National income inequality predicts women's preferences for masculinized faces better than health does

Brooks, Robert; Scott, Isabel M.; Maklakov, Alexei A.; Kasumovic, Michael M.; Clark, Andrew P.; Penton-Voak, Ian S.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0964

Cited by 114 publications

(129 citation statements)

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“…Since male masculinity is associated with dominance (Dijkstra & Buunk, 2001;Batres, Re, & Perrett, 2015), it could be advantageous for women to choose a more masculine male in environments with a high level of male-male competition (Puts, 2010;Brooks et al, 2011). Ryder et al, (2016) found that at the individual level, women preferred more physically formidable and dominant partners when they felt more at risk of crime in public places.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several researchers (Puts, 2010;Brooks et al, 2011;Snyder et al, 2011;Fessler, Hollbrook, & Fleischman, 2015;Ryder et al, 2016) have suggested that women's masculinity preferences reflect their need for protection in violent environments. Brooks et al, (2011) found supporting evidence for this claim across 30 different countries using an…”

Section: Direction Of Violence Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examining individuals' experiences and perceptions of violence may help understand variation in women's and men's masculinity preferences (DeBruine et al, 2010aBrooks et al, 2011) and may contribute to the debate between female mate-choice and malemale competition as drivers of masculinity preferences in women. As health, media access (internet access, degree of urbanization) and education have all been previously linked to masculinity preferences, their contribution to explaining masculinity preferences was also evaluated.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At both levels of analysis, violence elicited higher masculinity preferences in women. Brooks et al, (2011) A…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the population level, contexts that have been suggested to affect women's reproductive decisions include measures of environmental health (e.g., parasite load as potential virulence and number of parasites in the environment), development (e.g., measured as the frequency of internet use), income inequality (e.g., Gini coefficient), and access to education (e.g., DeBruine et al, 2010a, b;Batres & Perrett, 2014;Brooks et al, 2011;Kasser & Sharma, 1999). Evidence at this level, supporting female mate choice as the driver for masculinity preferences is found by DeBruine et al, (2010a, b).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aggressor or protector? Experiences and perceptions of violence predict preferences for masculinity

Borras-Guevara

Batres

Perrett

2017

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Women's preferences for masculine male partners have been explained in terms of heritable health. The evidence between masculinity and health, however, is controversial and therefore, alternative explanations for masculinity preferences reflecting income inequality and protection from violence have been proposed. This study thus aimed to test the effect of exposure to violence (i.e., experiences of robberies and perceptions of danger) on the individual masculinity preferences of women and men from the capital city of Colombia, Bogota, and surrounding small towns. One hundred and fifty three adult participants (mean age +/-S.D.= 31.3 +/-9.4), all heterosexual, were surveyed in reference to indicators related to health (e.g., drinking water access, frequency of illnesses), access to media (e.g., television and internet access), education (e.g., graduating from high school, attending university) and exposure to violence (e.g., frequency of robberies/attacks, feelings of danger from violence).Participants made two alternative, preference forced-choice for masculinized and feminized versions of both rural Salvadoran and European male faces. We found that men and women exposed to higher levels of violence preferred less masculine male faces, although this effect was only significant for women. Additionally, the effect of violence exposure was more relevant for the Salvadoran stimuli. Violence contributed significantly to explaining masculinity preferences after controlling for participant age, education, access to media, and health-related factors. These preferences may reflect women's strategy to avoid male violence demonstrating that exposure to violence matters in interpersonal attraction.

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