If you’re looking to attract women, making more money is probably the number one way to do it, says John M. Townsend,professor of anthropology at Syracuse University. Whether it’s clothing, manner of speaking, or just the aura as you walk in the room, wealth has been shown to be as important to women as curves are to men (theoretically, because they have to invest so much in baby making). But there are other, more biological, ways to be more attractive. Here, from studies and peer-reviewed science are nine tricks — from the color of your shirt to the length of your beard — that have been proven to influence the way you’re perceived by women.
Ever wondered why men look ridiculous when they imitate the same selfie poses as women? A small study from the University of Newcastle might have an answer. They took various simulated faces of men and women and tilted them slightly upward and downward. They found that female participants who viewed the photos found the men with their heads tilted upward more attractive than when they were tilted down. The reason? Researchers think that because men are usually viewed from below by shorter women, a head tilt that mimics the way a face looks from down below has become more attractive to the ladies.
Back in the Renaissance, the Golden Ratio was used to map out paintings and sculptures of beautiful people and places. More recently, researchers have dove back into this special number, using it to examine what makes some people more facially attractive than others. Although the specifics are complex, the simplified break down is this: The ideal person’s face is about 1.5 times as long as it is wide; the spaces between their forehead and eyes, eyes and bottom of nose, and bottom of nose to chin are equal; their ear is roughly the same length as their nose; and the width of each of their eyes is equal to the distance between them. Not sold? According to ratio experts, Brad Pitt is about a 9.3 out of 10.
(Photo: Sigrid Olsson / Getty Images)
The Brooding Look
A study from the University of British Columbia found that, if you are looking to get lucky, smiling is frowned upon. Researchers conducted a series of studies, where over a thousand participants rated the sexual attractiveness of photos, which featured people expressing different emotions. In the end, smiling, happy men fared worse than all others. The most attractive were those who looked proud but even those who looked ashamed got some positive attention.
Obviously, smelling like you’ve never showered isn’t likely to be a turn on but some natural odors can make a difference in terms of attractiveness. Several studies have shown that women who smell sweaty shirts are often more attracted to the smells of men who have a different kind of immune system gene, compared to their own. The idea here is that, if they had kids with this nice-smelling man, their children would benefit from a mix of these genes. However, it has also been shown that women on hormonal birth control no longer show this genetic preference. Rather, they preferred men who had genes like theirs.
Believe it or not, something as simple as shirt choice could affect your chances with women. Just as a peacock struts his stuff in the wild, a series of small experiments published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that women find men more attractive when they are wearing red or shown in front of a red background. If true, this effect could be partially social — red is associated with power and masculinity — and partially evolutionary, since red signals sex for many animals. If you’re in hurry to replace all your clothes, you should know that red did not make men appear any more likable, agreeable, or extroverted.
(Photo: Ben Silva / Getty Images)
An Androgynous Face
A study from Brunel University London surveyed 962 people from 12 different countries, investigating their preferences for masculine and feminine faces. They found that the preference for masculine males and feminine females seems to be a result of more urban environments. In less developed populations, people tended to prefer faces that were more androgynous.
(Photo: Hans Georg Merkel / Getty Images)
Your Hands
For being such a little body part, the ring finger seems to say a lot of about people. That’s because the size ratio between the fourth and second fingers (of the right hand in particular) is a decent indicator for how long a man was exposed to testosterone in the womb. The larger the difference in length, the more exposure. In a study from the University of Geneva, over 80 women evaluated men’s attractiveness based on various traits. Men with bigger finger length discrepancies were found to be more facially attractive but they were not considered especially masculine. Women did not show any preference for longer-fingered men based on their odor or voices.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Height
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who says penis size doesn’t matter at all but at least one study suggests that it is more complicated that most people think. Researchers from the Australia had 105 women look at computer-generated models of men who varied in terms of shoulder-to-hip ratio, height, and penis size. Penis size made a difference in attractiveness ratings until it reached around average size (3 inches). Beyond this, shoulder-to-hip ratio and height played a big role. So much so that the short, less fit men, were eventually unable to match the rating of tall, fit ones, regardless of what was going on below the belt.
(Photo: Micha Krakowiak / Getty Images)
Facial Hair
Just as with women, hair preferences are complicated. Research shows that women tend to be attracted to men with less body hair. It has been hypothesized that they evolved this preference to avoid parasites but this preference prevails regardless of parasite threat. Facial hair is a different story. Overall, a little stubble is a big hit amongst both sexes. Attraction to beards and clean-shaven faces, however, is upped when they are uncommon, according to research from the University of New South Wales. Nearly 1500 women and around 200 men who were viewing photos of men with various facial hairstyles judged both beards and clean faces as more attractive when fewer people in photo sets had them.
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