Scrawny Beats Brawny for Women Seeking a Life Mate

[Bling]

OMFG i have a chance whoo hoooo. though i dont believe it cuz if this were true id have met my soulmate years ago .. be married now with two kids and a dog, and living in suburbia in a nice two story home

Scrawny Beats Brawny for Women Seeking a Life Mate

But quick flings are a different thing, new research suggests.

By Randy Dotinga

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 20 (HealthDayNews) -- When young women look for long-term mates, they really do prefer Ray Romano-types over the Brad Pitts and Arnold Schwarzeneggers of the world.

While they're attracted to muscular men for quick flings, female college students surveyed at two campuses said they'd choose scrawnier guys as spouses, according to new research.

While the women surveyed tend to think of muscular men as more attractive and better in bed, they also think of them as "less faithful, less likely to treat them well and be less emotionally sensitive," said study co-author David Frederick, a psychology graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"When women are choosing mates -- except for very attractive women -- they're facing a tradeoff of choosing a guy who's very sexy or one who will stick around and treat them well," he added.

Frederick and a colleague surveyed 325 college-age women about their preferred male physiques, and measured their reactions after they looked at pictures of real and computer-generated men. The men were of various levels of muscular fitness.

Frederick reported the results April 17 at a meeting of the western region of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality in San Diego.

On a scale of 1 to 5, the women rated the average male at just below 3. The average rating for their ideal "short-term" partner was about 4.5; it was 4 for "long-term" partners. The women rated muscular men as nearly twice as sexy -- and twice as intimidating and dominant -- as non-muscular men.

"Based on the theory we're working under, most women wouldn't choose to marry Brad Pitt because he has so many short-term dating opportunities," Frederick said.

Most women wouldn't be confident that such a hunk would stay faithful. "The average woman would probably go for the Ray Romano guy as the long-term marriage partner," Frederick said.

And what of the most spectacularly built men, those who remind people of the new governor of California? Judging by the study results, they may be out of luck. Women reported an "ickiness factor" when they looked at the most muscular men, Frederick said.

"Women really associated the extreme levels of muscularity with high levels of narcissism and self involvement," he said.

The exceptions to the rules are extremely attractive women who tend to be willing to take the risk of marrying well-built men. (That may explain why Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are an item, and why the marriage of Billy Joel and supermodel Christie Brinkley didn't last.)

Gordon G. Gallup Jr., a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, said the findings might reflect human habits developed through evolution. When females pick mates, they may be looking for men who are more likely to "invest in the family and their offspring and make a long-term, committed investment in the relationship," said Gallup, who formerly taught Frederick.

By contrast, women looking for partners may view muscular men "as more likely to play the field and less likely to make commitments," Gallup said.

[muzikchick]

nice study.

how many participants involved was not stated. what population were the surveyers picked from.

muscle

money

beauty

all have similar effects in men.

i did my own study, b.t.w.

Is the doc a geek? makes a difference.

[muzikchick]

personally, I need a somewhat confident man, myself...humourous...a deffinite....muscles come and muscles go...but, has to have a cute face!

brad and jen are equal....so they match.

christie coulda been equal with that shorty...but, he was an alcoholic....that was teh real issue. i happen to know that.

he hit on my friend. big Dom's girl.....

[muzikchick]

oh an personally, while big bulky muscle boys make great freinds for due to ability to bounce people away from you....suffocation is scaryness.

[chrismakk69]

yeah thats the stupidest thing ive ever read...any women that thinks like that is retarded.

Thats like saying guys prefer to marry ugly chicks cuz they wont cheat on you. If you think the way most of those women surveyed do, you must lack some confidence in yourself.

[anotherway83]

Originally posted by chrismakk69

yeah thats the stupidest thing ive ever read...any women that thinks like that is retarded.

Thats like saying guys prefer to marry ugly chicks cuz they wont cheat on you. If you think the way most of those women surveyed do, you must lack some confidence in yourself.

alot of women are hesitant to admit that looks play a very important role in picking a partner, and i doubt very much that when it actually came down to it, any of these women would really pick an average guy over a stud for a life partner, lol. human beings are very visually oriented and the rules of physical attraction are no less strong for women than it is for guys, IMO.

i know that there are plenty of women who dont like arnold schwarzenegger-type of bulkiness, but i have yet to meet a woman that didn't find brad pitt attractive.

[dgmodel]

Originally posted by Bling

But quick flings are a different thing, new research suggests.

imo women will cheat on you with your exact opposite...

[tranzwhore]

i like my man with some muscle! & he has a gorgeous face. plus he is my best friend. my sports buddy! & he cleans & irons. oh yeah, he's a gentleman in the streets and a freak in the bed!

[tastey]

Originally posted by Bling

While the women surveyed tend to think of muscular men as more attractive and better in bed, they also think of them as "less faithful, less likely to treat them well and be less emotionally sensitive," said study co-author David Frederick, a psychology graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"When women are choosing mates -- except for very attractive women -- they're facing a tradeoff of choosing a guy who's very sexy or one who will stick around and treat them well," he added.

great study, that totally meshes with my experiences.

of course this is only in their heads and doesn´t count for every case, but women seem to think that when you have opportunities, you´ll use them too.

and as a goodlooking guy you have a lot believe me. if i´d have taken home every attractive girl (that is above a 7 on the 1-10 scale) that has giving me definite looks or hit on me (starting to count when i first went clubbing with 16/17) i´d be well in the hundrets already. i can basically go out every night and when i want to, take one home with me. of course that made me a picky asshole that usually finds something about like any girl that i don´t like on her, especially when they open their mouths and some stupid shit comes out, so it regulates itself. cause what this study didn´t notice is that by having choice, you also get picky and very critical. so that´s a counter argument for this.

very very few women have enough confidence to think they can keep a really hot guy, except for women who are really hot themselves, have high self esteem and have many opportunities themselves. especially when the guy doesn´t only have the looks, but also can TALK.

chris, you said that every woman who thinks like this is retarded ! by making that statement you just dismissed like all of em...