A new international study led by the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Germany examined one of the oldest assumptions about beauty, whether female faces are seen as more attractive than male faces. The answer, according to the researchers, is yes, and the effect appears across many countries and groups.
The team built what it says is the largest dataset ever assembled on facial attractiveness ratings, drawing on 52 studies from 76 countries. It included more than 1.5 million ratings of about 17,000 faces by nearly 30,000 raters. Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the findings point to a “gender attractiveness gap,” with female faces rated more attractive on average than male faces. The average female face scored higher than about 60% of the male faces tested.
Dr. Eugen Wassiliwizky, a research fellow at Max Planck and one of the study leaders, said the effect was especially strong across cultures. He noted that female faces were rated more attractive than male faces even when other factors were examined. He was particularly struck by the fact that women gave the highest ratings to other women and the lowest ratings to men. The gap also appeared among heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual raters, although its size varied somewhat by sexual orientation, and it was strongest in Western countries.
The researchers say the study does not prove why the gap exists. They suggest it may partly reflect facial structure, since male faces tend to be more rectangular and female faces more rounded, and both men and women preferred rounder faces. Another possible explanation is long-term sexual selection, but Wassiliwizky cautioned that the data do not justify a final evolutionary conclusion. The preference for female faces weakened from age 18 and nearly disappeared by age 80, which the researchers say may be because male and female faces become more similar with age.
