Are we going for a nice face or for a good body?

You probably know the standard answer. That someone asks what you find most beautiful about him/her and then comes the eyes, a dimple in the cheek or the shape of a mouth, but you never actually hear a neighbor say that the man or woman in question simply has a very nice butt or those nice long legs to play footsie with. No, and there’s a reason for that.

First things first, if the outside is right but the inside isn’t, then there’s little chance of a romance anyway. However, research shows that we don’t find the body that important in the complete picture. Quite surprising, isn’t it? For a one night stand, people are sometimes selected based on biceps, triceps, abs, and an overall good body, but when it comes to a long and happy relationship, a man or woman looks at the face of the object of desire. Correction: women always do that, even if it’s just for one night. We are such beautiful beings. It’s all in the primal behavior of humans, because the face says a lot about the (chance of) reproduction. You are (probably) less fertile if you have a lot of wrinkles and can provide offspring if your skin still looks young and vital. It all feels very banal when you read it like this, but it really seems to work that way.

The research was conducted among heterosexual participants, so it may well be that the drives here are a bit more nuanced. If a man is after a short but powerful affair, he does choose a good body to cuddle up to. And heterosexual women sometimes quite like a six-pack that’s lost under a little belly. 

A small disclaimer in the whole story, or let it be a warning boys and girls: we live in times of botox and fillers and they numb quite a bit and fill up generously, so no fertility guarantee in these cases. Well, you still have to check if that potential lover has any brains. Luckily.

Source: Welingelichte Kringen