Last week I had a discussion with a friend about what makes a guy attractive. We agreed that maybe—maybe—10% of the world’s population is universally attractive, whereas everybody else is basically open to interpretation based on personal preferences.
“My roommate thinks that girls like him because he’s tall,” he said. “Girls like being with tall guys. I get that.”
“He thinks tall is the key?” I asked. “I don’t know. I’ve liked tall guys, but not for that specific reason. I mean, if a guy was funny and smart, I wouldn’t dismiss him as a dating possibility if he was 5’5” or 5’6”.”
I don’t know that my friend believed me—maybe because he’s on the tall side and wanted to think height gave him some kind of advantage—but the conversation made me think about what women are most attracted to in men.
Researchers and scientists are always trying to solve the mystery of what attracts the opposite sex. I read a recent study that found women preferred men with masculine features because they appear healthier, thus ensuring healthy offspring in the future. (And if that isn’t the most romantic reason for choosing a mate, then I don’t know what is.)
Other scientific studies have found similar results. Macho features—which I’m assuming means a strong jawline, broad shoulders and the like—draw women in. Also, I’m pretty sure I once read an article about brown eyes implying that a person is trustworthy, so stay away from blue-eyed males.
Scientists can conduct all the studies they want. Go ahead, Science: show me pages and pages of evidence. Build entire research facilities dedicated to studying the laws of attraction. I’ll still refuse to believe any of it, because, as a girl who has had her fair share of crushes, I can assure you there is no hard-and-fast set of characteristics that make a man sexy.
Everybody embodies his or her own kind of sexy. That’s why we all pursue a wide variety of people. Personally, I think happiness is sexy. I’ll never look for a brooding “bad boy” type, ever, because nothing about that demeanor is appealing. I’m not attracted to danger or mystery. Love is supposed to feel good, and happiness is a good thing. Happiness is inspiring.
And inspiring is sexy. If love lifts you up, imagine being in love with someone who also inspires you. Can that feeling be topped? It doesn’t seem possible! And is Mr. Dark-and-Mysterious going to light up your life with his secrets and well-crafted scowl? I’m gonna go ahead and say no.
What else is sexy? Well, how about a smile that, when bestowed upon little old you, makes you feel like your heart will literally burst from an overwhelming amount of joy?
Guys with guitars—sexy. We’ve already discussed this.
Dudes wearing suits—sexy. Sweet Mary, suits are sexy (when properly tailored, of course).
I’ll give you this, Science: maybe macho features and brown eyes are the initial attraction, but they aren’t the kind of sexy features that keep a girl interested in the long run. There’s gotta be more substance than that. So go ahead and tell me about evolutionary instinct—I’ll just ignore it and choose the suit-wearing, guitar-strumming, happy guy every time.
Thank you, Pataki Marta, for the image.
The post Don’t Let Science Tell You What’s Sexy appeared first on The Gaggle.