Beautiful Faces Attract Women Regardless of Gender: Scientists Discover How Men and Women Look at Beauty

We all occasionally find ourselves sneaking a glance at attractive people. However, a new study has found that men and women do so in different ways.

Using eye-tracking technology, researchers discovered that women are drawn to attractive faces regardless of a person’s gender or sexual orientation. Men, by contrast, spend longer looking only at people who match their sexual preferences.

“It seems that, for women, an attractive face is simply pleasant to look at, regardless of the person’s gender. For men, it is primarily sexual attraction that holds their gaze,” explained lead researcher Tom Roth from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

According to Roth, the findings are a reminder that men and women may literally perceive attractiveness differently.

The study involved 102 participants. Researchers used specialised eye-tracking cameras to determine which faces participants looked at and for how long. The volunteers were shown pairs of faces side by side, including both conventionally attractive and less attractive men and women.

An analysis of the results, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, found no apparent bias during the initial glance. However, when participants were given the opportunity to examine the faces more closely, clear differences emerged.

Women spent longer looking at attractive faces belonging to both men and women, without favouring either gender.

Men, on the other hand, tended to linger on attractive people of the gender they were attracted to. Attractive faces belonging to people who did not match their sexual preferences did not prompt additional interest.

Whether participants had a long-term partner made no difference to these patterns.

The researchers suggest that women may pay attention to attractive people of both genders for several reasons. Beauty may help them assess potential partners, as well as compare themselves with other attractive women.

Men, by contrast, are far more likely to devote extra attention specifically to attractive people who match their sexual preferences.

Another intriguing finding was that people in committed relationships were not necessarily less interested in attractive potential partners than single people.

It seems that even deep, long-lasting love cannot always completely switch off our attention to beautiful people.