Thursday, June 25, 2020

Overall, the present results indicate that fertility appears to be an important cue for perceived physical attractiveness for both hetero- and homosexual men

Fertility as a cue for attractiveness in homo- and heterosexual men. Robin Rinn et al Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 166, 1 November 2020, 110171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110171

Highlights
• Sexual Strategy Theory predicts that men prefer highly fertile women.
• Findings confirm: heterosexual men evaluate highly fertile women as most attractive.
• Homosexual men find both highly over lowly fertile women and men more attractive.
• Mating strategies seem to be closely tied to biological sex not to sexual orientation.

Abstract: According to the sexual strategy theory (SST), men pursue short-term mating strategies to enhance their reproductive fitness. To do so, heterosexual men search for women who signal high reproductive value through multiple fertility cues. We hypothesize that, due to an interplay of mating strategies derived from a person's biological sex and the sexual orientation of a person (which develops independently of biological sex), not only heterosexual but also homosexual men should find high fertility more attractive in others. Accordingly, in Study 1 (N = 124), we found that hetero- as well as homosexual men rated the physical attractiveness of a female stimulus person to be greater when she was portrayed to be of high (versus low) fertility. Interestingly, in Study 2 (N = 224), we found that only homosexual-, but not heterosexual men perceived a male stimulus to be less attractive when information was provided that pointed at his low (versus high) fertility and when no information was given. We discuss these findings against the background of evolved adaptive mating motives in humans. Overall, the present results indicate that fertility appears to be an important cue for perceived physical attractiveness for both hetero- and homosexual men.

Keywords: Physical attractivenessSexual orientationBiological sexFertilitySexual strategy theory


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