Women Prefer Average Men

by Genevieve

Turns out, women have a Goldilocks-style preference for male features, specifically a man’s height and foot size. On average, we like ‘em not too big, not too small; somewhere in the middle is just right.

The Today show this morning featured an international study that revealed most women found a medium-sized foot out of three different-sized male feet to be most appealing. In contrast, men overwhelmingly deemed the smallest female foot to be the most attractive. Curiously, Tanzanian men were the only subjects to prefer the biggest female foot to the other two.

Likewise, women tend to favor men of average height. According to London’s Daily Mail, “many studies show that men of average height are more attractive and likeable than very tall men.” Evolution could explain both preferences, as very tall men (with–one imagines–very big feet) are more likely to encounter more health problems than those without vertical extremes.

Whether a man is tall, squat, big- or small-footed, his wealth and status ultimately trump all physical characteristics as primary factors in a woman’s choice of mate. As the Daily Mail explains, this is why “ugly boys” get “gorgeous girls.”