Human Sexuality and Gender Differences

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Human Sexuality and Gender Differences The following research is a study of gender differences in selecting romantic partners. The goal of the study was to determine if males and females place different values on characteristics of the opposite sex, while selecting a romantic partner. To research this situation, surveys were distributed at random to both males and females. The survey asked these people to rank features they felt influenced their decision in selecting romantic partners. Through analysis of the surveys, it has discovered that men and women are more similar then expected. On average, both men and women responded that they put more weight in personality traits then they do in physical traits. From person to person, one thing that seems to differ the most is values. Where one person may put a great deal of importance, another might not put any. Such is the case in which people choose romantic partners. An attribute one person may find very attractive or important, another might not be interested in at all. Do values differ between sexes? Many people would say yes, while others may refute this. The issue that this study is concerned with is whether males assign greater weight to physical attributes in selecting romantic partners, while females assign greater weight to personality features. An article in the Journal of College Student Development reported that research found that African American men favored physical characteristics, while African American women favored "Social stratification variables". Research published in the journal, Personality and Individual Differences showed that men reported to find themselves attracted to physical traits, while women found themselves drawn to commitment an... ... middle of paper ... ...may have a different opinion then these college aged people. The results of this survey show that perhaps people are spending too much time working on improving their appearance. People spend millions of dollars a year on products and procedures to alter their appearance, to make themselves more attractive. Research shows that people care more about personality traits then they do about appearance. Both men and women feel that honesty, cleanliness, and ambition are more important then how a person looks. To become a more attractive romantic partner, research shows that it is more profitable to work on becoming more attractive personally than physically. I thought that these articles would be a good way to express the things I learned in class. You are always saying that the object of this class was to learn how to "actually learn how to truly love someone."

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