Women's Preferences for Masculinity in Male Faces Are Predicted by Material Scarcity, But Not Time or Psychological Scarcity

Facial femininity in men is purportedly used as a cue by women as a signal of parental quality and willingness to provide resources. Accordingly, in contexts where choosing a partner that will provide resources is more beneficial (e.g., when resources are scarce), women have shown an increase preference for facial femininity in male faces. However, domains of scarcity often covary, and it is, therefore, unclear whether these contextual shifts in facial masculinity/femininity preferences are specific to material scarcity (as implied by previous theory), or due to an unrelated domain of scarcity (e.g., time or psychological scarcity). Here, a sample of 823 women completed the Perceived Scarcity Scale, which measures three separate domains of scarcity: material scarcity, time scarcity, and psychological scarcity. Participants also rated the attractiveness of 42 male faces, which were measured on objective sexual dimorphism and perceived masculinity. Consistent with theory, material scarcity, and not time or psychological scarcity, was associated with a decreased preference for objective sexual dimorphism (i.e., an increased preference for facial femininity). This study provides evidence that women use sexual dimorphism as a cue to material resource provisioning potential when assessing men as a mate.

The criteria of Chinese and South Koreans' mate selection: A comparative study of long-term and short-term mate selection preferences in the cross-cultural perspective

Sexual selection has become an important research topic in behavioral ecology, human behavior, and evolution. The study of mate selection preferences across cultures and countries has gradually received increasing attention. The present study was aimed to reveal the differences of long-term and short-term mate selection preferences between young people in Chinese and South Korean. An questionnaire survey method was followed to obtain the aim of the study, and a total of 273 Chinese (M = 22.07, SD = 1.75) and 181 Koreans (M = 21.75, SD = 2.05) unmarried university students were chosen to participate the study. We summarized the important core factors of individual mate preferences and revealed the long-term and short-term mate preferences of young men and women in both countries through quantitative analysis. The results indicated that education played a crucial role in the long-term mate selection for both Chinese males and females. Contrastingly, Koreans valued friendliness and easygoingness in long-term mate value and liveliness in short-term mate value. There were differences found in mate preference by gender between Chinese and Koreans, influenced by cross-cultural factors. These findings strongly supported cultural differences in mate selection and provided practical suggestions for future cross-cultural mate selection research.

Facial and body sexual dimorphism are not interconnected in the Maasai

BACKGROUND

In this paper, we investigate facial sexual dimorphism and its' association with body dimorphism in Maasai, the traditional seminomadic population of Tanzania. We discuss findings on other human populations and possible factors affecting the developmental processes in Maasai.

METHODS

Full-face anthropological photographs were obtained from 305 Maasai (185 men, 120 women) aged 17-90 years. Facial shape was assessed combining geometric morphometrics and classical facial indices. Body parameters were measured directly using precise anthropological instruments.

RESULTS

Sexual dimorphism in Maasai faces was low, sex explained 1.8% of the total shape variance. However, male faces were relatively narrower and vertically prolonged, with slightly wider noses, narrower-set and lower eyebrows, wider mouths, and higher forehead hairline. The most sexually dimorphic regions of the face were the lower jaw and the nose. Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), measured in six known variants, revealed no significant sexual dimorphism. The allometric effects on facial traits were mostly related to the face growth, rather than the growth of the whole body (body height). Significant body dimorphism was demonstrated, men being significantly higher, with larger wrist diameter and hand grip strength, and women having higher BMI, hips circumferences, upper arm circumferences, triceps skinfolds. Facial and body sexual dimorphisms were not associated.

CONCLUSIONS

Facial sex differences in Maasai are very low, while on the contrary, the body sexual dimorphism is high. There were practically no associations between facial and body measures. These findings are interpreted in the light of trade-offs between environmental, cultural, and sexual selection pressures.

Differential effects of resource scarcity and pathogen prevalence on heterosexual women's facial masculinity preferences

The present research focused on how environmental harshness may affect heterosexual women's preferences of potential male mates' facial characteristics, namely masculinity-femininity. The evidence on this issue is mixed and mostly from Western samples. We aimed to provide causal evidence using a sample of Turkish women and Turkish male faces. A video-based manipulation was developed to heighten environmental harshness perceptions. In the main experiment, participants were primed with resource scarcity, pathogen prevalence or neither (control). They then saw masculinised vs. feminised versions of the same faces and indicated the face that they would prefer for a long-term relationship and separately rated the faces on various dimensions. In general, masculinised faces were perceived as slightly more attractive, slightly healthier and much more formidable. A multilevel Bayesian model showed that pathogen prevalence lowered the preference for masculinised faces while resource scarcity weakly elevated it. The overall drop in attractiveness ratings in cases of high perceived pathogen prevalence, one of the strongest effects we observed, suggests that during epidemics, the formation of new relationships is not a favourable strategy. Implications for evolutionary theories of mate preference are discussed.

