A Majority Of Men Think This One Thing Makes Them Undateable, But 48% Of Women Disagree
When it comes to dating, sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
Hlornet | Shutterstock Between the "male loneliness epidemic" and the unmitigated mess that the modern dating world has become, it's not exactly a surprise that study after study shows men are quite anxious about their dating prospects.
But one new survey shows that at least when it comes to one of men's most feared dating hindrances, it's mostly all in their heads, if you will. Because it turns out that one of men's greatest insecurities just might not matter to women nearly as much as we've all been told.
Most men think baldness ruins their dating chances, but nearly half of women disagree.
Dating app Hily recently surveyed 700 millennial and Gen Z singles about their thoughts on dating and baldness to find out whether it's "a dealbreaker, a turn-on, or just another trait that doesn’t matter much at all as long as the chemistry is there."
The results were exactly what you'd expect from men, but a bit of a surprise when it comes to women. More than half of men, 53%, said they think going bald would ruin their chances of dating, even if they themselves weren't balding or even losing their hair.
And this isn't exactly surprising, right? Most men have anxiety about baldness, whether they go bald or not, and baldness has been used as a cultural punchline for generations. More recently, it's become a trend to mock toxic men online for their receding hairlines, which is not to say they don't deserve the pushback, but it certainly reifies the cultural perception that baldness makes a man undesirable. But that is actually the opposite of what Hily found.
Most women said they either had or would date a bald man, and many said they prefer them.
Pretty much across the board, the women's responses didn't align with men's perceptions. Fifty-seven percent of men said they think women prefer a man with a full head of hair, for example, and 42% said they think women generally avoid dating bald men.
The women actually said the opposite: 43% said they'd send a "like" to a bald man on an app, and nearly half, 48%, said they'd go on a date with a bald man if asked.
That may not exactly sound like a ringing endorsement, but some of Hily's other findings put it into sharper focus, namely that more than half of women said they'd not only date a bald guy, but they think baldness is hot. A full 40% said so, and another 10% said they actually PREFER bald dudes over those with luscious locks.
As a gay man, I have to say this doesn't surprise me at all. Have you SEEN Stanley Tucci?Jason Statham? The ne plus ultra of bald men, Chris Meloni? No offense to Chrises Evans, Hemsworth, and Pine, but, uh, you all lose and lose big in the Best Hollywood Chris rankings for as long as Mr. Meloni draws breath *bangs gavel*
Women said that when it comes to baldness, only two things matter: honesty and confidence.
There's a throughline with the Tucci/Statham/Meloni trifecta and what women said in Hily's survey: They don't hide their baldness under hair plugs, toupees, or hats, and they absolutely, categorically are not ashamed of it.
And that, for women, is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to the women Hily spoke to. The number one thing 63% of women said would make a bald man more attractive? It's not hair, guys: It's confidence.
More than a third, 34%, of women also said they'd bail on a date if a man turned out to be bald, but the "turned out to be" part is the key. They said being deceived by a guy's dating app photos was the dealbreaker, not the baldness itself.
Luiz Woellner Fotografia | Pexels | Canva Pro
Which brings me to a personal theory of mine. You ever notice that most bald men seem to have headshapes that are perfectly suited to stylish baldness? I'm convinced there's a genetic link between head shape and hair loss, especially because my own very thickly haired head is not only shaped like a Charlie Brown-like ball of biscuit dough plopped on a neck, but is also more dented than an old Buick. And yes, the men on both sides of my family die with full heads of hair. My science is sound!
My point? It is my (entirely unqualified, thoroughly unscientific but nevertheless correct) opinion that if you're balding, you were literally MADE to rock a bald head in the most Tucci-esque, Melonionic way possible. Stop defying your destiny! Grab a Bic, get the job done, and then go update those dating app pics. The ladies are waiting.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
