Interesting Article: In Harsh Conditions, Men Don't Want a Pretty Face.

[Evelyn K]

Big eyes and full lips may turn male heads in Japan, but in Nepal, men aren't as interested in pretty, girly faces.



Those are the findings of a new study of men's preferences for female faces in 28 nations. The results reveal that guys are drawn to feminine looks – large eyes, pillow lips and a soft jaw — to a greater extent in countries that are the healthiest.

The reason for this difference isn't clear, but scientists suspect that evolution may drive these attractions, at least subconsciously. Men in harsh conditions may have a better chance of fathering children who survive if they mate with a woman who can hold on to resources, said study researcher Urszula Marcinkowska, a doctoral candidate at the University of Turku in Finland.

....

"Earlier cross-cultural research found that "macho" men with stereotypically masculine faces are most preferred in less-developed nations. A strong jaw, squinty eyes and a dominant brow might signal that a guy has strong genes to pass to his child, researchers suggested in March 2013 in the journal Biology Letters."

http://news.yahoo.com/harsh-conditions-men-dont-want-pretty-face-230237617.html

[JamesG]

Well if that is a sample of the pictures they used for the survey, I think their data is skewwed. That scrunched up bad photoshop makes the "feminized face" look like an infant or elderly, not female.

[Mermaid]

Well if that is a sample of the pictures they used for the survey, I think their data is skewwed. That scrunched up bad photoshop makes the "feminized face" look like an infant or elderly, not female.

Yeah, the "feminized" looks freaky... where did the chin go? Don't know if that makes my country "harsh" but she looks awful...

[JulieBlair]

Kind of a scary picture, but you're right the article is interesting.  It will be an interesting read in the original, and as always the citations will contain most of the clues to the robustness of the study.  A lot of studies such as this have a small sample size which makes replication difficult.  I'll give it a read and let you know.
Julie

[Allyda]

I agree the feminized face in this lacks a chin, and appears to be a bad photoshop. The middle one is probably the real face.