Facial attractiveness and preference of sexual dimorphism: A comparison across five populations

Despite intensive research, evolutionary psychology has not yet reached a consensus regarding the association between sexual dimorphism and attractiveness. This study examines associations between perceived and morphological facial sexual dimorphism and perceived attractiveness in samples from five distant countries (Cameroon, Colombia, Czechia, Iran and Turkey). We also examined possible moderating effects of skin lightness, averageness, age, body mass and facial width. Our results suggest that in all samples, women's perceived femininity was positively related to their perceived attractiveness. Women found perceived masculinity in men attractive only in Czechia and Colombia, two distant populations. The association between perceived sexual dimorphism and attractiveness is thus potentially universal only for women. Across populations, morphological sexual dimorphism and averageness are not universally associated with either perceived facial sexual dimorphism or attractiveness. With our exploratory approach, results highlight the need for control of which measure of sexual dimorphism is used (perceived or measured) because they affect perceived attractiveness differently. Morphological averageness and sexual dimorphism are not good predictors of perceived attractiveness. It is noted that future studies should use samples from multiple populations to allow for identification of specific effects of local environmental and socioeconomic conditions on preferred traits in unmanipulated local facial stimuli.

Does Self-rated Attractiveness Predict Women’s Preferences for Facial Masculinity? Data From an Arab Sample

Objectives

Because more attractive women may be better able to attract and/or retain masculine mates, many researchers have proposed that women who consider themselves to be more physically attractive will show stronger preferences for men displaying masculine facial characteristics. Empirical evidence for this putative association between women’s self-rated attractiveness and preference for facial masculinity has come almost entirely from studies of Western women. Thus, we investigated whether this pattern of results also occurs in a sample of non-Western women.

Methods

We investigated the relationship between self-rated attractiveness and facial-masculinity preferences in a sample of Arab women (N = 281). Facial-masculinity preferences were assessed from attractiveness judgments of masculinized versus feminized versions of face images.

Results

By contrast with previous findings for Western women’s self-rated attractiveness, we observed no compelling evidence that Arab women who considered themselves to be more attractive showed stronger preferences for masculine men.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that previously reported associations between self-rated attractiveness and masculinity preferences might be somewhat culture specific, potentially reflecting cultural differences in typical mating strategies.

Cross-cultural perception of female facial appearance: A multi-ethnic and multi-centre study

Humans extract and use information from the face in assessments of physical appearance. Previous research indicates high agreement about facial attractiveness within and between cultures. However, the use of a narrow age range for facial stimuli, limitations due to unidirectional cross-cultural comparisons, and technical challenges have prevented definitive conclusions about the universality of face perception. In the present study, we imaged the faces of women aged 20 to 69 years in five locations (China, France, India, Japan, and South Africa) and secured age, attractiveness, and health assessments on continuous scales (0-100) from female and male raters (20-66 years) within and across ethnicity. In total, 180 images (36 of each ethnicity) were assessed by 600 raters (120 of each ethnicity), recruited in study centres in the five locations. Linear mixed model analysis revealed main and interaction effects of assessor ethnicity, assessor gender, and photographed participant ("face") ethnicity on age, attractiveness, and health assessments. Thus, differences in judgments of female facial appearance depend on the ethnicity of the photographed person, the ethnicity of the assessor, and whether the assessor is female or male. Facial age assessments correlated negatively with attractiveness and health assessments. Collectively, these findings provide evidence of cross-cultural variation in assessments of age, and even more of attractiveness, and health, indicating plasticity in perception of female facial appearance across cultures, although the decline in attractiveness and health assessments with age is universally found.

Concern About Contracting COVID-19 Predicts Men's Preference for Female Facial Femininity, But Not Women's Preference for Male Facial Masculinity

Objectives

Humans have evolved a behavioral system that responds to perceptual cues suggesting the existence of a pathogenic threat in other individuals and the environment. While previous investigations have reported that individuals’ sexual preferences are influenced by a pathogen threat, the empirical support for face preference is mixed (i.e., the association of pathogenic threat and individuals’ preferences for masculine and/or feminine faces is equivocal). The COVID-19 pandemic provides the opportunity to investigate the association of pathogenic threat and men’s and women’s preferences for sexual dimorphism of faces in the opposite sex in a real-world pathogenic situation.

