The Surprising New Data on Men, Women, Age & Sexual Attraction

It’s official! As hetero blokes age, they place less emphasis on the attractiveness and physical build of their potential partners and more on their personality and other features.

The new research also confirms while younger lads give top marks for looks, women tend to prioritise intelligence, trust and openness. Money and income doesn’t seem to get a look in.

It also found women aged 40 to 55 scored the power of a possible male mate’s brains more highly than their younger sisters. Surprised? Shocked? Read on.
 
On one level the wonderfully titled Sex differences in Sexual Attraction for Aesthetics, Resources and Personality across Age reinforces many prejudices.

Mainly that us men are shallow and superficial when we look out for mates while women look beyond the six-pack stomach to more serious qualities.

The research in journal PLOS One looked at nine traits said to influence sexual attraction: age, attractiveness, intelligence, physical build and features, education, income, openness, trust and emotional connection.

The findings were women had to be more choosy because of their limited time for reproduction, relative to men, meaning they can’t afford to make mistakes.

Also there was the hope the traits they preferenced such as intelligence might be passed onto any of their potential offspring.

Interestingly both sexes put incomes as the least important factor. Does that ring true for you?

Dr Stephen Whyte the co-author and a behavioural economist at Queensland University of Technology said as the genders aged the difference in the traits they found attractive merged.

“As men and women age, their preferences come closer together, with both sexes placing greater importance on openness and trust.”

I don’t know what you think. But a sexually-active divorced 80 year-old man I know recently told me that while he valued the other traits, attractiveness was a deal breaker.

He said any potential female partner had to look exciting to him or they wouldn’t get past the first post. Do women feel the same?

It is fascinating to consider how our reproductive windows might subconsciously curate our choice of sexual or even life partners.

If it is the case, how successful has it been for you?

Any information is general advice, it does not take into account your individual circumstances, objectives, financial situation or needs.