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Gender Differences on Perceived Attractiveness in Interpersonal Relationships

As a large component of human interaction and a basis for much of human behavior, interpersonal relationships are among one of the most important necessities for human beings--evolutionarily, we are predisposed to seek out interpersonal relationships as they can "provide a bounty of benefits linked directly or indirectly to reproduction" and the survival of our genes. Building relationships with others creates the potential for friendships, alliances, romantic relationships, and other networks by which people are able to fully thrive. When debating whether or not to form a relationship, humans look for aspects such as the accumulation of resources, cooperation, kin relations, potential, intelligence, and physical attractiveness. Physical attractiveness is the first quality that we notice in individuals (often on a subconscious level, and beginning at an early age) as physical attractiveness gives cues to health as well as potential reproductive capability. Yet, while physical attractiveness is a universal factor in its importance for forming relationships, disparities in perceived attractiveness between men and women do exist and can lead to wholly different outcomes in the development of interpersonal relationships of any kind.

Gender Differences

Object of desire self-consciousness (ODSC)--the attitude that others view one as sexually desirable and attractive, rather than viewing oneself as attractive based on self-perception--is one route by which gender differences in perceived attractiveness can be explored. ODSC creates romantic and/or sexual scripts that drive reactions and responses--for example, "a woman who experiences ODSC when an attractive man gazes at her attentively. Her ODSC activates a series of responses related to romance and sexuality, including a hair-flip, an (unconscious) sign that she finds his attention flattering and is potentially interested in romantic/sexual activities." Research has found that women are more likely than men to perceive their attractiveness in an "object of desire self-consciousness" (ODSC) fashion. This finding could have strong implications for women's sociosexual functioning, but further research needs to be performed to explore this.

Research tracking eye movement can also be used to support the assertion that women are perceived as and perceive themselves as objects of self-desire consciousness. While looking at Facebook profiles of both men and women, both genders of participants concentrated their eye movements on the profile pictures of women, gauging the physical attractiveness, while the descriptions of male profiles were looked at longer by participants. This suggests that the physical appearance of women in their profile pictures is more important for initial judgment, while the descriptions on male profiles are more important for initial judgment.

Another route by which gender differences in perceptions of attractiveness can be assessed is the comparison of self-reported or observed "desirable" characteristics in a potential relationship partner. Men prefer traits in women that signify health and fertility, physically apparent through waist-to-hip ratio and "youthful features such as full lips, lustrous hair, large eyes, and smooth skin" while women show an "evolved preference for men’s resources and associated traits such as social status and ambition to ensure". Social status, while not usually thought of as a primary factor in physical attractiveness, can strongly impact perceptions for both genders. When participants were asked to rank the physical attractiveness of male and female models, there were no significant differences in perceived attractiveness between models that were similar in their level of attractiveness. When asked to evaluate the social standings of the models, men pictured with other men and women pictured alone were perceived to have the highest status. However, the status of any given female model pictured with a male model was constrained by the status of the male. This suggests that status doesn't directly lead to a high perception of attractiveness in men, but status is more readily attributed to men than women. In addition, these findings suggest that women may prefer potential partners with high social status so that they can also attain high social status, as their status is restricted by the men they are involved with.

Conclusively, for men, women who appear young, healthy, and fertile will be the most physically attractive. In contrast, women will find men with greater social status and ambition to be the most attractive, even over more physically attractive men without these more important qualities. Women also tend to think of themselves as objects of self-desire, dependent on feedback from others for an estimation of their attractiveness, while men are able to self-perceive themselves as attractive or not.