American Beauty Standard
ome may find it counter-intuitive, but beauty may enhance a man's sexual attractiveness even more dramatically than it does a woman's. Not only do good-looking guys start having sex several years earlier than the average, he's more than twice as likely to have his sexual partner achieve orgasm than the average joe, according to a 1994 study by evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill and psychologist Steven Gangestad.
Why so much action for handsome men? It turns out that symmetry, a central element of beauty, is an excellent indicator of lifelong health. Men with less symmetrical features suffer more from problems like insomnia and nasal congestion and more emotional turbulence like anger, jealousy and withdrawl, according to a University of Michigan study.
Features that make men attractive signal their fitness to sire healthy offspring. Consider big jaws, a masculine feature that universally makes women swoon. Turns out big jaws take abundant levels of extra androgens (male hormones) like testosterone. High androgen levels compromise the immune system. Therefore, a man with square jaws signal high resistence to disease, a valuable survival trait.
Other masculine features found to be universally attractive — to both men and women — include a straight strong nose, strong chin, rugged brows, prominent cheekbones and full lips.
