Human Physical Attraction: What is Important to Women?

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The current research explores how women are physically attracted to muscular males. The overarching thesis is that women who are only physically attracted to their partner are not looking for a long-lasting relationship or commitment. In the first section of the paper, I will discuss background research on physical attractiveness and sexual desire and distinguish the difference between long-term and short-term relationships. Then, I will discuss the innovation of the current hypothesis. Then, I will briefly discuss the proposed conceptual methods to ideally test this hypothesis. Finally, I will discuss implications and conclusions.
Physical attractiveness is generally defined as the degree to which a person's physical traits are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness and desirability, but can also be distinct from the two. There are many factors which influence one person's attraction to another, with physical aspects being one of them.
Commonly, physical attractiveness is an important factor promoting sexual attraction and initial interpersonal attraction (Swami& Furnham, 2008a). Both men and women highly value a likely partner’s physical attractiveness (Buss, 1989; Feingold, 1990; Swami, 2007). Many studies also have demonstrated physical attractiveness to be an important characteristic once a relationship has begun.
Physical attraction itself includes universal perceptions common to all human cultures, as well as aspects that are culturally and socially dependent, along with individual subjective preferences. Previous research has shown that overall attractiveness is associated with one's physical appearance. There are not many researchers that would...

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...Euler, H. A., & Hoier, S. (September 01, 2000). Female coital orgasm and male attractiveness. Human Nature, 11, 3, 299-306.
Geary, D. C., Vigil, J., & Byrd-Craven, J. (2004). Evolution of human mate choice. The
Journal of Sex Research, 41, 27–42.
Feng, Charles (2002-12-06). "Looking Good: The Psychology and Biology of Beauty". Stanford University.
Penton-Voak IS, Perrett DI (January 2000). "Female preference for male faces changes cyclically: Further evidence". Evol Hum Behav 21 (1): 39–48.
Guy Dammann (20 August 2008). "Rules of attraction". The Guardian. "Scientists from Brunel University have revealed that physical attraction is all down to bodily symmetry.
Murray, S., & Milhausen, R. (January 01, 2012). Factors impacting women's sexual desire: Examining long-term relationships in emerging adulthood. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 21, 2, 101-115.

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