The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [102]
Evidence shows that men are more attracted to women with a childlike face—large eyes, small noses, full lips and cheeks— because these signals evoke paternal, protective feelings in most men. This is why most advertising for cosmetic surgery places so much emphasis on these features. Women, conversely, prefer men with adult faces that show the ability to defend—strong jaws, larger brows, and strong nose.
Women with childlike faces cause the release of hormones
in men that make them want to protect females.
The good news is that a woman doesn't need to be naturally beautiful to attract a man—beauty certainly gives her an initial edge over competitors—she mainly needs to be able to display the signs that she could be available. This is why some women who are not particularly physically attractive always seem to have plenty of suitors. Overall, a man is more attracted to a woman by the signs of her availability than by her physical attractiveness, and you can learn and practice availability signals. Some women are appalled at the idea of modern men being initially attracted to a woman based on her appearance and availability instead of wanting her for her ability to nurture, communicate, be a domestic goddess, or play the piano. They see discussions on this subject as degrading to modern women.
But almost every study into attraction conducted over the last sixty years reached the same conclusions as the painters, poets, and writers over the past six thousand years—a woman's appearance and body and what she can do with it is more attractive to men than her intelligence or assets, even in the politically correct twenty-first century. The twenty-first-century man wants the same immediate things in a woman as his forefathers did at first sight, but, as we said in Why Men Lie and Women Cry, he has different criteria for a long-term partner.
The reality is that you need to attract a man first before he can find out about all your inner virtues. When you go fishing you bait the hook with what the fish likes, not with what you like. Have you ever tasted a worm? You might be repulsed by the thought but, for a fish, it's his favorite dish.
How Beautiful People Miss Out
Most people are tempted to believe that physical appearance is the key to attracting a potential partner, but this is largely an idea promoted by television, films, and the media. Extremely attractive people are rare, and are erroneously promoted as the standard to which we should all aspire, but studies show that most of us are skeptical about beautiful people. The studies found that we prefer to find mates who are roughly as attractive as we are, which means they are more likely to stay and not look for a better offer. This preference appears to be inborn, as babies show a preference for looking at average faces rather than at beautiful ones.
Is He a Butt, Boobs, or Leg Man?
When it comes to a man's favorite female body part, men are universally split into three fairly even groups—boobs, butts, and legs.
In this section, we will be analyzing only the physical characteristics of the female body and why each part has such an impact on the male senses. A woman's body has evolved as a permanent, portable sexual signaling system that is purpose-built to attract male attention for reproduction, and butts, breasts, and legs play the most significant part in this process. This may not be politically correct, but it is biologically correct.
1. Butts
Men find rounded, peach-shaped buttocks the most attractive. Female human buttocks differ from other primates in that other primate females display enlarged, protruding buttocks only when they are ready for mating. Human females display enlarged buttocks permanently and are almost always sexually available to males. This is because one of the main purposes of regular human sexual activity is to encourage