country? Begins with theory of sexual selection Women are the choosier sex because they take more risk and burden of reproduction and child rearing In best interest to choose high quality male Good health

Health and Masculinity Testosterone is the link: Immunosuppressive: must be healthy and in good condition to withstand its effect on a man’s development Also linked to traits related to strength

Is Being a “Macho Man” Worth It? Women tend to think of high-testosterone types as uncooperative, unsympathetic, philandering, aggressive and disinterested in parenting The men who were rated as the most masculine generally had higher testosterone levels 43% more likely to get divorced than men with normal levels 31% more likely to leave home because of marital problems 38% more likely to cheat on their wives 13% more likely to admit that they hit or hurled things at them.

How Much Does Masculinity Matter? Apparently not so much: If you’re living in a country with good health care and low levels of disease Generally speaking, the experiment showed that a nation's health index explained more of the variation in women's masculinity preferences than did many culture-specific female norms identified in previous studies. Women’s equality Crime rates Control of resources

Is Modern Masculinity Being Devalued? Possibly. . . but: Given American women's apparently strong masculinity preferences, the answer is no Some signals may suggest change is just over the horizon: Promise of improved health care Women’s financial freedom Being secure socially