Sex-dimorphic face shape preference in heterosexual and homosexual men and women

Aaron N. Glassenberg, David R. Feinberg, Benedict C. Jones, Anthony C. Little, Lisa DeBruine

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

70 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Studies have used manipulated faces to test the preferences of heterosexual individuals for sexually dimorphic facial cues. In contrast to previous studies, which have generally excluded homosexual participants, we directly compared homosexual and heterosexual male and female preferences for manipulated sexual dimorphism in faces (homosexual males: n = 311; heterosexual males: n = 215; homosexual females: n = 159; heterosexual females: n = 218). Prior studies on sexual orientation and preferences for faces that were paired with masculine and feminine behavioral descriptors suggest that homosexual men prefer more masculine men and that homosexual women demonstrate no preference for either masculinity or femininity in women. In our study, we tested for similarities and differences among heterosexual and homosexual males and females with regard to their preferences for a more specific aspect of faces: sexual dimorphism of face shape. Homosexual men demonstrated stronger preferences for masculinity in male faces than did all of the other groups. Homosexual women demonstrated stronger preferences for masculinity in female faces than did heterosexual women. These results suggest attractiveness judgments of same-sex faces made by homosexual individuals are not a mirror image of those made by heterosexual individuals of the opposite sex. Our data suggest that face preferences of homosexual individuals reflect a system of biologically and socially guided preferences at least as complex as those found among heterosexual individuals.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1289-1296
Number of pages8
JournalArchives of Sexual Behavior
Volume39
Issue number6
Early online date15 Oct 2009
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2010

Keywords

  • face
  • attractiveness
  • homosexual
  • heterosexual
  • masculinity
  • femininity
  • sociosexual orientation inventory

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sex-dimorphic face shape preference in heterosexual and homosexual men and women'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this