Methods

Data were collected during COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) from men and women in the United States, and women in Iran, on preferences for masculinity in men’s faces using women participants, and femininity in women’s faces using men.

Results

Results showed that concern about an actual pathogenic threat (i.e., contracting COVID-19) predicts men’s preference for female facial femininity, but not women’s preference for male facial masculinity (for both U.S. and Iranian women).

Conclusion

By using an actual pathogenic threat, our results support previous findings that men’s preferences for female faces are shifted to less feminine faces under pathogenic threat. Moreover, our results provide support for the distinction between the behavioral immune system and pathogen disgust, at least for men’s preference for feminine female faces.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40750-020-00158-w.

Facial Attractiveness of Sisters of Thai Gay Men and Sao Praphet Song

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction toward adult males. Androphilic males' female genetic relatives might offset the fitness cost of androphilia by having elevated numbers of offspring. Increased attractiveness relative to other women may enable these females to marry up the social hierarchy, providing greater access to resources to support more offspring. In Thailand, there is a marked status hierarchy and male androphiles are highly visible - identifying as gay men or as a third gender known as sao praphet song. Thus, a field experiment was conducted in which 208 heterosexual men rated the facial attractiveness of 25 sisters of Thai gay men or sao praphet song and 25 comparison women with no known same-sex attracted relatives. Contrary to the prediction, the comparison group was rated as more attractive than the sisters, casting doubt on hypotheses that posit greater attractiveness of female relatives of male androphiles as a proximate mechanism facilitating the evolutionary maintenance of genes influencing male androphilia. Also, men from rural areas rated the women, regardless of group, as more attractive than men from urban areas, consistent with some prior studies showing rural-urban differences in perceptions of attractiveness.

Effects of Male Facial Masculinity on Perceived Attractiveness

Studies suggest that high levels of masculinity in men can be a signal of 'better genes' as well as low parental investment. It is the trade-off between these two qualities that has led to the hypothesis that women's preferences for male masculinity are condition-dependent, yet, not all studies support this hypothesis. In addition, there is evidence that more average faces would be perceived as more attractive. Here we study the variation in masculinity preferences of a cohort of heterosexual women (n=769), using manipulated 3D faces of male subjects. We used linear mixed models to test for effects of various covariates such as relationship status, use of hormonal contraception, sociosexual orientation and self-perceived attractiveness on preference for masculinity. Our results show that women's sociosexual orientation has a positive correlation with masculinity preference while using hormonal contraception decreases this preference. None of the other covariates displayed any significant effect on masculinity preference. The initial level of masculinity of the faces (very low, low, average, high and very high) was also shown to affect this preference, where we found a significant preference for higher masculinity in the very low and average group, while no preference was found in the other groups. Our findings support the notion that condition-dependent variables have very small effects, if any, on women's preference for masculinity in men.

Sexual dimorphism in facial shape of modern Buryats of Southern Siberia

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to investigate sexual dimorphism in the full facial shape of modern Buryats-people of Southern Siberia of Mongolian origin.

METHODS

For this purpose, we have used geometric morphometrics based on standardized full-face frontal photographs. This allowed us to assess and visualize differences in facial shapes between Buryat men (n = 98) and women (n = 89). To specify the facial areas, where the differences occurred, we have complemented our analysis with standard anthropometric facial parameters based on approximations to the craniofacial and mandibular landmarks and soft-tissue morphology of specific facial areas.

RESULTS

Our results revealed that Buryat women have a set of sexually dimorphic features similar to those reported earlier for other Asian populations (a relatively wider and vertically shorter lower face, more round visible areas of the eyes, relatively narrower noses, smaller mouths, larger [in vertical dimension] foreheads, and relatively thinner upper lips, when compared to Buryat males). At the same time, Buryat women had a specific characteristic, distinguishing them from other world populations-a significantly higher upper face width-to-height ratio (fWHR) compared to males. This indicates that the high fWHR is not a universally male feature in humans, which raises a question of underlying developmental mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results clearly demonstrate that some elements of sexually dimorphic facial shapes may differ across populations with different genetic and ecological backgrounds, and suggest that universal mechanisms of sex-specific facial morphogenesis still need to be clarified in the future.

