Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Greece: A cross-cultural study

Viren Swami*, Jan Smith, Athena Tsiokris, Chrissa Georgiades, Yolanda Sangareau, Martin J. Tovée, Adrian Furnham

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The waist-to-chest ratio (WCR), body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are the major cues to women's ratings of men's bodily attractiveness (J. T. Fan, W. Dai, F. Liu, & J. Wu, 2005; D. M. Maisey, E. L. E. Vale, P. L. Cornelissen, & M. J. Tovée, 1999; V. Swami & M. J. Tovée, 2005b). The authors examined the relative importance of each of these cues cross-culturally in Greece and Britain. Participants were 36 British and 40 Greek women who rated a set of images of real men with known WCR, BMI, and WHR. The results showed that, regardless of the cultural setting, WCR was the primary determinant of men's physical attractiveness to women, with BMI playing a minor role. However, there were also cross-cultural differences: The Greek women showed a stronger preference for a lower WCR and smaller overall body weight than did the British women. The authors considered possible explanations of these findings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15-26
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Social Psychology
Volume147
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2007
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Body mass index
  • Gender roles
  • Physical attractiveness
  • Waist-to-chest ratio

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