Study: "Macho" Men Perceived as Bad for Long-Term Relationships

If you are a male looking for long-term love, one UK researcher thinks that you might want to tone down your masculinity less you scare off potential long-term partners. According to the study which is published in the current edition of Personality and Individual Differences:

Women see ‘masculine’ men as unsuitable long-term partners. Men with feminine facial features are seen as more committed and less likely to cheat on their partners.

Men with masculine faces, with features such as a square jaw, larger nose and smaller eyes, were classed as significantly more dominant, less faithful, worse parents and as having personalities that were less warm compared to their ‘feminine’ counterparts who had finer facial features with fuller lips, wide eyes and thinner, more curved eyebrows.

The psychologists also found that men's faces that appeared healthier, for instance those with better complexion, were seen as more desirable in terms of all personality traits compared to those who looked unhealthy. Interestingly, older faces were generally viewed more positively compared to younger ones.

Professor David Perrett from St Andrews University where the study was conducted added: "...women see a healthy guy as the source of wealth, and fit for family life." He also noted that contrary to the common refrain women do generally judge a book by its cover.

Source: Durham University Press Release