The Definitive Book of Body Language - Barbara Pease [104]
3. The Lure of Long Legs
There is a biological reason why men love women's long legs. When a girl reaches puberty, her legs undergo rapid lengthening as hormones flood her body and change her into a woman. Her extra long legs become a powerful nonverbal signal telling males she is sexually maturing and is now capable of childbearing. This is why long legs have always been associated with potent female sexuality.
Supermodels and film stars have disproportionate bodies that have retained their pubescent long legs
Men love high heels on a woman because it gives her the illusion of having fertile-looking legs. High heels enhance a woman's sexual shape by lengthening her legs, arching her back, forcing her buttocks to protrude, making her feet appear smaller, and thrusting her pelvis forward. This is why the shoe with the highest heel—the stiletto—with its bondage straps, is by far the most efficient sex aide on the market.
High heels lengthen a woman's legs, make her
buttocks sway and her breasts protrude.
Most men also prefer a woman with shapely, thicker legs over those with thinner, spindly legs, because additional fat in the legs highlights the sex difference between male and female legs and is an indicator of better lactation. Men like women's legs to look athletic but will be turned off if she looks like she could play football for England.
Models such as Elle MacPherson and Rachel Hunter turned female attraction signals into a multimillion-dollar business
Male Courtship Signals and Gestures
Male displays involve the show of power, wealth, and status. If you're a woman, you'll probably be disappointed with our summary of male courtship signals because, compared to those of women, there aren't too many. While a woman will dress sensually, wear makeup, and use a wide range of courtship gestures, men rev their car engines, brag about how much they earn, and challenge other men. When it comes to courtship rituals, most men are as effective as someone standing in a river trying to catch fish by hitting them on the head with a big stick. Women have more lures and fishing skills to land their fish than any male could ever hope to acquire.
In this section we'll cover the most common male body-language signals you're likely to see, much of which is focused around his crotch. Men are generally not good at sending or receiving the signals used in the mating game and, as we mentioned earlier, women not only control the game and make the rules, they own the scoreboard. Most of the time, men simply react to signals they see.
Some magazines try to convince readers that men's courtship skills are improving because of the increase in the numbers of men who are paying more attention to their appearance. Men now have facials, do their nails and toenails, tint their hair, straighten their teeth, use hair conditioner and face creams, and wear face powder. In the U.K. in 2004, a study by Gillette showed that Scotsmen were Britain's most vain men, spending an average of sixteen minutes a day in front of a mirror preening themselves. But most of this behavior is an increase in male vanity levels—not in men's ability to read women's courtship signals.
An American survey found the three words women
would most like to hear from their male partner were
not “I love you.” They were: “You've lost weight.”
As with most male animals, the human male displays preening behavior as a potential partner arrives on the scene. In addition to the automatic physiological reactions already mentioned, he will straighten his tie, smooth his collar, brush imaginary dust from his shoulder, touch his cufflinks or watch, and rearrange his shirt, coat, and other clothing.
Male tie-preening gesture
Why Men Talk to Women at the Beginning of a Relationship
Many men understand that talking at length to a woman about the personal intimate details of his or her life wins points and can open her mind—and more—to him. At the beginning of a new relationship a man will often use the talking strategy,