Facial attractiveness in male androgyny : having both male and female physical characteristics

• Main Authors: Lim, Grace Zhuo Yah, Lim, Nichole Jie Qi
• Other Authors: Xu Hong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138151
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Although previous research has established the attractiveness of sex-typicality, proof that physically androgynous (PA) faces are attractive has also been found. Specifically, PA men have been found to be desirable by some. This review seeks to explain this, as more focused research is required in examining the reasons behind the attraction towards PA men. We first explain the mechanisms behind facial attractiveness through the framework of evolutionary psychology (symmetry, averageness, and sex hormone markers) and cognitive psychology (processing fluency theory, mere exposure effect, and gestalt principles). We address two hypotheses regarding the attraction towards PA men - the first being that PA men still meet conventional standards of attractiveness, and the second being that the facial feminisation of PA men is attractive. We offer preliminary ideas regarding possible reasons behind the appeal of facial feminisation in PA men by examining empirical and case studies, reviews, and interviews. In order to have a more nuanced understanding of the appeal of facial femininity, we propose three reasons facilitating the attraction towards feminised men. Specifically, this review focuses on the attraction of neoteny, the attraction of psychological androgyny, and the effect of the environment (social environment, cultural gender roles, and natural environmental challenges) on PA mate choices. Our findings show a mixed amount of support for these reasons. Hence, more research is required from this angle. The limitations and further directions are discussed.