health

Women's faces rated more attractive even by other women, study finds

'Gender attractiveness gap' appears across cultures and over centuries but difference fades away with age

Women's faces rated more attractive even by other women, study finds

TL;DR

  • Women's faces are rated as more attractive than men's, even by other women.
  • This 'gender attractiveness gap' is a robust effect observed across cultures.
  • The gap declines with age and nearly disappears by the time individuals reach their 80s.
  • The study compiled over 1.5 million attractiveness ratings from nearly 30,000 individuals across 76 countries.
  • On average, female faces are rated more attractive than about 60% of male faces.
  • The gap is strongest in Western cultures and varies slightly with sexual orientation.
  • Sex differences in facial structure, such as rounder faces being perceived as more attractive, contribute to the effect.
  • The preference for female faces drops steadily from 18 years old until vanishing around 80 years old.
  • As faces age, structural differences shrink, potentially explaining why the attractiveness gap diminishes.