Key Takeaways
- People across cultures preferred more feminine features — even in men’s faces.
- Cultural background and sexual orientation shape facial preferences in unique ways.
- Bisexual participants had their own unique attraction patterns, different from both straight and gay individuals.
- Masculinity in male faces isn’t as universally desired as previously assumed.
What the Study Found
Feminine and Masculine faces
Historically, most research on facial attraction has focused on White, heterosexual participants evaluating White faces, typically in Western countries. But a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General suggests those findings may not generalize to other identities or cultures.
Researchers from the UK and Japan analyzed how culture and sexual orientation intersect to shape facial preferences. More than 1,500 participants evaluated digitally modified images of White and East Asian male and female faces. Each face was adjusted to appear more feminine or more masculine.
Feminine facial features included softer jawlines, fuller lips, larger eyes, and narrower bone structure. Masculine features included broader jaws, more angular facial structure, and pronounced brow ridges.
Participants completed two types of tasks:
- A forced-choice test, where they selected the more attractive face from a pair (masculine vs. feminine version).
- An interactive slider, where they adjusted features to create what they personally found most attractive.
Softer Features Were Consistently Preferred
Across nearly every demographic, regardless of gender, culture, or sexual orientation, participants preferred faces with more feminine features. This trend was strongest in the interactive task, where people could fine-tune facial features rather than choosing between two fixed options.
Notable patterns from the study include:
- Japanese participants showed a stronger preference for femininity than British participants.
- Bisexual women, across cultures, were more likely to prefer femininity in male faces.
- Bisexual men showed preferences more similar to heterosexual men when judging male faces.
- Gay men showed no consistent preference for masculinity or femininity in male faces, contrary to some past findings.
Why This Matters
Facial appearance doesn’t just influence who people find attractive — it also shapes how we judge competence, friendliness, and leadership potential. This is known as the halo effect, where people who appear attractive are assumed to have other positive qualities.
In many Western societies, masculine features in men are often equated with strength, authority, or credibility. But if most individuals are naturally drawn to softer features, especially in male faces, it raises important questions: Are we rewarding traits that don’t actually align with real preferences? And how might these biases show up in hiring, media representation, or public life?
Bisexual Preferences
This was one of the first studies to intentionally analyze bisexual participants’ facial preferences, and the results were clear: their patterns were distinct, not intermediate.
In particular, bisexual women preferred more femininity in men’s faces than heterosexual or lesbian women did. Bisexual men, however, showed facial preferences similar to heterosexual men, at least in this study.
The inclusion of bisexual individuals — a group often overlooked in psychological research — highlights the importance of recognizing attraction as fluid, contextual, and unique to each identity.
FAQs
What do researchers mean by “feminine facial features”?
Softer jawlines, fuller lips, larger eyes, and smoother contours — traits typically linked to higher facial femininity.
Did the study find that everyone prefers feminine faces?
Not everyone, but most participants leaned toward more feminine features, even in men.
Is masculinity in men no longer considered attractive?
No — the study just found that it wasn’t the dominant or default preference across cultures and orientations.
Why were Japanese participants more drawn to feminine features?
Cultural beauty norms may play a role, though the study didn’t test specific causes.
What’s unique about bisexual participants in this study?
They showed clear and consistent preferences, not just a blend between straight and gay individuals.
Did people prefer femininity in women’s faces too?
Yes, but that was less surprising. The stronger-than-expected preference for femininity in men’s faces stood out more.
Could these preferences change over time or with media exposure?
Possibly. The study didn’t track changes over time, but media, culture, and personal experience likely influence attraction.
Does this mean feminine-looking men are more likely to be seen as attractive?
Not necessarily. Attraction is complex and shaped by many factors beyond facial appearance.
What’s the takeaway for dating or real-world impressions?
Don’t assume masculine equals desirable. Preferences vary more than stereotypes suggest.
Can this affect hiring or leadership perception?
Yes — facial traits can unconsciously influence first impressions, even outside of romantic contexts.
Is there one “ideal” face?
No. The study reinforces that beauty is subjective — it depends on who’s looking and what they’re conditioned to see.
Related Reading:
Handsome Men Receive More Privileges from Women, while Unattractive Men Get Less Leeway
Study: Men Who Had Facial Plastic Surgery Considered More Attractive and Trustworthy
People Who Are Generous Are Perceived to Be More Attractive Study Shows
Final Thoughts: What Do We Do With This?
This research challenges some of the core assumptions built into attraction science — and maybe even how society defines strength, beauty, or leadership.
If most people, across cultures and orientations, prefer softer features in men, then why do masculine archetypes still dominate media, politics, and corporate leadership?
It’s possible we’re stuck in a feedback loop — where culture rewards faces that signal strength, even if individuals are more drawn to faces that signal warmth or approachability.
But here’s where it gets even more interesting: some research suggests attraction may not be static. A 2016 eye-tracking study by Lyons et al. found that women in long-term relationships showed a stronger preference for masculine male faces when primed with resource scarcity — i.e., when imagining a world with fewer resources and more uncertainty. In contrast, in “wealthy” or stable scenarios, both partnered and single women often preferred more feminized features.
That raises a provocative question: Are preferences for masculinity partly survival instincts that kick in under pressure? In times of danger, do we subconsciously gravitate toward faces that suggest strength or dominance? And when life feels safer, are we freer to value traits like empathy and approachability, which softer features may signal?
There’s also the risk of overcorrecting. Masculinity isn’t inherently bad or unattractive — this study simply shows it isn’t the global default. That matters not just for science, but for how we frame masculinity in education, mental health, and media.
Ultimately, attraction isn’t just personal. It’s political, contextual, and shaped by the moment we’re living in. And the more diverse our research becomes, the more we realize: there’s no one face of beauty — because what we find attractive reflects not just who we are, but what we need.
Reference
Bjornsdottir, R. T., Holzleitner, I. J., & Ishii, K. (2025). Preferences for facial femininity/masculinity across culture and the sexual orientation spectrum. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 154(5), 1284–1302. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001720
Lyons, M., Marcinkowska, U., Moisey, V., & Harrison, N. (2016). The effects of resource availability and relationship status on women’s preference for facial masculinity in men: An eye-tracking study. Personality and Individual Differences, 95, 25–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.02.025
