Men's Preferences for Female Facial Femininity Decline With Age

Women tend to have a smaller chin, fuller lips, and rounder eyes than men, due in part to the effects of estrogen. These features associated with facial femininity have been found to be positively associated with fertility. Although young men in their 20s typically judge facial femininity as more attractive than facial masculinity, at all ages, men with higher sexual desire and testosterone levels tend to show a marked preference for feminine faces. In the current study, we extend this research using a large cross-national sample to test the hypothesis that facial femininity preferences will be stronger among younger men than among older men. We also tested whether these preferences are influenced by self-reported sexual openness, national health indices, and gross national income.

We quantified attractiveness judgments (i.e., preferences) among 2,125 heterosexual men (aged 17-73 years) for female faces that were manipulated to appear more or less feminine using a computer graphics program.

Facial femininity preferences decreased with age, being highest among men in their 30s and lowest among men in their 70s. This pattern was independent of men's sexual openness and cross-national variation in health and socioeconomic development.

Our study shows that men's preferences for facial femininity are age dependent. At the proximate level, differences in preferences could reflect age-related declines in testosterone levels. These age-related declines in preferences could benefit older men, who are less able to invest in mating effort, and thus may opt out of competition with younger men for mates with potentially higher fertility.