Study Confirms Gender Attractiveness Gap in Faces Across Cultures

A new meta-analysis of over 1.5 million face ratings from 52 studies across 76 countries confirms that women's faces are rated as more attractive than men's on average. The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on May 27, involved about 28,500 participants and was led by Eugen Wassiliwizky of the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Germany. The gender attractiveness gap (GAP) was consistent across sexes, cultures, races, and age groups, but diminished when viewing elderly individuals or people of African descent, and disappeared in self-ratings. Facial structure partly explains the gap, with feminine features like rounder faces rated higher, but not entirely. Evolutionary biologist Karel Kleisner of Charles University noted the study's lack of sensitivity to African beauty standards. The findings challenge assumptions dating back to Charles Darwin about human sexual dimorphism.