Human sexual selection: male voice and face shape Part 1

Continuing from my last post, I want to look at the other factor thought to influence male features (face and voice): female-male interactions, where females select males, favouring traits that females find attractive. A man’s face and voice works as advertising for their mate value and health. This was shown by a study that asked women to rate attractiveness of digital altered males faces and voices, women would often rank more robust faces and deeper voices more attractive. These results shows that females will have an effect on male feature. It was concluded from this that an “average” male face and voice was the most attractive. However, the case in not so simple, there are trade-offs with mating with over masculine men.

Images showing a digital alter male face to look more or less masculine.

Having more masculine features is generally linked with higher levels of testosterone, however heighten testosterone may have other consequences for a man’s health and behaviour. Higher levels of testosterone can act as an immunosuppressant, affecting a man’s general health and so his long-term mate value. Though, there has been studies showing that the level of suppression maybe condition dependent and therefore have greater impact on males in poor-condition. This would mean a masculine male would be strong and dominate when in good- condition, but once his health declines he would become a poor mate choice. And so, this would allow less dominate males to have equal mate success, because they would be around for a longer time, and would be a better as a long-term mate selection for a females.

Another disadvantage of selecting masculine mates is the difference in behaviour. Evidence has shown a positive correlation between testosterone levels and male infidelity, violence, divorce rate and commitment to offspring. More masculine males are perceived to possess other undesirable traits such as emotionally cold and uncommunicative. These undesirable behaviours result in women favouring men with less dominate traits as long-term partners. It is therefore not as easy as being the most masculine to win mates, it is also depends on one the long term befits associated as a partner. In addition to this, female preferences maybe also be dependent other factors, such as her own attractiveness; hormonal levels during different stages of menstrual cycle; as well as past experiences with men.

As one may imagine, it is not all so simple.  Human attractiveness is based on far more than the initial appearance, of which there is multitude of variables. The research conducted often asks basic question- attractiveness 1-10-  using portrait images, this approach, which is good for standardisation, fails to take into account gait, fashion, personal, pheromones etc., though it does provide and interesting perspective from which to look.

References

Puts, D.A., Jones, B.C. & DeBruine, L.M. 2012, "Human sexual selection ", Journal of sex research, vol. 49, no. 2-3, pp. 227.