The universal human need of intimacy may result in several expectations and behaviors in interpersonal relationships; one of the most intriguing facets is how men and women look for potential characteristics and display their desires when they want to find a mating partner. Although the nature of intimacy suggests that most people agree on at least six different components of intimate partners (Miller, 2006), there is no certain, overall principle that can comprehensively explain what women and men want in a mate. Some researchers have speculated possible explanations by emphasizing the reproductive success in evolutionary psychology (Buss, 1994), while others rely on biological cues, such as hormones, facial expressions and body shape to discern
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First, desirable traits in dating partners may vary between genders and individual purposes, such as whether one seeks a casual or a committed relationship. Second, different self-concepts should be taken into account, because within the same gender there can be discrepancies in how a man, for example, regards himself compared with other men, and his self-evaluation may significantly affect how he chooses his partner. Third, particular social circumstances can determine which can be upheld as valuable and which cannot be among a set of characteristics, compared with other cultures. As a result, this paper will examine mating preferences under all three above categories. Moreover, there is a distinction between sex and gender, in which sex refers to biological differences, such as types of chromosomes and hormonal systems, whereas gender includes femininity and masculinity in social roles (Miller, 2006). Because mating preferences should be tied to cultures and upbringing, this paper will focus mainly on gender similarities and …show more content…
Youth is usually a reliable indicator; another one is the waist-to-hip ratio. Women with lower waist-to-hip ratio often went through puberty at earlier age, thus can have less difficulty in getting pregnant (Buss, p. 56). Therefore, the ratio is an accurate indicator of women’s reproductive status. Similarly, another major finding relevant to body shape is that men in general prefer women having an hourglass shape, because curvy figures demonstrate high level of female reproductive hormones (His and Hers, p. 97). As a result, both Buss and Perrett’s research can be added together to highlight the importance of physical beauty in signalling particular health conditions, reproductive capacity and current status of pregnancy in desirable female partners, all of which can give valuable cues to men’s immediate assessment of reproductive
First, desirable traits in dating partners may vary between genders and individual purposes, such as whether one seeks a casual or a committed relationship. Second, different self-concepts should be taken into account, because within the same gender there can be discrepancies in how a man, for example, regards himself compared with other men, and his self-evaluation may significantly affect how he chooses his partner. Third, particular social circumstances can determine which can be upheld as valuable and which cannot be among a set of characteristics, compared with other cultures. As a result, this paper will examine mating preferences under all three above categories. Moreover, there is a distinction between sex and gender, in which sex refers to biological differences, such as types of chromosomes and hormonal systems, whereas gender includes femininity and masculinity in social roles (Miller, 2006). Because mating preferences should be tied to cultures and upbringing, this paper will focus mainly on gender similarities and …show more content…
Youth is usually a reliable indicator; another one is the waist-to-hip ratio. Women with lower waist-to-hip ratio often went through puberty at earlier age, thus can have less difficulty in getting pregnant (Buss, p. 56). Therefore, the ratio is an accurate indicator of women’s reproductive status. Similarly, another major finding relevant to body shape is that men in general prefer women having an hourglass shape, because curvy figures demonstrate high level of female reproductive hormones (His and Hers, p. 97). As a result, both Buss and Perrett’s research can be added together to highlight the importance of physical beauty in signalling particular health conditions, reproductive capacity and current status of pregnancy in desirable female partners, all of which can give valuable cues to men’s immediate assessment of reproductive