Mating Strategies and the Masculinity Paradox: How Relationship Context, Relationship Status, and Sociosexuality Shape Women's Preferences for Facial Masculinity and Beardedness

According to the dual mating strategy model, in short-term mating contexts women should forego paternal investment qualities in favor of mates with well-developed secondary sexual characteristics and dominant behavioral displays. We tested whether this model explains variation in women's preferences for facial masculinity and beardedness in male faces. Computer-generated composites that had been morphed to appear ± 50% masculine were rated by 671 heterosexual women (M age = 31.72 years, SD = 6.43) for attractiveness when considering them as a short-term partner, long-term partner, a co-parent, or a friend. They then completed the Revised Sociosexual Inventory (SOI-R) to determine their sexual openness on dimensions of desire, behavior, and attitudes. Results showed that women's preferences were strongest for average facial masculinity, followed by masculinized faces, with feminized faces being least attractive. In contrast to past research, facial masculinity preferences were stronger when judging for co-parenting partners than for short-term mates. Facial masculinity preferences were also positively associated with behavioral SOI, negatively with desire, and were unrelated to global or attitudinal SOI. Women gave higher ratings for full beards than clean-shaven faces. Preferences for beards were higher for co-parenting and long-term relationships than short-term relationships, although these differences were not statistically significant. Preferences for facial hair were positively associated with global and attitudinal SOI, but were unrelated to behavioral SOI and desire. Although further replication is necessary, our findings indicate that sexual openness is associated with women's preferences for men's facial hair and suggest variation in the association between sociosexuality and women's facial masculinity preferences.

Heterogeneity in the Sexual Orientations of Men Who Have Sex with Fa'afafine in Samoa

In Samoa, feminine natal males who possess male-typical genitalia are known locally as fa'afafine. Some Samoan men express sexual interest in fa'afafine, whereas others do not. To assess the sexual orientation of men who are sexually interested in fa'afafine, we collected sexual attraction ratings and viewing times of Samoan men's and women's faces. Study 1 (N = 130) focused on men who were insertive or versatile during anal sex with fa'afafine partners. These men were compared to each other, as well as to males (i.e., men and fa'afafine) who were exclusively sexually interested in either women or men. Study 2 (N = 180) compared men who had sex with fa'afafine and women; men who had sex with fa'afafine, women, and men; and men who had sex with fa'afafine and men. These men were compared to each other, as well as to males who were exclusively sexually interested in either women or men. These studies suggest that men who have sex with fa'afafine are a heterogeneous group. A small portion of the men who are sexually interested in fa'afafine shows a relatively bisexual pattern of sexual attraction ratings and viewing times, namely men who have sex with fa'afafine, men, and women. In contrast, a larger number of men who were sexually interested in fa'afafine responded in a manner similar to men who were exclusively sexually interested in either women or men. The present research suggests that additional insights into male sexual orientation can be garnered by focusing on how sexuality is expressed in non-Western cultural contexts.

A multivariate analysis of women's mating strategies and sexual selection on men's facial morphology

The strength and direction of sexual selection via female choice on masculine facial traits in men is a paradox in human mate choice research. While masculinity may communicate benefits to women and offspring directly (i.e. resources) or indirectly (i.e. health), masculine men may be costly as long-term partners owing to lower paternal investment. Mating strategy theory suggests women's preferences for masculine traits are strongest when the costs associated with masculinity are reduced. This study takes a multivariate approach to testing whether women's mate preferences are context-dependent. Women (n = 919) rated attractiveness when considering long-term and short-term relationships for male faces varying in beardedness (clean-shaven and full beards) and facial masculinity (30% and 60% feminized, unmanipulated, 30% and 60% masculinized). Participants then completed scales measuring pathogen, sexual and moral disgust, disgust towards ectoparasites, reproductive ambition, self-perceived mate value and the facial hair in partners and fathers. In contrast to past research, we found no associations between pathogen disgust, self-perceived mate value or reproductive ambition and facial masculinity preferences. However, we found a significant positive association between moral disgust and preferences for masculine faces and bearded faces. Preferences for beards were lower among women with higher ectoparasite disgust, providing evidence for ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis. However, women reporting higher pathogen disgust gave higher attractiveness ratings for bearded faces than women reporting lower pathogen disgust, providing support for parasite-stress theories of sexual selection and mate choice. Preferences for beards were also highest among single and married women with the strongest reproductive ambition. Overall, our results reflect mixed associations between individual differences in mating strategies and women's mate preferences for masculine facial traits.

