Abstract:
Existing research on attraction to body features has suggested that men show general
preferences for women with lower waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), larger breasts, and slender
body weights. The present study intended to expand on this research by investigating
several individual difference factors and their potential contribution to variation in what
men find attractive in female body features. Two hundred and seventy-three men were
assessed for sex-role identity, 2D:4D digit ratios (a possible marker of prenatal exposure
to androgens, and thus masculinization), physical attractiveness, early sexual experiences
(as indices of early sexual conditioning), and early family attitudes toward body features,
as well as their current preferences for WHR, breast size, weight, and height in women.
For WHR, as predicted, physical attractiveness, early sexual experiences, and lower
(more masculine) right-hand 2D:4D ratios significantly predicted current preferences for
more feminine (lower) WHR. Early sexual experiences significantly predicted later
preferences for breast size; in addition, more masculine occupational preferences and
lower (more masculine) left-hand 2D:4D ratios predicted preferences for larger breasts.
Participants' height, education level, Unmitigated Agency (masculinity) scores, and early
sexual experiences significantly predicted current preferences for height. Finally, early
sexual experiences significantly predicted current preferences for weight. The results
suggest that variation in preferences for women's bodily features can be uniquely
accounted for by a number of individual difference factors. Strengths and weaknesses of
the study, along with implications for future research, are discussed.
