Research Found One Unexpected Detail That Makes Men Way More Attractive To Women
adriaticfoto | Shutterstock It turns out that while women may be attracted on a personality level to good boys, on an exterior level, they at least want their good boys to look a little bad.
Just how can the good guys get this image? One study has suggested that ladies are more likely to see guys with tattoos as being attractive, aggressive, and dominant, which is a lot of supposition to get from just a little ink.
Research found that having tattoos makes men way more attractive to women
Manel Ponce Rodriguez via Shutterstock
The study consisted of 2,500 men and women and gauged their reactions to photos, as researchers are pretty good at making people judge others in the name of science. The researchers asked them to stare at and rate shirtless men who sported various types of tattoos on their bodies. Some of the photos even added digital tattoos to the people in the pictures, like small pieces of ink on their otherwise non-tattooed arms.
It turns out that tattooed individuals were more likely to be considered more aggressive, dominant, and masculine
The women surveyed also thought these men had better health than non-tattooed people. One good thing for those guys who haven’t undergone ink was that women didn’t rate the inked men as more attractive overall.
The bad news for non-inked guys is that the ladies considered them more in charge. However, both men and women believed the guys with tattoos were going to be better lovers than non-inked dudes.
According to the researchers, the presence of tattoos changes people’s perceptions of men
“Tattoos not only influence female preference,” said the research team, “but they may be even more important in male-male competition.” This basically means men considered guys with tattoos to be more competition for casual encounters, and they weren’t wrong.
There was, however, some additional bad news for men showing off their art. Men who appear to be more aggressive and have the projection of having more testosterone (because of their tattoos) don’t appeal to women looking for long-term relationships.
This is because high testosterone is often linked to violence or infidelity. However, research has also found that though testosterone will trigger impulsivity, cortisol and serotonin are there to help control the impulsive actions. To add insult to injury, women don’t think men with tattoos are likely to make good partners or fathers for children.
Author Wendy L. Patrick, Ph.D., said, "Tattoos are only one facet of what is no doubt a constellation of traits possessed by the wearer of the body art. And regarding the impact on relationship potential, many tattoos are, at the very least, conversation starters."
As for women sporting our own tattoos? Researchers discovered that people considered women with ink to be “more open to intimacy without commitment, less selective, and having a higher drive when shown with the tattoo.”
So while men with tattoos appear to be more virile and better lovers, women with tattoos appear desperate, less willing to screen their partners, and more open to having a fling. Thanks again, double standards for men and women.
Merethe Najjar is a professional writer, editor, and award-winning fiction author from Atlanta, Georgia. She has had multiple publications featured in The Aviator Magazine, Infinite Press, Yahoo, BRIDES, and others.