Perceived attractiveness of Czech faces across 10 cultures: Associations with sexual shape dimorphism, averageness, fluctuating asymmetry, and eye color

Research on the perception of faces typically assumes that there are some universal values of attractiveness which are shared across individuals and cultures. The perception of attractiveness may, however, vary across cultures due to local differences in both facial morphology and standards of beauty. To examine cross-cultural consensus in the ratings of attractiveness, we presented a set of 120 non-manipulated photographs of Czech faces to ten samples of raters from both European (Czech Republic, Estonia, Sweden, Romania, Turkey, Portugal) and non-European countries (Brazil, India, Cameroon, Namibia). We examined the relative contribution of three facial markers (sexual shape dimorphism, averageness, fluctuating asymmetry) to the perception of attractiveness as well as the possible influence of eye color, which is a locally specific trait. In general, we found that both male and female faces which were closer to the average and more feminine in shape were regarded as more attractive, while fluctuating asymmetry had no effect. Despite a high cross-cultural consensus on attractiveness standards, significant differences in the perception of attractiveness seem to be related to the level of socio-economic development (as measured by the Human Development Index, HDI). Attractiveness ratings by raters from low-HDI countries (India, Cameroon, Namibia) converged less with ratings from Czech Republic than ratings from high-HDI countries (European countries and Brazil). With respect to eye color, some local patterns emerged which we discuss as a consequence of negative frequency-dependent selection.

Mothers are sensitive to men's beards as a potential cue of paternal investment

Mating strategy theories assert that women's preferences for androgen dependent traits in men are stronger when the costs of reduced paternal investment are lowest. Past research has shown that preferences for facial masculinity are stronger among nulliparous and non-pregnant women than pregnant or parous women. In two studies, we examine patterns in women's preferences for men's facial hair - likely the most visually conspicuous and sexually dimorphic of men's secondary sexual traits - when evaluating men's masculinity, dominance, age, fathering, and attractiveness. Two studies were conducted among heterosexual pregnant women, mothers, non-contractive and contraceptive users. Study 1 used a between-subjects sample (N = 2103) and found that mothers had significantly higher preferences for beards when judging fathering than all other women. Pregnant women and mothers also judged beards as more masculine and older, but less attractive, than non-contractive and contraceptive users. Parous women judged beards higher for age, masculinity and fathering, but lower for attractiveness, than nulliparous women. Irrespective of reproductive status, beards were judged as looking more dominant than clean-shaven faces. Study 2 used a within-subjects design (N = 53) among women surveyed during pregnancy and three months post-partum. Judgments of parenting skills were higher for bearded stimuli during pregnancy among women having their first baby, whereas among parous women parenting skills judgments for bearded stimuli were higher post-partum. Our results suggest that mothers are sensitive to beardedness as a masculine secondary sexual characteristic that may denote parental investment, providing evidence that women's mate preferences could reflect sexual selection for direct benefits.

Women's preferences for men's facial masculinity are strongest under favorable ecological conditions

The strength of sexual selection on secondary sexual traits varies depending on prevailing economic and ecological conditions. In humans, cross-cultural evidence suggests women’s preferences for men’s testosterone dependent masculine facial traits are stronger under conditions where health is compromised, male mortality rates are higher and economic development is higher. Here we use a sample of 4483 exclusively heterosexual women from 34 countries and employ mixed effects modelling to test how social, ecological and economic variables predict women’s facial masculinity preferences. We report women’s preferences for more masculine looking men are stronger in countries with higher sociosexuality and where national health indices and human development indices are higher, while no associations were found between preferences and indices of intra-sexual competition. Our results show that women’s preferences for masculine faces are stronger under conditions where offspring survival is higher and economic conditions are more favorable.

Facial Adiposity, Attractiveness, and Health: A Review

The relationship between facial cues and perceptions of health and attractiveness in others plays an influential role in our social interactions and mating behaviors. Several facial cues have historically been investigated in this regard, with facial adiposity being the newest addition. Evidence is mounting that a robust link exists between facial adiposity and attractiveness, as well as perceived health. Facial adiposity has also been linked to various health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood pressure, immune function, diabetes, arthritis, oxidative stress, hormones, and mental health. Though recent advances in the analysis of facial morphology has led to significant strides in the description and quantification of facial cues, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a great deal of nuance in the way that humans use and integrate facial cues to form coherent social or health judgments of others. This paper serves as a review of the current literature on the relationship between facial adiposity, attractiveness, and health. A key component in utilizing facial adiposity as a cue to health and attractiveness perceptions is that people need to be able to estimate body mass from facial cues. To estimate the strength of the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and body mass, a meta-analysis was conducted on studies that quantified the relationship between perceived facial adiposity and BMI/percentage body fat. Summary effect size estimates indicate that participants could reliably estimate BMI from facial cues alone (r = 0.71, n = 458).

