Are You Attracted To Your Dad?

by Jessica

When my shrink told me I seek out men like my father, I thought she just meant men who are psychologically similar! But it turns out scientists have discovered both men and women are physically attracted to partners who resemble their opposite-sex parent.

The “sexual imprinting” study performed by the University of Pecs in Hungary examined 52 families of married couples and notes similar facial characteristics among wives and mothers-in-law, as well as husbands and fathers-in-law; the men had similar noses and eyes, whereas the women had similar lips and jaws. Score one for the Oedipus complex theory.

“The kinds of faces we find appealing as adults are set, if not rigidly, in early childhood,” the UK Guardian reports. Thankfully it’s all in the family and we’re not clamoring over each other for men who look like Mr. Rogers, Mr. Hooper or—heaven forbid—Barney.