If you asked a man what women find important in a potential boyfriend , hearing things like ‘height’ and ‘money’ wouldn’t come as a shock. It seems to be a common belief in the modern dating scene. Is that really true, though?
Thanks to researchers at the University of Göttingen, we’ve gotten a better insight as to what it is women truly look for in a partner, and the answer may genuinely surprise you.
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The current state of dating has left many in the dark about what people truly value.
Men specifically seem to have a rather skewed vision of what it is women want in a partner. Who can blame them, though? With the societal emphasis on physical attractiveness, defined musculature, and wealth as the ideal male existence, it’s hard to see through all that into what’s truly desirable.
Thankfully, this work has been done for us, and it neatly compiled in a study.
Menstrual cycle tracking app Clue teamed up with MyONE Condoms and researchers from the University of Göttingen to find out what women really want. They surveyed and analyzed answers from over 68,000 people in 180 countries.
Let’s dive right into the results, shall we?
What was the most important feature women want in a partner? The trait they value above all else? Kindness.
Almost 90% of respondents chose kindness as the most important trait. In fact, personality seemed to rank above physicality in general, as behind kindness was supportiveness and intelligence.
Surely they had to say *something* about body type though, right?
Sure, but it was only 22.3% that had ‘attractive body’ as something they considered important. Within that, the most popular body type was ‘average’ at 44.8%. ‘Fit and athletic’ got 34.8% of the vote, while ‘very muscular’ only got 2.5%.
Physical traits that women seemed to covet more than muscles were an attractive smile, nice eyes, large hands, and facial hair.
So, what does this tell us?
It provides a lot of insight into just how clouded men’s perceptions of dating are, to no fault of their own. We’re all constantly bombarded with media that tries to dictate what we think of as desirable, and it’s hard to break free from that. Studies like this that dispel those beliefs are good, and will hopefully allow for anyone feeling discouraged in the dating game to gain some confidence back.
h/t: Insider