The Role of Regional Contrast Changes and Asymmetry in Facial Attractiveness Related to Cosmetic Use

This study collected behavioral data for testing how regional contrast changes due to the addition of cosmetics would affect attractiveness ratings. In addition, we used an established model of asymmetry to look for a correlation between changes in attractiveness related to the application of cosmetics to specific regions of the face and changes in symmetry. Using this asymmetry model we compared female faces with and without makeup. Specifically, we used a highly controlled set of grayscale faces in which makeup application was standardized to explore these issues from a perceptual perspective. The human data showed that adding upper eye makeup significantly increased attractiveness ratings. In contrast, increases in contrast to the lower eyes and lips did not lead to increases in attractiveness ratings; application of cosmetics to the lower eyes led to a significant decrease in attractiveness. We found that for the makeup condition that led to increased attractiveness, asymmetry did not change significantly when makeup was applied to the female faces. This suggests a role for mechanisms other than symmetry related to increases in attractiveness related to makeup use in females.

The role of mating context and fecundability in women's preferences for men's facial masculinity and beardedness

The ovulatory shift hypothesis proposes that women's preferences for masculine physical and behavioral traits are greater at the peri-ovulatory period than at other points of the menstrual cycle. However, many previous studies used self-reported menstrual cycle data to estimate fecundability rather than confirming the peri-ovulatory phase hormonally. Here we report two studies and three analyses revisiting the ovulatory shift hypothesis with respect to both facial masculinity and beardedness. In Study 1, a large sample of female participants (N = 2,161) self-reported their cycle phase and provided ratings for faces varying in beardedness (clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, full beards) and masculinity (-50%, -25%, natural, +25% and +50%) in a between-subjects design. In Study 2, 68 women provided the same ratings data, in a within-subjects design in which fertility was confirmed via luteinising hormone (LH) tests and analysed categorically. In Study 2, we also measured salivary estradiol (E) and progesterone (P) at the low and high fertility phases of the menstrual cycle among 36 of these women and tested whether shifts in E, P or E:P ratios predicted face preferences. Preferences for facial masculinity and beardedness did not vary as predicted with fecundability in Study 1, or with respect to fertility as confirmed via LH in Study 2. However, consistent with the ovulatory shift hypothesis, increasing E (associated with cyclical increases in fecundability) predicted increases in preferences for relatively more masculine faces; while high P (associated with cyclical decreases in fecundability) predicted increases in preferences for relatively more feminine faces. We also found an interaction between E and preferences for facial masculinity and beardedness, such that stubble was more attractive on un-manipulated than more masculine faces among women with high E. We consider discrepancies between our findings and those of other recent studies and suggest that closer scrutiny of the stimuli used to measure masculinity preferences across studies may help account for the many conflicting findings that have recently appeared regarding cycle phase preference shifts for facial masculinity.

Women's preferences for men's beards show no relation to their ovarian cycle phase and sex hormone levels

According to the ovulatory shift hypothesis, women's mate preferences for male morphology indicative of competitive ability, social dominance, and/or underlying health are strongest at the peri-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. However, recent meta-analyses are divided on the robustness of such effects and the validity of the often-used indirect estimates of fertility and ovulation has been called into question in methodological studies. In the current study, we test whether women's preferences for men's beardedness, a cue of male sexual maturity, androgenic development and social dominance, are stronger at the peri-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle compared to during the early follicular or the luteal phase. We also tested whether levels of estradiol, progesterone, and the estradiol to progesterone ratio at each phase were associated with facial hair preferences. Fifty-two heterosexual women completed a two-alternative forced choice preference test for clean-shaven and bearded male faces during the follicular, peri-ovulatory (validated by the surge in luteinizing hormone or the drop in estradiol levels) and luteal phases. Participants also provided for one entire menstrual cycle daily saliva samples for subsequent assaying of estradiol and progesterone. Results showed an overall preference for bearded over clean-shaven faces at each phase of the menstrual cycle. However, preferences for facial hair were not significantly different over the phases of menstrual cycle and were not significantly associated with levels of reproductive hormones. We conclude that women's preferences for men's beardedness may not be related to changes in their likelihood of conception.