Men with chiseled chins and other manly facial features are thought to appeal to women as long-term mates, partly due to the potential benefits for their children. Using data from over 1,000 individuals who have a twin and over 100 of their brothers/sisters, researchers assessed the masculinity and attractiveness of participants’ faces. While attractiveness and facial masculinity were unrelated for men, women with more masculine brothers were rated as less attractive. This suggests that would-be moms mating with masculine men for genetically superior children should be aware of the potential negative impact on their daughters.
Lee, A. J., Mitchem D. G., Wright, M. J., Martin, N. G., Keller, M. C., & Zietsch, B. P. (2013). Genetic factors that increase male facial masculinity decrease facial attractiveness of female relatives. Psychological Science (OnlineFirst). doi: 10.1177/0956797613510724
